…and this is a 
Honestly, it's unusual for biologists to be the target of hate — except when they work on cute furry animals — so the news that religious kooks are slipping threatening notes into evolutionary biology labs isn't too specifically worrying.
University of Colorado police are investigating a series of threatening messages and documents e-mailed to and slipped under the door of evolutionary biology labs on the Boulder campus.
The messages included the name of a religious-themed group and addressed the debate between evolution and creationism, CU police Cmdr. Brad Wiesley said. Wiesley would not identify the group named because police are still investigating.
"There were no overt threats to anybody specifically by name," Wiesley said. "It basically said anybody who doesn't believe in our religious belief is wrong and should be taken care of."
The first threat was e-mailed to the labs - part of CU's ecology and evolutionary biology department housed in the Ramaley Biology building - on Friday. Wiesley said Monday that morning staff members found envelopes with the threatening documents slipped under the lab doors.
There's no cause for panic, for sure, and it's just something to keep an eye on. It's probably just a deranged individual, but if it's the start of a more actively hostile trend, that's something else.
Comments
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | July 10, 2007 1:15 PM
Biologists: Please contact your nearest Planned Parenthood office for well-tested advice on preparing for hyperchristian attacks.
(First things first: do not open or touch envelopes which appear to contain any powdery material...)
Welcome to the real culture wars!
Posted by: Blake Stacey, OM | July 10, 2007 1:21 PM
Late in the autumn of 2001, a physics professor of mine said that one of the reasons he preferred chalkboards to whiteboards was that on slow days, one could sweep up the dust in the chalk tray, put it in an envelope and mail it to somebody.
Posted by: Robert | July 10, 2007 1:32 PM
Once again, my state is an embarassment to me. Wonderful.
Posted by: Jared | July 10, 2007 1:38 PM
Sheesh, between this and the news that Al-Qaeda has released a film threatening Britain over the Rushdie knighthood, I'm once again beginning to grow tired of apologists of all stripes pretending that religion has nothing to do with all of the full-tilt crazy in the world... ::sigh::
Posted by: Rey Fox | July 10, 2007 1:40 PM
I heard a story recently about churches and other religious organizations finding similar anonymous threatening notes from militant atheists.
Wait. No I didn't.
Posted by: Altabin | July 10, 2007 1:46 PM
This sounds to me like a rather lame prank by a student. Or, since it's summer, by a bored grad student. I'll put money on the author being an agnostic Religious Studies ABD.
I'm prepared to forfeit* one dembski (= a bottle of scotch) and one hovind (= $250,000) to anyone who can persuade me otherwise.
*Note: some conditions may apply.
Posted by: Thomas | July 10, 2007 1:53 PM
Well, that is something else. In the city I am working for the summer no less. They may have some better scenery here, but I'm still glad to call Minnesota my home.
Posted by: VWXYNot? | July 10, 2007 1:54 PM
Sadly this kind of thing was very common when I did my PhD in the UK - animal rights extremists were a constant threat. We had the bomb squad out a few times and campus security was extremely tight. They even targeted (and by that I mean bombed) thrift stores run by charities that fund medical research.
Posted by: Dr. evil | July 10, 2007 2:07 PM
VWXYNot? - There is a simple solution to your problem: eliminate all animals, and you eliminate the animal rights extremists. Now. Please pay me $1.0 million dollars. I mean, please pay me $100 million dollars.
Posted by: Dan | July 10, 2007 2:08 PM
Will they use the thumb-screws like the good ol' days of the Inquisition?
Posted by: mark | July 10, 2007 2:15 PM
It's probably just a deranged individual... like those who pass out tracts anywhere else.
Posted by: John Phillips | July 10, 2007 2:17 PM
Altabin: Of course you must be right, it could never be a believer could it as they have never ever threatened non believers before have they, oh wait...
Posted by: Brian X | July 10, 2007 2:28 PM
I don't think it's an isolated incident, and in fact I don't think it's even the beginning of a trend. Starting with little incidents like Ruby Ridge, Waco, and OK City, following on with people like John Salvi and Eric Rudolph, I think we're seeing the disorganized start of a wave of Christian terrorism in this country. In other words, the trend has already started, and the more the Elmer Gantrys of this country continue to whip the masses into a paranoid frenzy the worse it's going to get.
