Alyson Hannigan, my beloved Lily of How I Met Your Mother, filed a restraining order against a megacreep named John Hobbs. Hobbs, a 43 year-old resident of New Hampshire and recent mental hospital patient, has been threatning Ms. Hannigan online with charming messages of how he’d like to rape and kill her. The order would also protect her husband and children.
It’s interesting that the law is starting to take online threats as serious threats. Though there still needs to be a court date set for the judge to grant the order or not, I’m glad that it’s gotten to the point where police are stepping in. There’s freedom of speech and here’s hate speech and there’s threats, and I think there’s usually a pretty clear difference. Sometimes it gets out of hand when someone on Twitter writes something like, “Ugh OMG I hate Obama I hope he dies lol whatever YOLO” and gets a call from the FBI, but if doing that means that we can also protect people from actual assholes and murderers, it may be worth it.
What’s also sad about this is that he was in a treatment facility for something and obviously should still be there. He should definitely not have access to the Internet where he can post upsetting shit on the Alyson Hannigan Fan Page.
In the parlance of Billy Roberts, why don’t you gals “give him the gun” and show him how much the ladies tolerate stalkers? Ya’ always prattle on about being “fierce” and all that bull crap. Show the world how “fierce” you are and rid the world of this parasite. Nobody would convict you, nobody would sue you, and Lily would be mighty ‘preciative…
I’m just sayin’.
“Hate speech” is o.k. One must take it as well as give it.
Really.