Far-Right Extremists Are Threatening to 'Execute' Doctors at a Children's Hospital

[RandySF]

Boston Children’s Hospital said on Tuesday that its staff has faced a flood of violent threats and harassment sparked by a false claim made by the viral LibsofTikTok Twitter account.

The account, run by Brooklyn real estate agent Chaya Raichik, tweeted on August 11 that “Boston Children's Hospital is now offering ‘gender-affirming hysterectomies’ for young girls.” The claim has been widely debunked by fact-checking groups—but as is typical in anti-trans rhetoric, facts rarely matter, and the claims were shared widely on right-wing social media accounts.

As a result, the hospital and its staff have faced a torrent of abuse.

“In response to commentary last week critical of our Gender Multispecialty

Service (GeMS) Program, Boston Children's Hospital has been the target of a large volume of hostile internet activity, phone calls, and harassing emails, including threats of violence toward our clinicians and staff,” the hospital said in a statement posted to Twitter.

The hospital did not specify where the threats were coming from, but VICE News has uncovered some violent threats posted on far-right and extremist platforms targeting the doctors.



https://www.vice.com/en/article/epzv9a/libsoftiktok-trans-children-boston-hospital

[DonCoquixote]

1. there is a reason the far right hates doctors

Because doctors prove that there is a side of reality that does not play by their rules and desires. Note how when covid hit, the churches rose up, and started selling all sorts of nonsense like bleach that was not oy worthless, but toxic. To paraphrase a line from Dr who "the very powerful and the very stupid share one trait, rather than adjust their minds to fit the facts, they try to adjust the facts to fit their minds, which is bad if you happen to be one of the facts they want to fix. Add to this that in the GOP, the very powerful and the very stupid have united to do exactly that.

[Tetrachloride]

2. This is a prime reason to avoid Twitter

Don’t enable Twitter.

[Ferrets are Cool]

13. While I understand your sentiment (I don't have an account there), but sticking our heads

in the sand, or ignoring Twitter isn't going to stop the threats that are generated there.

[OldBaldy1701E]

20. I feel like the response is to restate

that we should not be helping them by using their service. Not to 'ignore' it, but do not 'help' them. However, after listening to so many tell me that they only use Meta and the like for their own family connections and nothing else, I am not sure people understand that having the account is aiding the site, regardless of the 'personal use only' position that so many have. Social media is a joke that has teeth because we all say it does. If everyone were to ignore social media, it would disappear in a week. But, since some of us practically worship social media, we as a world are stuck with it for the time being.

[Ferrets are Cool]

21. Social media has many uses besides sharing pictures of your kitten.

My clients use FB as an aid to sell homes in a tough market. If it were not for my clients, I would not have an account, but it does some a purpose in that manner.

[48656c6c6f20]

24. Not going to let the fascists be the only ones with a public voice

You're fucking right I am using their service to voice and promote democracy. Don't feel like sticking my fingers in my ears and lalalalalalalq'ing

[OldBaldy1701E]

27. And, I did not suggest that.

I am saying don't use Twitter/Meta/Instagram/etc. If you are suggesting that those are our only options, then we are truly screwed.

[SunSeeker]

3. K & R for exposure.

[thucythucy]

4. Both the DoJ and the Massachusetts Attorney General

need to beef up their response to threats of this kind.

Those making threats like this need to be identified and brought to justice. With the rise of this sort of hateful rhetoric and the actual violence that often follows, there needs to be a rapid and consequential response. This sort of hate is corrosive to society and traumatic to those targeted.

Not to mention: the owners of Twitter also need to be held accountable, in whatever form works best.

[Mad_Machine76]

17. Everyone everywhere

need to beef up their response to these threats. It's going to get worse before it gets better, unfortunately.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. Domestic terrorists should be treated as terrorists.

[gab13by13]

6. We don't have laws to combat hate speech.

People can threaten to do harm to doctors or anyone else. The only way the FBI will intervene is if there is a credible specific threat, at a specific time and place.

[The Magistrate]

10. The Problem With That, Sir

Is that the 'credible specific' standard is a compound of judicial decisions. The definition could certainly be changed, and any announcement of intent to kill, or declaration someone ought to be killed, could just as easily be defined as criminal.