The fact is that the trend across the western world is away from religiosity. As a result, the conservative religious authorities of the world (viz. Pope Benedict's recent issue of a statement saying that Orthodox Christianity is flawed and Protestants don't even count as real religions, essentially scuttling all the ecumenical work that JP2 engaged in during his term) are fighting back louder and harder as their numbers shrink. They will not go without a fight, and over the next 50 years I predict a lot of innocent lives will be lost in this country in the name of evangelism. (One can only hope for the same level of religious hangover that has led to the wilting of faith in Europe.)
Posted by: Brian W. | July 10, 2007 2:30 PM
I wonder why it's just biologists though. Isn't astrology just as damaging to their magical thinking? Or geology, or...well pretty much all of the sciences?
Posted by: forsen | July 10, 2007 2:31 PM
No one expects the Evangelical Inquisition!
Posted by: fardels bear | July 10, 2007 2:45 PM
Oh, heck we at CU should be used to this stuff. Once a year the National Vanguard pastes neo-Nazi propaganda around campus.
And once a week, the local papers attack the university for Ward Churchill, or a losing football team or somesuch thing. Just today, Vince Carroll, the editor of the Rocky Mountain News had a editorial attacking CU for using big words that he doesn't understand. Words like "paradigm" and epistemology."
Posted by: Wrought | July 10, 2007 2:50 PM
Aarrrrrgh. Make the nasty religionists go away!
There's no place like home. There's no place like home.
Posted by: raven | July 10, 2007 2:52 PM
Does misery like company? Christian terrorists have been active in the USA since forever. The more recent targets have been nonwhites from the christian identity movement (neonazis) and MDs and other health care workers. More than a few of the latter have been murdered.
At least evolution and related subjects are a target rich environment. From talkorigins, roughly 1/2 million people work in biology, medicine, geology, paleontology and astronomy.
As PZ said, probably nothing to worry about. Christian cultists deranged enough to be murderous are usually deranged enough to not be able to plan and carry out a competent assasination or suicide car bombing or whatever. Ummmm, well at least I hope so.
PS These christian cultists are sick and evil and their religion is fake and nothing to do with real christianity.
Posted by: Brian X | July 10, 2007 2:54 PM
Wrought:
But only the nasty ones. While a lot of people around here disagree with the nice ones, they're still productive members of society and do a lot of good (I do a lot of TV production work for one of them). It's the crazy bigots, thugs, and conspiracy theorists that we can do without. Actually, IIRC Coturnix was saying something on Blog Around The Clock not too long ago that most of the people involved in the civil war that broke up Yugoslavia were half-educated hicks, as have been the bulk of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Ignorant self-righteousness is a very dangerous thing indeed, but most religionists aren't so ignorant or self-righteous.
Posted by: Brownian | July 10, 2007 2:55 PM
What's real christianity?
Posted by: Altabin | July 10, 2007 3:01 PM
John Phillips (#12):
But this is a bit comic-bookish: "... anybody who doesn't believe in our religious belief is wrong and should be taken care of." It's all a bit "all your bases are belong to us," isn't it?
Not that being comically evil is beyond today's Christianists. It's certainly not impossible that someone wrote this nonsense with a straight face. But I just don't think everyone should leap to the conclusion that evolutionary biologists are being targeted in the same way as abortion providers, who really are at risk. No one is served by our playing the victimization or harassment card. Best just to laugh at this crap until facts become clearer. (On the other hand, if it does turn out to have been a serious threat, with a real chance of being carried out, then scream blue bloody murder, and hope the media notice).
Posted by: The RIdger | July 10, 2007 3:02 PM
"Real Christianity" is whatever the speaker deems it to be.
Which is why it's so difficult to argue with people over whether it's "Christian" to do X. If X-doers think of themselves as Christian, then why yes it is. If X-haters think of themselves as Christian, then of course it's not. And if they both think of themselves as Christians, they'll argue about it - but the moderates want to hide the argument away.
