A Truly Despicable Attempt at Bullying and Censorship

Frank Zafiro shared the below with the SMFS list earlier today as well as on his social media accounts. I asked Frank for permission to share what he wrote here and he granted his permission. I asked because I am very tired of garbage keyboard warriors such as the folks who sent him the messages detailed below and exposing such cretins benefits all. 

 

(Friends: I've recently had a negative experience involving threats to be blackballed. I'm sharing this experience throughout the crime writing community because that's how you stand up to bullies).

Censorship sucks. Bullying sucks.

I will have neither.

On 10/30, my Wrong Place, Write Crime (Ep #179) interview of Alec Cizak dropped. Later that day, I received an email that was, I’m sure, meant to be intimidating. It came from finneganbrogue44@gmail.com and read:

“Ye got hell of a nerve ta feature a wank named Cizak. Not on yer goddam life dinna ken the man. Shameful it is sucking his doozy cock like that laddie. Ye in yers a be blackballed soon enuf comin up wi ta wank's book - plenty ye peers see ta it.   Were a young laddie or lass ta ask me should they pub ye or ta dam Down & Out I'd tell em bout ye brown nosin a wank long side Beau's story an say not on yer goddam life. Shameful the lot ye are.”

Ignoring the pidgin brogue for a second, this is clearly a threat. (It’s an ignorant one, too, threatening to make sure no one publishes me. As an indie author, there’s not a lot of teeth there). Confused, I reached out to Alec for any insight. He explained that this form of harassment surrounding him has been happening for a while now.

This is wrong. Threatening me for interviewing a crime fiction author – something I’ve done over 178 previous episodes, talking to authors of various backgrounds—is wrong. It’s also anonymous, which is cowardly.

I chose to give the email the attention it deserved – I ignored it. I’d already posted Ep #178 to social media and the RSS feed had done its job to the platforms, so that was that. WPWC is pretty low key. I don’t run ads or re-post constantly. The episode was finished and I was already preparing for my next episode with Gabriel Valjan.

Then, today, I got another email, this one from finneganbrogue@yahoo.com (note a different addy):

“Tá béal ciúin séimh. Feicim nach bhfuil tú ag cur chun cinn an fhóid sin Cizak. Buachaill maith atá tú. B'fhéidir go gcoinneoidh tú do ghairm bheatha scríbhneoireachta agus nach ndéanfaimid an liathróid dhubh ort tar éis an tsaoil. Beidh mé ag faire ort Ladie.”

According to the gmail translation, it says:

“There is a quiet mouth. I see you are not promoting that Cizak. You are a good boy. Maybe you'll keep your writing career and we won't blackball you after all. I will be watching you Ladie.”

Seriously? If the idiot had left me alone after the first weird email, I’d have done the same. But they mistook my silence for being bullied and that got my ire up. They don’t get to have that satisfaction. Moreover, if I say nothing, that only reinforces their delusion and encourages the behavior. Who do they try to bully and censor next?

This is truly astonishing behavior. Forget whether or not you like Alec Cizak. You don’t get to tell me or anyone else who to interview for a podcast. If you don’t like the guest, here’s an idea: don’t listen to episode! Or here’s another thought: if you feel strongly enough about the guest to try to bully and censor the host, how about engage in open discussion about why. You know, stand behind your thoughts, words, and ideas, in public, instead of trying to be some kind of crime fiction gangster.

I don’t know who “Finnegan” is. I don’t know why s/he doesn’t like Alec. Maybe it’s an excellent reason. Maybe it’s a ridiculous reason. The reason I don’t know is that, instead of speaking publicly (or even directly to me in a reasonable manner), s/he has chosen to threaten from the shadows.

I have two final things to say about this.

The first is directly to Finnegan, whoever he/she/they may be:  go to hell. 

I didn’t change a single action in my life because of your threats, and I won’t. You want to “blackball” me with your little private mafia, give it your best go. I’ve been in the crime fiction writing community since 2004. That’s a long history of people knowing me and who I am as a person. I sincerely doubt many, if any, of them would listen to the drivel you spew, but go for it. Anyone who would listen didn’t know me anyway or isn’t someone I’d want in my life. So have at it.

The second is for the rest of us. We live in a world that, ideally, embraces the concept of free expression. And we are all part of a community that has shown to be, throughout my career, a supportive one. That’s the very reason I launched the podcast and did all those interviews—to support other authors and their work.

I know we are going to disagree on various topics—that is human nature. But I always thought we were all grown-ups, who could disagree openly and discuss it with reasoned, or even heated, debate. Actually, I still think this is the case. Finnegan, whether it is one misguided troll, or a pseudonym for some kind of cowardly cabal, doesn’t represent the crime fiction writing community I know.

That’s why I’ve shared this experience. Because it’s an anomaly. Because sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Because censorship sucks, and so does bullying.

And, as I said, I will have neither.

 (Receipts available on my blog entry or on social media -- didn't want to clog up email boxes with files)

 

Frank Zafiro ©2023