“You people are next” is a threat based on your own position of power. A politician saying that, yeah that’s a threat. Some random person saying it someone else, not so much.
If someone has a recording of an ex saying that to them over the phone, the best you’re getting is a restraining order, if you get anything at all.
Maybe if she said “I’m coming for you next”, then that would have more weight. But now we’re in hypothetical land, so who cares.
If she said, “I’m going to come kill you.” That would be a threat. Her saying, “actions like what you are doing have gotten people like you killed” or even “you deserve to be killed” are just observations, warnings at most, but not threats.
You seem to forget that mass shootings are an almost daily occurrence in this country.
Quoting an assassin, then telling a call center worker that they’ll all be next should only ever be taken as a threat.
If she had said, “Your company’s actions might cause someone to commit further violence,” this wouldn’t have been news, but there is no reality where her statement alone should be taken as just an observation.
She intended to make the person on the other end of the line and the people they work with afraid, and that’s a crime.
Those people probably didn’t even directly work for UHC, so it’s not even like she was telling anyone who could remotely do anything about it.
It’s not a crime to make people afraid. It’s provocative, perhaps rude, usually inappropriate, but not a crime. Your paraphrase is exactly the meaning of what she said. There is so much misplaced outrage in this country and this thread. There are people and organizations actively killing and hurting people, and that’s all acceptable to the prevailing culture here. It is appropriate to call them out for their awfulness. If that scares them, that’s a good thing.
You’re omitting the part where she said, “You people are next.” That makes it a terroristic threat.
“You people are next” is a threat based on your own position of power. A politician saying that, yeah that’s a threat. Some random person saying it someone else, not so much.
If someone has a recording of an ex saying that to them over the phone, the best you’re getting is a restraining order, if you get anything at all.
Maybe if she said “I’m coming for you next”, then that would have more weight. But now we’re in hypothetical land, so who cares.
Obviously a random person is a threat, considering recent events.
Peasant brain mentality.
If she said, “I’m going to come kill you.” That would be a threat. Her saying, “actions like what you are doing have gotten people like you killed” or even “you deserve to be killed” are just observations, warnings at most, but not threats.
You seem to forget that mass shootings are an almost daily occurrence in this country.
Quoting an assassin, then telling a call center worker that they’ll all be next should only ever be taken as a threat.
If she had said, “Your company’s actions might cause someone to commit further violence,” this wouldn’t have been news, but there is no reality where her statement alone should be taken as just an observation.
She intended to make the person on the other end of the line and the people they work with afraid, and that’s a crime.
Those people probably didn’t even directly work for UHC, so it’s not even like she was telling anyone who could remotely do anything about it.
It’s not a crime to make people afraid. It’s provocative, perhaps rude, usually inappropriate, but not a crime. Your paraphrase is exactly the meaning of what she said. There is so much misplaced outrage in this country and this thread. There are people and organizations actively killing and hurting people, and that’s all acceptable to the prevailing culture here. It is appropriate to call them out for their awfulness. If that scares them, that’s a good thing.