Posted by: Phil Plait | July 10, 2007 3:03 PM
It's funny-- Boulder is extremely liberal, but it is surrounded by extremely conservative factions. Longmount, just a stone's throw away (let ye who is without sin...) is where they had a 6th grade science teacher who was a creationist.
Amazing.
Posted by: Brian X | July 10, 2007 3:05 PM
raven:
All that is true, but the ones with the guns don't have their Cobra Commander yet. Osama bin Laden has served that function for Muslim extremists, even more so since 9/11, but so far the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" (i.e. Richard Mellon Scaife, the neocons, and numerous loosely affiliated groups) has generally done its dirty deeds through press and political channels. The vast majority of the "VRWC" are likely generally decent if overzealous people who happen to think a somewhat authoritarian and decidely conservative viewpoint is in fact best for the country. To the best of my knowledge, then, I'm not talking about them.
Somewhere out there is a guy with a lot of money and some decided anti-government viewpoint. He dreams of having his own personal army for Christ, and he may in fact get it if he starts spreading his money around. If he doesn't get it now, someone will later -- populism is an easily-exploited philosophy. Even if the hypothetical person I'm talking about doesn't exist, the existence of the militia movements of the 1990s is enough to convince me that if he did exist, he'd find plenty of recruits.
Posted by: bPer | July 10, 2007 3:06 PM
Brian W. @#14:
I think you meant to say astronomy. At least I hope so.
I am an amateur astronomer, and one of my closest friends is always calling me an astrologer to try to get my goat. He's done it so many times he has inadvertently used the wrong word when he wasn't teasing. You wouldn't be a tease, would you?
Posted by: Brian X | July 10, 2007 3:06 PM
raven:
All that is true, but the ones with the guns don't have their Cobra Commander yet. Osama bin Laden has served that function for Muslim extremists, even more so since 9/11, but so far the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" (i.e. Richard Mellon Scaife, the neocons, and numerous loosely affiliated groups) has generally done its dirty deeds through press and political channels. The vast majority of the "VRWC" are likely generally decent if overzealous people who happen to think a somewhat authoritarian and decidely conservative viewpoint is in fact best for the country. To the best of my knowledge, then, I'm not talking about them.
Somewhere out there is a guy with a lot of money and some decided anti-government viewpoint. He dreams of having his own personal army for Christ, and he may in fact get it if he starts spreading his money around. If he doesn't get it now, someone will later -- populism is an easily-exploited philosophy. Even if the hypothetical person I'm talking about doesn't exist, the existence of the militia movements of the 1990s is enough to convince me that if he did exist, he'd find plenty of recruits.
Posted by: llewelly | July 10, 2007 3:16 PM
Brian W:
(Emphasis mine)
Astrology?? Did you intend to imply astrology was one of the sciences?
Posted by: David Marjanović | July 10, 2007 3:20 PM
No, because it isn't a direct quote. Here goes:
And besides, it's ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US.
Posted by: gex | July 10, 2007 3:51 PM
If only we could do our fighting with comfy chairs!
Posted by: evil | July 10, 2007 4:22 PM
Evolutionary biologists are truly evil in so many ways, and deserve whatever they get. Many of them are drunks too. Cosmologists however, are the most supremely evil of all known scientist species.
Posted by: yoshi | July 10, 2007 5:24 PM
Boulder produces a number of its own right wing nuts to go along with the left wing nuts. I was living in Boulder when Bill McCarthy (than couch of UC football team) had the first Promise Keepers conventions on the UC campus. Nothing like having fully grown men come up to you and try to "witness" to you. To this day when I run into a promise keeper I tell them this experience was the cause of my "gay lifestyle".
Posted by: Lepht | July 10, 2007 5:26 PM
Altabin: it's "all your base". "all your *base* are belong to us". see, this is how you can tell the truly leet =]
(oh dear.) still, i'll agree - either these organisations are more childish than i'd thought, meaning that they're definitely worth ignoring, or they're smart and this is a diversionary tactic to hide the Anthrax they're actually smuggling into the air vents.
