The 'It's Just a Character' Excuse for Misogynistic Threats

In 2026, misogynistic incitement is still sheltered by 'it's just a character'

How much is a joke and how much is a threat when someone announces they will assault and kill several women? The question resurfaced in an anonymous community when a message detailed a supposed plan to trick, assault, and end the lives of three women. The response was unequivocal: incitement to feminicide, explicit misogynistic violence, and a death threat. The author of the message ended the discussion with an insult and a 'later'.

Is it dark humor or a crime?

What was posted was a crime, not a rhetorical device. The central argument holds that it is not dark humor or simple 'bardeo' (trash talk), because gender-based violence claims real lives. The exchange cites the statistic of an assault on women every eleven minutes. Faced with this data, the author's defense—a 'you're clearly in love' and little else—lasted less than a candy at a school gate.

The 'character' alibi

Therein lies the crux of it all: the idea that anonymity turns a threat into fiction. The reply was surgical: the character is who you are when no one sees you. Translated, hiding behind an alias does not lessen the gravity of what was written by even a gram. There was no counter-argument, only insult and flight.

The exchange then moved into more comfortable territory: the meaning of 'bardeo'—knife—food waste from a lamb leg raffle, and an argument about public services, from healthcare to social care. When the core issue becomes uncomfortable, someone always appears to change the subject.

That in 2026 we still have to explain in writing that threatening to kill is not a joke says enough. That the rest is spent clarifying whether 'bardeo' is a knife or a French brand, says the rest.