If someone says to my face they mean to kill me, or predicts my death should I do or not do some particular thing, that is a crime. It is at least simple assault. If someone walked up to the door of a doctor's office and declared their intent to kill the doctor for performing some medical procedure, there would be an arrest, and 1st Amendment jurisprudence would not be consulted.
I fail to see the difference between these things, and threats delivered to a person or institution via phone or monitor. They break the peace the State claims to uphold for the benefit of all. They put people in fear, and are intended to do so. The aim is to terrorize, not to persuade.

Put bluntly, people who cannot express themselves politically without threats of mayhem have no place in any 'marketplace of ideas', and ought to be excluded from it. Nothing will be lost.

[Liberal In Texas]

26. Well said.

The aim is terrorism. And it is inciting violence. This is criminal and they should be prosecuted.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. A report tonight on MSNBC: Children's Hospital Barraged With Threats - The 11th Hour - MSNBC

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017759886

Boston Children's Hospital revealed it’s receiving violent threats over misinformation about the hospital’s gender-affirming healthcare. Tracy Walder breaks down the dangers of disinformation and rise of online right-wing extremism. - Aired on 08/18/2022.

[The Wizard]

8. Time to take of the gloves

on domestic terrorists.

[Crazyleftie]

9. This country is regressing.back to the dark and middle ages

[Irish_Dem]

11. Yes for sure.

Back to the darkest of times in human history.

[Ferrets are Cool]

12. This explosion of threats is not going to subside until there are threats of real punishments.

Start putting them in prison and it will slow down to a trickle.

on a side note: Do VPN's give these asswipes anonymity from the FBI or other high profile agencies?

[gab13by13]

14. Won't happen without changing the law,

[gab13by13]

15. Canada has some hate speech laws;

https://cfe.ryerson.ca/key-resources/guidesadvice/legal-restriction-hate-speech-canada

[SouthernDem4ever]

16. Hasn't this happened enough

to convince even the most ignorant trump supporters that he hates people but loves to see them fighting over him while they send him money? Someday they will recognize what a worthless individual they are supporting.

[iemanja]

18. They've already driven the teachers away

Now they want the country devoid of doctors.

[Deep State Witch]

19. They're really big on "executing" people

There are multiple instances of RWNJs wanting to "execute" people. The guy from NY who wanted Merrick Garland executed. These people. People who want LGBTQ+ people killed. They all have sick murder fantasies.

[kentuck]

22. It sounds like something you might read about in Kabul, Afghanistan...

It is a type of religious fanaticism, with a cult Leader, It has the character of a Third World country. The recklessness of passing gun laws that permitted such a huge portion of the population to be armed,

[rockfordfile]

23. Then arrest those terrorist pos

[sakabatou]

25. Hopefully, these assholes will be jailed for threatening the hospital.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

28. More terrorism from the greatest terrorist threat to this country...

The 30-40% of psychopaths who think they are entitled to bully, target, threaten, terrorize and murder people. All because some fat reality TV loser with anus lips and orange skin made it so "they don't have to be afraid anymore!"...

Yeah. Because now, thanks to all of this, innocent people have to live in fear everyday. People trying to live their life, people trying to be themselves, people who aren't hurting anyone... And we all have crosshairs on our heads. If it's not sentient scum like Gangreene, it's terrorist organizations like the "Proud Boys" and "LibsofTikTok".

This is terrorism, and it's well past the time to treat it as such. If they're not threatening the FBI or Garland or Biden or Pelosi, they're threatening hospitals and teachers and LGBTQ's. We pissed away trillions of dollars "fighting terrorism" over there while they let it grow and thrive here - and now only does it feel like nothing gets done, but shit is getting worse.

When the flying fuck do Assbook and TikTok get subpoenaed for names, IP addresses, etc. of these white trash terrorists? When the hell do we see mass arrests? Now? Tomorrow? When someone gets hurt? When someone gets killed?

But, I know.. I know. Our friends, the media, constantly remind us that 80,000,000 people voted for Fat Hitler, that the midterms are coming and he's coming back, and WE MUST LISTEN TO HIM AND HIS FOLLOWERS. Well, guess what? We've heard them. We heard them threatening us during his first campaign. We heard them threatening us during the four years he stunk up the White House. We have heard them every day since Biden kicked his ass, and we hear them quite loud and clear here in 2022, threatening us and our very lives.

Enough is enough. Start busting them the way you'd bust us if we went around threatening Rethuglicans.

Meanwhile, to LibsOfTikTok and all you Nazis? If you love Russia or Hungary so fucking much... MOVE THERE!