Death Threats, Boycotts and Backlash

 

For hundreds of Canadians, the price of speaking out on Gaza has been high

It’s been more than two months since J went viral, but the video continues to haunt them. 

For weeks, people on the internet sent death threats, alluded to rapes and homophobic violence, and hunted for J’s identity and location. They called for J’s expulsion from university, imprisonment, and deportation from the country, even though J was born in Montreal. Among the slew of violent and horrific messages were photos of slaughtered pigs and clowns. Users branded J with labels including “whore,” “savage,” and “Islamist demon.”

“It’s over for you,” one user tweeted.

J’s days have since been relegated to hyperawareness. Fear accompanies them on the metro, on campus, in between classes, and anywhere that isn’t their home. Their spouse is notified whenever J moves from one site to another, and their friends and classmates are aware of every classroom they’re in. Outside of the home, they wear a medical mask.

“I never thought that if I was gonna go viral, it was gonna be for something that I didn’t say,” J said. “But it’s also terrifying, that there are large members of what would be our community sharing something that isn’t even confirmed, and you know, perpetuating a really dangerous narrative.”  (more...)

Death Threats, Boycotts and Backlash