Last night twitter user Bill in San diego @BillntwrkBill got very vocal about the Ferguson protests on his account. Which is his right, as laid out by our Bill of Rights. However, it went over the line of what one might call civil commentary with calling the mother of a dead teenager a “whiny bitch” for grieving for her son, and a lot of other offensive rhetoric.
But here’s the interesting part. His bio lists
U. S . Navy Vet. Comic Con Regular Committee member. Married to wonderful woman. My tweets are my own. Go to CCI official website for factual information. Socal
and Comic-Con did indeed come up in several tweets. Bill (identified in this thread on his misdeeds as Bill Purcell) claimed he was not a committee member, but rather a volunteer. A volunteer who offered to give out passes for sexual favors?
And other sexual threats against comics industry members.
@ScottAllie @Comixace @RyanHigginsRyan SD Bill has a history of being abusive and then trying to walk it back (e.g. https://t.co/4A2JzoYHeu)
— Sterling Gates (@sterlinggates) November 25, 2014
Although Bill claimed he was a volunteer for the con, I’m told he was actually a committee member for a while. And he was not a volunteer last year.
While, once again, expressing civilized opinions of current events is perfectly acceptable even if you disagree, using an association with one of the world’s biggest entertainment events—one which has a laudable track record for inclusion and diversity—as a platform for abusive, name calling language and threatening rape is probably not acceptable.
I reached out to Comic-Con and was told “This matter has been brought to our attention and we may be able to comment later in the day.”
Maybe the lesson is Think before you tweet? The upside may be that Bill has exposed himself to be the tool he really is and does not deserve to be associated with CCI…or any other organization.
The Bill of Rights protects Americans from, among other things, Government censorship. It doesn’t protect antisocial morons from the social and civil consequences of vile, reprehensible comments and racist verbal attacks.
This Bill Purcell fellow sounds like a shell-shocked Vietnam vet. We’ve all known the type, the kind of fella who drops to the ground & covers his head if a car backfires around him, or wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, “NO! I CAN STILL SEE THEIR EYES!” He has an enormous cop man-crush, too. He kind of gives off Larry Craig vibes. I bet his wife would likely agree with me about all of this.
I guess at one point Bill Purcell called Anonymous “AIDS-infested faggots,” and actually dared them to come after him. Amazing! Will Bill Purcell and SDCC soon remember, remember the fifth of November? We’ll soon find out! They’re both probably comfortable being around folks in V For Vendetta masks. :)
Hey BDP, the Viet Nam Vet PTSD reference is really uncalled for. If you actually knew anyone who served in any of the wars I kinda doubt you’d make that sort of statement. Purcell’s comments come off more as white trash, plain and simple.
I too have been on the receiving end of harassment from Bill over a period of time and finally had to block him after the recent election. I notified CCI of the vile things said, but received no response. It makes me feel unsafe, as a professional, attending the convention.
Bets he still gets a pass this year?
Hey Shableski, maybe I made the PTSD reference BECAUSE I know Vietnam vets. I bet you’re real upset that Springsteen played “Fortunate Son” at that Veteran’s Day concert, aren’t you?
I hope he isn’t allowed to attend SDCC at all. I spoke out against his language on Twitter, and he verbally attacked me, even after I stopped engaging.
Doesn’t SDCC have a long history of associating with white supremacists? I seem to remember reading something about how Buzz Dixon was an advocate for the sterilization of Puerto Ricans and Southern blacks…
What a wiener! I think he should be banned from SDCC!!! I encourage everyone to deluge the SDCC Facebook page with demands that he be refused entry to the convention.
He needs to stop trying to make fetch, er, I mean “38 cents of Justice” happen.
Calvin, whenever I see your last name I think you’re the senator from Nevada