After the news of the Oregon college shooting last week, Americans were already on edge. To make things even worse, a post on the message board 4chan Friday warned Philadelphia-area schools of a “Beta Rebellion,” or an uprising caused by men who hate women for rejecting them. Salon reports that the post said the following:
“The first of our kind has struck fear into the hearts of America. His cries have been heard, even by the president. This is only the beginning. The Beta Rebellion has begun. Soon, more of our brothers will take up arms to become martyrs in this revolution. On October fifth, at 1pm Central time, a fellow robot will take up arms at a university near Philadelphia. His cries will be heard, his victims will cover in fear, and the strenth of the Union will decay a little more.”
The post caused a lot of fear in the Philadelphia area, specifically in college students. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms and the FBI warned colleges in the Philadelphia area of the threat out of caution, Cosmpolitan reported.
No violence was reported in that area on October 5, but a post on 4chan the night before the Oregon shooting links the two. That post said, “Don’t go to school tomorrow if you are in the northwest.”
The board of these two posts, /r9k/, is reportedly known for satire and ‘ironically’ glorifying mass shooters. If not anything else, the post scared a lot of people. Although colleges didn’t cancel classes, an “absence forgiveness” policy was put into place at some colleges since many students were afraid to go outside.
When will this stop?