Pay attention to who you threaten

I was startled when I started going through my email on Tuesday, and was getting ready to mark “receive death threats” off my journalism bingo card.

I had to read the email a couple of times as I tried to understand it, and understand why I had received it. It said:

“First of all you are morally and legally responsible for the action taken again [sic] innocent Earth life in your establishment.

You will be closed in a year.

I hope you and your family starve and get ripped apart by the species you seem to enjoy contributing to the torture of.

PS Go **** Yourself. Gods not on your side anyone, he left.”

The mention of contributing to the torture of a species was enough to clue me in that this was in regards to a story alleging a man caught and tortured a wolf in Daniel, Wyoming, which has been reported on by WyoFile, among other sources, and is spreading through social media and gaining national and even international attention and outrage.

At first, I was extremely confused about why I was being emailed and why this person from Boston (which I found out after doing a little internet research) was under the impression that I was in any way involved with this situation. Then a friend from another Wyoming newspaper pointed out that this person may have intended to email the Green River Bar, where the wolf was allegedly taken and killed, rather than the Green River Star.

Sending threats to a bar connected to the story certainly makes more sense than sending threats to a newspaper in a different town. I suppose I can see the closeness of the names and understand that the angry email writer got confused. (Although I’m still not sure how they got all the way to finding my “editor” email address without noticing.)

It also appears I’m not the only one who has been the unintended recipient of misplaced outrage. Cowboy State Daily reported on Monday that multiple men throughout Wyoming who happen to have the same name as the man connected to the incident have been receiving death threats, as has the man himself, according to an article by WyoFile.

Even though it wasn’t meant for me, it caught me off guard to read something saying me and my family should starve and be ripped apart. I can only imagine the other messages and threats that are being sent.

This whole incident says a lot about the way information is shared and reacted to in our social media and internet-connected world. The story has spread through posts on platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram, giving a condensed version of events focusing on the most sensational details, and promoting outrage that people feel the need to speak up about.

Now, let me be clear off the bat. I’m upset too. I love animals, and I love wolves, and the thought of people treating them in the way that’s been described is horrifying. I absolutely believe this incident needs to be investigated and the people who were involved need to be held responsible and face repercussions. And I understand and respect people who want to ensure something is done.

However, I’m also bothered by the fact that people would respond to something they’re upset about by blindly lashing out and threatening or wishing for violence.

First, this incident shows the tendency of people to only read headlines and sensational “clickbait” versions of stories without reading further to understand all the details (like who is actually involved). This often leads to a skewed version of events and can cause even more confusion and harm.

Second, this incident shows a disturbing trend of dehumanizing people. The internet has made it possible to connect with people far away that you’ve never met, which is incredible and can be used for so much good. However, it’s also made it easier to talk to people you would never even know about otherwise, and unfortunately it’s much easier to not even see them as a human being when they’re just a concept and you have a screen to hide behind. I think this has enabled people to say things they would never say to someone’s face — such as wanting them and their family to be ripped apart by wolves.

Also, I have to ask, what good do threats of violence do? Why do people respond to violence by wishing for more violence? And why do they bring even more people into it, including the families of someone who has done harm, when those family members are most likely innocent? Again, I understand the desire for people to be held accountable for their actions, and for wanting tragedies to be prevented in the future. However, how do these threats help accomplish that?

If you are disturbed and upset by something you see in the news and you want to take action, that’s great. But don’t just lash out. Use it as an opportunity to do even more research, to learn what’s truly going on, to learn who is involved, and to find out who you can reach out to that can actually do something about it. Share it with others to make them informed in a way that helps them learn the facts and the appropriate course of action as well.

If nothing else, please double check who you’re contacting to make sure you’re at least threatening the right person.