Racist Threats Shut Down University of Chicago
By The Horse
@TheHorse (206648)
Walnut Creek, California
November 30, 2015 4:25pm CST
I just heard on the news that racist threats against "white devils" at the University of Chicago prompted the campus to be shut down today. This one hit close to home, as I grew up in Hyde Park, adjacent to the University, took several Summer classes at the University, and graduated from the High School affiliated with the University.
The person who made the threats has been arrested. He (or she) is apparently a University of Illinois at Chicago student, and made the threats on-line on some website I've never heard of (worldstarhiphop.com). The person who was arrested claimed to want to kill at least sixteen "white devils” as revenge for a the death Laquan McDonald, a Chicago 17-year-old who was shot by police after refusing to put down a knife he was carrying.
Do you take these kinds of threats seriously? I've seen some pretty nasty stuff on the internet, but it must have been the specific details coming from the poster that led Chicago Police and the FBI to take this one seriously and arrest the person who made the threats.
38 people like this
26 responses
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
30 Nov 15
In today's age I think everyone needs to be concerned about stuff like this. Look around us and see what is happening.
I had someone ask me once if I was afraid of stuff like this here on the islands. I said no. They were shocked. I told people look most people don't have the money to fly here to do much harm on the islands. The locals that live here wouldn't harm the islands and the people who live here. So basically I don't feel like these islands will come under attack. Even during WWII and the US took over Bora Bora for a military base these islands were never attacked. It seemed like they just left us alone and out of the mess.
7 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
1 Dec 15
I also think they are making a point. It is not ok to threaten to hurt or kill. Threaten to I dunno, beat with a wet noodle, but people need to stop thinking hurting others solves anything, ever
6 people like this
@RasmaSandra (73749)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Dec 15
@TheHorse Lately in this crazy world I cannot not take anything seriously and I am becoming more and more of a homebody because I worry about what is out there. So I am glad that they Internet brings the world to me. 
1 person likes this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
1 Dec 15
@purplealabaster
It absolutely does make sense.
3 people like this
@purplealabaster (22094)
• United States
1 Dec 15
I agree that it should be taken seriously enough to be investigated at least. I don't think that drastic measures should be taken unless there is reasonable proof of a credible threat, but I also think that all threats should be given serious consideration until proven not a threat, if that makes sense.
3 people like this
@celticeagle (159550)
• Boise, Idaho
1 Dec 15
Perhaps the FBI was aware of other things going on. Most institutions have protocols in place to keep the faculty and students safe. Now days they have to.
3 people like this
@celticeagle (159550)
• Boise, Idaho
1 Dec 15
@cacay1 ...There could come a time, god forbid, that you would be happy for such security.
2 people like this
@Letranknight2015 (51537)
• Philippines
1 Dec 15
well, you never know when a threat becomes real. people have to take it seriously, despite the fact we have become paranoid with the last shooting incidents.
3 people like this
@Letranknight2015 (51537)
• Philippines
1 Dec 15
@TheHorse I wonder how are these people going crazy all of a sudden.
@norcal (4890)
• Franklinton, North Carolina
30 Nov 15
I think it would be a mistake not to take it seriously. Sometimes we have to take these wackos at their word. Better to shut down the school out of an abundance of caution, than to ignore the threat and have another school shooting.
5 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
1 Dec 15
All such threats have to be taken seriously. What action follows, of course, is up to the authorities and I'm sure that, in this case, the threat was thought to be serious enough to warrant closing the campus. A little temporary inconvenience is surely better than the possibility of a danger to life, especially if it could be said afterwards that there had been a warning which was ignored.
3 people like this
@purplealabaster (22094)
• United States
30 Nov 15
I think that these sorts of threats need to be taken seriously regardless of whether or not there is a racial component. Too many people these days have been shot and/or killed due to the fact that people did not take their threats and "talk" seriously. I am not saying that every single threat should be viewed equally, but I do think that they need to be assessed and evaluated to see whether or not there is the potential for real danger.
