Making death threats is evil. Receiving them is unpleasant. I know. I've received dozens of them over the years.

Anyone who chooses to make himself a controversial public figure, including by such means as accusing a star of rape, is going to bring this on himself.

I bet all controversial members of Congress, controversial writers, controversial talkshow hosts, get death threats.

If you never want to get a death threat, avoid infuriating people, and don't do things that will put you in the middle of a public maelstrom. I'm sure Monica Lewinksy got threats too.

Dave Robb, a journalist formerly with the Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety, sent me several threats in early June, 2003, to inflict grievous bodily harm against for things I've written about him and his pal Anita Busch.

Here's one excerpt: "I am going to come looking for you. And when I find you, I am going to put you in the hospital for a long time. I am going to beat you up so bad you will wish you were dead."

Roderick never mentioned this on his site. He made no indications that this bothered him. Nor should he have necessarily.

Unfortunately, death threats are routine. They are the inevitable consequence of threatening people, be it through writing critically or the filing of rape charges.

Roderick is placing this story at the top of his site because he wants to make a point about his views on journalistic ethics, not because he cares about death threats. If Kevin truly cared about death threats, he would've highlighted them on numerous other occasions because they happen every day.

Manager producer Jeff Wald phoned me 9/6/02 at 5:30 PM.

Jeff: "You think it's funny with Medavoy's letter and Anita Busch? You're playing with the wrong people. I want my whole thing down. I want nothing to do with you. I'm fat with a pot belly? Who the fuck do you think you are? I can make you not fucking breathe. Everyone else will be polite and send you a letter like Medavoy did. I'll stop you from breathing. Do you understand me? You can put that up there and quote it. I'm just telling you something right now. We will crush you with fucking lawyers. And that will just be the fun part. That will be the part of your day that you fucking enjoy when you run out of fucking money. Now take it the fuck done. You came in here under false pretenses. Take the whole fucking thing down. And you've got that shitty thing on Anita Busch up there. What the fuck is the matter with you? Do you want to win friends here and get any kind of cooperation? I'll put your name all over this fucking place. I'll send out emails to everyone in this fucking town and nobody will take your fucking calls when I'm finished. I'm just telling you something. You're fucking with the wrong guy here. You put up all the times I've been arrested. They were for assault pal."

Didn't actor Tim Robbins threaten a reporter from the Washington Post with bodily harm for merely doing an article about Susan Sarandon's mother and her political conservatism?

I wonder if Jeff Wald is similiar to Robbins, a person who fancies himself as a I-feel-your-pain member of the left, who loves free speech at least when it comes to the scatological or profane, or when it's gotten the "progressive" seal of approval? If so, he and others seem all too typical of the Hollywood community in general, which is known for its liberalism on one hand but also infamous for its obnoxious, snottily-wacky, back-stabbing behavior on the other.

"[t]he friend told Inside Edition."

Kevin talks about how careful he is with his sources. This tabloid show suddenly becomes his source when it is useful to him.

The main issue for Kevin in this story isn't journalistic ethics or legal procedure. He cries for the powerless vs the powerful. Because Kobe has more money, and man have more power over women in this patriarchal society, women deserve better than equal treatment.

It's fascinating how Kevin has linked to at least four stories from friends of the accuser making her look like the victim but Roderick has not linked to ONE STORY that questions the veracity of her charges, including the FIVE FRIENDS OF HERS who said she boasted at a party about her sex with Kobe.

I have no side in this Kobe vs girl case. I have no idea who is telling the truth. I think it is indisputably clear from Kevin's site that he will favor women over men, the powerless over the powerful, the poor over the rich, the "victim" over the alleged "oppressor."

I like you, Kevin, and you've got a terrific site that I'm checking 20 times a day at the moment, but this is not LAobserved. It's LAdistorted according to your ideological lens. And that's just fine by me. It makes things more fun. May you go from strength to strength, and I must buy you a drink when we next meet up as penitence for abusing you so on your own site.

You know, it's pretty commonly accepted that making death threats against people is bad, socially unacceptable and even a crime. So it's not like Kevin is going out on a thin limb by pointing death threats against Kobe's accuser out as a bad thing. All this woman has done is to seek recourse through a legal system that is one of the bedrock foundations of our civil society. Whether Kobe is innocent or guilty when all is said and done, none of us know right now. I fear the day when the rich and famous are totally beyond the reach of the law not because they have connections and powerful lawyers but because the mob that is the general public is so quick to devour their own.

"That's like being raped again," said Dr. Patricia Saunders, director of Graham Windham Manhattan Medical Center in New York City. "It's a sadistic thing to do."

~~~

Just curious, but what did she mean by "again"? This is an atrocious statement from someone who is supposed to be a health care professional. Did I miss the conviction, or something?

Kobe said he's innocent, with national media staring him in the face. He exhibited much of the same grace he did on the court. He didn't have to say "I'm innocent", but he did. And I believe him.

The accuser--what do we know about her? No hard facts, just hearsay. She wanted to be an American Idol (lacks self-esteem). She does some party drugs (self-destructive streak). She's bruised (a number of possibilities). This is all speculation, circumstantial evidence. But already so-called health-care professionals dishing out media-seeking quotes that find him guilty. That is truly a rush to judgment, and what the defense justifiably fears.

I guess Luke doesn't understand how blogs work. The latest post tends to be at, well, the top. It remains there until, well, the next one comes along. Every post that has ever been on L.A. Observed has been at the top at some point. Not sure how that fits into his conspiracy theories -- but I'm sure he'll find a way!

It's a much more powerful rhetorical device to say, "The post that Kevin Roderick chose to place on top..."

It all goes to prove my feminist newsmedia conspiracy theory - women increasingly wanting to be on top, rather than on their backs, which is what God and nature intended.

Actually, Luke, God prefers doggie-style.

Me too.

I think we could all liven up this dull site if we shared our favorite positions and experiences. Kevin, you go first.

I'm waiting to read what Amy Alkon likes.

Kobe should be put in prison simply for wearing a Muhhamad Ali shirt and quoting Martin Luther King. Trying to compare himself to those men is ridiculous, as they were men of character and integrity. Sorry folks, but the carefully fabricated Kobe personality is a lie, and the truth is, you don't know Kobe any better than you know his accuser. See how Kobe tries to imitate Mike (Jordan not Tyson)at his press conference? Its sickening the way he uses the phrase "the game of basketball" in exactly the same tone. You have to admit, Kobe is acting like a guilty man. He's acting just as synical as Mike Tyson did when he was accused of rape. (Tyson maintains his innocence too) So honestly I don't think there are any people who actually believe Kobe is innocent. The woman had no reason to accuse him of this unless he did it. Instead I believe there is a large number of people who are well aware that Kobe is almost certainly guilty but don't care. Who cares it's just rape right? Its almost socially acceptable considering the large and growing number of mentally disturbed men in this country who feel that it is their right to rape women. And after all, its not really rape because you know they really want it, even when they scream "NO! NO! NO!" This disturbing attitude is growing in our nation and is popular among the millions who want Kobe aquited before a trial takes place. innocent until proven guilty, yes. But let's face the facts, they would never have even considered puting charges against Kobe unless they were sure of his guilt, and once again the woman who accused him had no reason to do so, thereby opening herself to the scrutiny of the media, the hatred of Kobe's minions and--oh yes, the death threat unless he was guilty.