Lepht
Posted by: The Countess | July 10, 2007 6:13 PM
It sounds like one person to me. That's especially true if he says American is "loosing" its Christian values. And other misspellings.
Still, I'd be wary, just to be on the safe side. I don't think it's an accident that evolutionary biologists are under siege.
Posted by: another | July 10, 2007 6:28 PM
In #24, Brian X wrote:
This goal has already been achieved. It's called Blackwater:
From a June 3rd piece by Chris Hedges.
Posted by: Alex | July 10, 2007 6:34 PM
Um... isn't is precisely that kind of essentialist, dichotomous thinking that ultimately gives rise to religious terrorism?
Posted by: Alex | July 10, 2007 6:37 PM
Damn, I went to all the trouble of adding fancy HTML styling, yet misspelled 'IT'.
Posted by: Sherry Konkus | July 10, 2007 7:34 PM
And they say evolution is the cause of violence in the world...sheesh!
Posted by: Rick T | July 10, 2007 7:50 PM
"PS These christian cultists are sick and evil and their religion is fake and nothing to do with real christianity."
A real Christian wouldn't vote Republican either due to dissonant agendas.
For example, blessed are the poor in spirit, versus tax breaks and record profits for the rich.
Blessed are the peace makers, versus Pax Americana and the neocon military agenda.
I could go on, but a real Christian will use any scripture to justify a course of action or behavior. Christianity is like alcohol in that it magnifies who you really are inside. You could be an angry drunk or a judgemental Christian. You could be a overly friendly drunk or a "do good works" Christian.
Don't make the mistake of judging what a "real" Christian would do. I would like society to hold all Christians, and also Muslims, responsible for the despicable actions and words of the more extreme elements of their own. I sometimes wonder if the moderates are just enablers of the extremists, getting back to the alcohol metaphor.
The truth is, religion has been responsible for an overly disproportionate amount of violence in the world. Those who are religious need to own up to the fact that they need to take responsibility to prevent this violent, intolerant crap. I'm in agreement with Sam Harris on this subject.
Posted by: JJR | July 10, 2007 8:33 PM
I'm listening to _THE GOD DELUSION_ on Audiobook, and in one section Dawkins quotes from some hate mail received by a colleague...something to the effect of:
"I hope you burn in hell, my rifle is loaded"
Mine, too, a**hole, I muttered aloud.
Ah, Texas, my Texas...Peace symbol on my bumper and an SKS in my trunk.
Posted by: blf | July 10, 2007 9:01 PM
Slightly off-topic since no biologists are (directly) involved, but not completely since this edict was definitely issued by a religious extremist, the catholics have have just (re-)declared open warfare on the protestants, Dismay and anger as Pope declares Protestants cannot have churches (emphasis added):
I wonder which cult is going to be the first to put the others to the torch this time around?
Kettle and black also come to mind here.
Posted by: raven | July 10, 2007 10:31 PM
Ah yes, just what we need. Another round of the Catholic-Protestant wars. The ones that started 400 years ago and tailed off a whole 6 years ago in Northern Ireland. Maybe we can have the Sunnis and Shiites give some pointers. They are not misguided homicidal fanatics. Just early adopters. LOL
PS. As a product of gasp, horrors, mixed marriage, I feel entitled to an opinion. The Pope should shut the f*ck up.
Posted by: Jon H | July 10, 2007 11:13 PM
"He dreams of having his own personal army for Christ, and he may in fact get it if he starts spreading his money around."
Luckily, even if they have money, the aspiring leaders usually fall when their fondness for penis is exposed, or their Jewish/liberal/race mixing past comes out.
Posted by: Jon H | July 10, 2007 11:16 PM
The thing that suggests to me that it's a hoax or frame job is that the religious group is identified.
If that's something like a church name, then it seems unlikely to me that someone would put that in genuine a threatening letter.
If it's something kooky and semi-anonymous like 'The Noachian Enforcers' then it could be genuine.