3 people like this
@yalul070 (1713)
• Manila, Philippines
1 Dec 15
@TheHorse so he's unemployed/not studying and he had so much time to do crazy stuff? well, as they say, an idle mind is the workshop of the devil. the thing is, in a number of school shootings, there were actually hints that the perpetrators were planning on something ruthless. it's just that we only realize them after the killings were made.
2 people like this
@Drosophila (16573)
• Ireland
1 Dec 15
Oh ya! Given the Oregon case happened so recently, I'd definitely take these things seriously.
2 people like this
@troyburns (1405)
• New Zealand
1 Dec 15
It is not uncommon for mass killers to post details of their plans on social media, so it wouldn't be a surprise if law enforcement kept a close watch on this sort of thing. There would be many similar threats but something obviously made this one seem credible. Welcome to the decade of fear.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (206648)
• Walnut Creek, California
2 Dec 15
@troyburns Wouldn't many of the white males with military experience be suffering from PTSD, an Anxiety Disorder?
1 person likes this
@troyburns (1405)
• New Zealand
1 Dec 15
@TheHorse - And probably the same tomorrow. There seems to be so much scarifying in the (social) media these days, but no-one is too concerned about the things and people who are most likely to be a danger.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
1 Dec 15
We need to teach kindness and civil disobedience. Civil as in civilized. The greatest protests do not entail violence, since violence distracts from the issues at hand.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (206648)
• Walnut Creek, California
26 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace Like ask them how much they know about the issues?
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
2 Dec 15
@TheHorse So true. There should be some sort of litmus test to find out who is really interested in change, and who is just an idiot.
1 person likes this
@Plethos (13560)
• United States
1 Dec 15
@TheHorse i know that a bunch of phone videos of fights gets posted on that site. most of the fights involve blacks fighting blacks. apparently hip hop is a life style, not really about music on that site. i will also say that i think, my opinion, the site is racist.
2 people like this
@chrisandmark (606)
• United Kingdom
1 Dec 15
That's quite frightening, I do wonder just how difficult it must be for the powers that be who trawl the internet to decide which threats need to be taken seriously and which they can safely put down to online bravado and sounding off?
1 person likes this
@chrisandmark (606)
• United Kingdom
1 Dec 15
@TheHorse Yeah, I suppose so - I like in Birmingham UK where we have a large Muslim community and I was listening to the radio about a similar scenario based on the 'potential threat' chatter regarding terrorism. I wouldn't want to be the one making the call, I know that...
@marguicha (215888)
• Chile
7 Aug 16
I think it is better to take the threats seriously and take the person to a shrink.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (36517)
• Toccoa, Georgia
1 Dec 15
I take these threats seriously and I am glad the police and the FBI did. That person deserves to be arrested for the protection of society.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (36517)
• Toccoa, Georgia
1 Dec 15
@TheHorse If I were his parent or relative, I would not bail him out of jail.
@Tampa_girl7 (49132)
• United States
1 Dec 15
It always saddens me and makes me fearful to hear of racial crimes or threats.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
1 Dec 15
What a stupid idiot for making such threats. There is so much nonsense like this coming out of the USA. I don't know why people have such hatred for one another. This is becoming a nasty old world.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
1 Dec 15
I would hope the police take this seriously, who knows what the crazies will do. I'm not inclined to look at stuff on the net, i stick to what I know and where I'm comfortable.
1 person likes this
@WendySpickerman (983)
• United States
1 Dec 15
You have to take them serious. I'm sure they investigated the persons media posts to see how aggressive they were and what types of speech they used to determine how serious it was. And I can't say I'm surprised because I'm not since mid 2014, these people have been given free reign to harass, threaten, damage and by doing nothing to stop them, it's a silent approval it's okay. Obama doesn't help the situation with officers killed, other races killed and he defends only those of the black race... People feed off the actions of others. It's very sad and scary, I won't be sending my kids to college any time soon.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (206648)
• Walnut Creek, California
1 Dec 15
It's important to remember that most black folks in the US aren't as racist as this person, and that many (of my friends and colleagues) are just as scared of the streets as the "white flight" folks out in the suburbs. My black friends and colleagues who have teenagers don't let them get near "Black Lives Matter" rallies and such like.
