A photo of a woman grinning and flashing the bandaged hand, injured >after punching the misogynist sack of shit she overheard threatening >to rape a stranger, has amost 56,000 notes on Tumblr and counting. >The assailant says she never intended for the image to go viral nor to >become a role model for the thousands of people who are now >virtually applauding her actions.
Last weekend, Kelsey, the 20-year-old Minnesotan behind Ignite My >Thoughts, was walking home after last call when she heard two men >catcalling a woman across the street who was "obviously >intoxicated." When the woman silently quickened her pace, one of >the guys allegedly said, "Fucking cunt, I'd take her into the back alley >and show her what I'm made of. She won't even see it coming," and >then laughed.
Kelsey turned around and punched him in the face, and — if you >couldn't tell by her mischievous grin — she has no regrets:
I hope your mother/girlfriend/sister/friends/everyone asks what >happened to your nose. I hope you have to explain that you thought >it'd be funny to joke with your friend about raping the drunk girl ?>across the street. I bet you didn't think that the girl who was walking >in front of you would turn around and punch you in the face. You're a >filthy piece of shit and I don't regret this at all.
The day after the incident, Kelsey was at work when she received a >message that her blog post was "going viral." By the time she got >home, the entry had tens of thousands of notes and Kelsey had >hundreds of personal messages — some congratulating her, others >threatening to rape her. "Hey you crazy bitch, he was joking about >rape, not raping the drunk bimbo, not even plotting on raping her, he >was JOKING," one person wrote. "Wow. And you seem proud of what >you did. Seriously, you're the one who deserves to get raped."
"I don't regret [punching the man], though I do understand that >there are other ways that the situation could have been handled," >Kelsey wrote in a follow-up post. "At the time, however, what he said >as a 'joke' also seemed very much like a legitimate threat." She >pointed out that the blog post was for herself and her friends and she >wasn't trying to make a grand statement about fighting back: "I'm >not telling people to go out and hit 'everybody who offends you' (though many of you are believing that was the point). However, I >do believe that serious action needs to be taken towards rape >culture."
The "responsible" part of me knows that violence is never the best >answer, but there's an irrepressible little voice in my head that wants >to thank her, because few things make me feel more vulnerable and >frustrated than street harassment. When I've tried to talk back to >catcallers, I've been called a dyke (because obviously I'm >disinterested in men if I'm disinterested in being the target of >aggressive obscenities), a bitch and a slut. I would never physically >fight back, but, honestly, that's mostly because I'm a 5'2'' weakling. >I'm not saying what she did was right, but I'd be lying if I said I >wasn't happy someone taught that asshole a lesson he hopefully >won't forget.
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Do you believe in free speech?
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Agreed. Just wanted to make sure.
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A genuine threat doesn't, but laws against communicating threats in the US have clauses in them such as:
"The threat is made in a manner and under circumstances which would cause a reasonable person to believe that the threat is likely to be carried out; and The person threatened believes that the threat will be carried out." N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-277.1
These types of additional elements are appropriate imo. Laws limiting speech should be narrowly defined and seek to limit only genuine threats, this man's wasn't.
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You sound like a faggot mangina cowering before women.
The guy deserved to be hit? You sound like a little bitch that needs to be slapped.
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