Well I just received my first death threat today...

I've slowly been telling my friends from school that I'm gay, and till today most of them have been fine with it, some of them haven’t talked to me since I told them but that didn’t really bother me. Today though was the first time that I've actually been threatened because of who I am. They also called me emo which I'm mortally offended by, my friends are emo, not me!

The worst thing about this is I have no idea who they are or how they found out, yet they seem to know exactly who I am.... which is kinda scary, luckily all my friends have stuck by me and now won’t let me go into town by myself lol. I'm assuming that one of my "friends" who didn’t take it so well have informed them, though I'm not sure how as they don’t go to the same school anymore... which makes me think that one of my real friends have let it slip. I don’t really mind if it was an accident, as my family and friends know anyway, but I am worried about how these people found out as they don’t even go to school and are about 3 years older then me.

Anyway I'm not too worried as my friends seem to have my back, but still I thought I'd share with you all my first homophobic death threat.

I hope this made sense, I've been at work all day and I'm really sleepy here

I'm really sorry to hear about that, but it sounds like you've got things well under control. While I believe that the vast majority of such threats are just someone mouthing off, there is that small percentage that really mean it -- there are too many examples to be complacent.

Take care and keep an eye out for yourself. You're still young -- don't give some a***hole the chance to ruin your life.



Good luck!

Graeme

Dalmatia, my I'm really sorry this happened to you. One thing though: Death threats happen to be illegal in the UK, and the UK also has some very strict "hate crime" laws which a death threat would certainly qualify as. In other words, my suggestion is to report this to the police.

Man, that sucks... Ask your friends if they have any suspicions on who it might be, i think. :S Do you know who they are?

The first one is always the hardest.

Just be more careful and watch your back. Though, it might be empty threats. But still, take care!



Ieshwar

Hey thanks everyone, I'm going to try and find out who it is today as all I've got is a name, which doesnt help as I have no idea what this guy looks like!

If anything happens then I will report it, but as I'm not really that worried there's no point in reporting it yet. It's all probably empty threats anyway, and I'm well connected, they dont want to mess with me

...........maybe, maybe not, I would still report it, if nothing else...the coward may be scared off if it is generally known that the police are involved.

Good Luck and do be careful. If this happened at school, I'd suggest reporting it there too. The more people who are aware there could be trouble, the more people being vigilant.

Take Care,

Vic

Well nothing happened today, though I also found out nothing new which is a shame.

I still don’t know who's let it out that I'm gay but no one in school seems to know that I'm gay, so someone must have told this guy directly, which means that someone doesn’t like me....

Anyway I don’t expect anything will happen, especially with my friends about so I'm not to worried, just got to watch my back is all.

I agree 100 % with Benji. This is a very serious matter, not only for you but for all gays in your county. Collect any document you have, make a written description what happened, talk if necessary with a counsellor or somebody who could help (GBLT organisation ?) You have to go to the police and make a claim. Its the only way to stop it. Don't take it too hard, but you have "to kill the snake in the cradle". I'm ready to help, PM if you are not clear with the procedure.
Good luck.
Old bob

Definitely report it to the police. Just because you think it's an empty threat doesn't make it true.

Don't worry, my dear. Let the ignorant stay that way and go on with your life.

All I've to say is--->

Take care of yourself, Dal....

Translation from the homophobic:

bold - homophobic
italics - English

I'm gonna kill you because I fancy you and you give me weird masterbation fantasies that I can't deal with and it's all your fault for letting me know that you are available.
-------------------------------

I wouldn't worry. If he does touch you, it'll probably be an awkward pass accompanied by a dinner and a movie invitation.

It is still a good idea to stay alert and keep your eyes open.

I, too, agree with Benji and Bob. Report any info you have no matter how vague. You may not only be doing yourself a favor, but someone else. I don't want to sound fatalistic, but if this person can't get at you, he/she may find another target.

Having been the victim of a gay basher along with my car windows being broken, I take any threat very seriously. I have even had friends be harassed because of their association with me.

I can't inculcate to you enough my feelings on this. Please, for yourself and others go to the authorities. Also, making the school aware is important also.

--Steven Keiths

Hey everyone, thanks for all the help and advice, I've been busy lately so haven't really had the time to do anything about it. I did find out that another group of people know I'm gay, and those are the people who told this guy. So I'm a step closer to finding out which of my friends can't keep a secret, but thats all.

i'm with everyone else here, you should definitely go to the police.

I'm not so sure the police is the best option if the threats came from inside the school. But if it these older kids then it may be an option.
If it came from inside the school, inform a teacher or principal. They tend to hear a lot about what is going on at a school and may be able to help.

Whatever the case, take care of yourself. Ignorant people can do stupid things.

Dal. When you find the person who did this (most likely a jealous woman) don't do anything rash. Well not without your most loyal friends. Also the British police, rather watch than break it up (apart from a few). So please don't anything when you find out who it is.

Well nothings happened since my last post, which is what I thought would happen, and why I didn't bother doing anything about it. I did find out that this guy was told by other people who also shouldn't have known that I was gay, but this has narrowed down the people who could have blabbed. Also I don't go to school anymore so this has nothing to do with school.

...........Glad to hear! Still watch your back there Mate!

right okay then. good. then forget what I said then. Apparently I've got myself into shit because I asked you which school you go to. Oops. Removed that question.

Surely you can take some comfort in the fact that homophobia is usually either social homophobia (fear of being identified as gay) or internalized homophobia (a kind of repression of the homosexual desire one recognizes in oneself but cannot admit). either way, it's the bigot who has the problem, rather than you.

First, welcome to GA! Second, while I agree that both of those types there is a third. The religious homophobe is one whose religion promotes homophobia. In turn, that individual follows the bad example and believes that it is a sin and, in some cases, anyone who is gay must be killed because of it.

Very serious indeed.

Religious homophobia I would classify as falling under the more general 'institutional homophobia' of which government and laws are unfortunately also a part.

Anyway, welcome to the forums, Carrion