Posted by: Altabin | July 10, 2007 11:27 PM
Noachian enforcers. Heh. I like it. We could form a rival paramilitary called the "Shining Sandwalk," or something.Posted by: Brian X | July 11, 2007 12:44 AM
raven:
This Pope is going to turn out to be the downfall of the Catholic Church in Europe, methinks. Fortunately, he's still got the Americas and much of Africa to expand into...
Seriously, I heard this today and I told my mother (who has never really warmed to my agnosticism/atheism) that I was glad I'd left. She said that it would be better for me to be sad; I said, well, maybe if I was still inclined towards religion in general.
Posted by: Athrey | July 11, 2007 1:31 AM
Like some famous physicist once said, " good people do good things, evil people do evil things, but for good people to do evil things, it takes religion". Of course I am rephrasing from Dawkins here.
Posted by: RamblinDude | July 11, 2007 6:00 AM
another: Interesting and disturbing article about Blackwater.
Of course, the next step will be to call in Blackwater to protect biologists from 'Army for Christ' fanatics.
Posted by: Peter Ashby | July 11, 2007 6:06 AM
As someone who was advised, along with everyone else, by our research institute (UK) to check under our cars in the morning (I did), I wouldn't be too sanguine about the possibilities this might suggest. It is no fun on a cold winter morning get down on hands and knees to peer under your car before taking the kids to school. After I left, the animal rights loonies took to picketing the exit gate on a daily basis (the site was surrounded by a security fence), frequently blocking it and requiring the police to be called. They were also seen to note car license plate numbers... Eventually the institute ran a shuttle bus to and from bus and train stations to allow people to more easily leave their cars at home.
As you got told in your introduction course, the animal liberation movement has committed more individual acts of terrorism on the British mainland than the IRA. They just use smaller bombs. You do NOT want to live like this.
Posted by: David Marjanović | July 11, 2007 9:14 AM
LOL!
He's certainly trying.
:-o
Posted by: bug_girl | July 11, 2007 9:22 AM
This doesn't surprise me at all.
http://www.publiceye.org/ifas/fw/9611/evolution.html
http://blogs.kansas.com/weblog/2006/09/death_threats_o.html
http://lippard.blogspot.com/2007/05/kearny-board-of-education-member-hasnt.html
I could go on....
Someone already posted the link to the Christian Identity groups. They are scary, scary dudes, and have killed before.
Posted by: Ick of the East | July 11, 2007 10:15 AM
Forget the bombs. You had me at "cold winter mornings".
I hope nobody is seriously worried about Blackwater becoming some major force threatening the country.
These fruitcakes always make the same mistake; they actually believe that their angry mountain god is not only real, but will aid them in their quest.
Factoring mythical beings into your nefarious plans pretty much guarantees you a trip to prison when he fails to show up for the party.
Posted by: Peter Ashby | July 11, 2007 11:05 AM
"Factoring mythical beings into your nefarious plans pretty much guarantees you a trip to prison when he fails to show up for the party."
That assumes that the forces of law and order are on the side of secularism, or at least not against atheism. Are you absolutely sure of that? everywhere? Are the Feds big enough? I sincerely hope so.
Posted by: Graculus | July 11, 2007 12:00 PM
I hope nobody is seriously worried about Blackwater becoming some major force threatening the country.
Well, they are currently busy terrorizing Iraqis, but they also had some practice on Americans during the Katrina debacle.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | July 11, 2007 1:39 PM
Well as to be expected, I now have a troll at my place claiming
and then
yawn.
Posted by: Steve_C | July 11, 2007 1:44 PM
They do like their conspiracy theories don't they.
Why doesn't he just claim it's satan himself?
Posted by: Keith Douglas | July 11, 2007 1:49 PM
Brian W: Because it is blatantly obvious that there is a conflict, I suspect. That and I also think people are even more ignorant about the state of research in cognitive neuroscience than they are about evolution.
Brian X: There (somewhat debatably) already is someone with a bucket of money and a "private army for Christ" - the Blackwell security guy, whose name escapes me. Democracy Now! has done a few segments about it.