UA adjunct lecturer resigned after "sick joke" blog comment (Lib threatens life of toddler)

Arizona Daily Star ^ | 7/10/06 | Kim Smith

[LdSentinal]

An adjunct psychology lecturer at the University of Arizona resigned Saturday after writing to a conservative blogger she wouldn't care if his 2-year-old son was killed the way JonBenet Ramsey was.

Deborah Frisch's comments on the Web site www.proteinwisdom.com created such a furor she has been lambasted on countless conservative Web sites. Her boss at the University of Arizona also received irate e-mails calling for her termination, she said.

Alfred Kaszniak, head of the psychology department, said he has received close to 300 emails about the incident. "The majority were very angry and many of them were using similar kinds of language that she is alleged to have used, accusing myself and the university of all sorts of things," he said.

Frisch, 44, said she quit her $32,861-a-year part time position not only because she fears for her safety, but because she regrets the UA ended up in the middle of what was intended to be a "sick joke."

She had hoped by quitting her job, supporters of blogger Jeff Goldstein would stop their online attacks. If anything, she said, they've increased.

"These people think I should be incarcerated, that I'm mentally ill or that I should be shot," Frisch said during a telephone interview from Eugene, Ore., where she is living now. "This whole thing has been crazy to me. People have spent their whole weekend on this."

Frisch, who has a doctorate in psychology, has been using the Internet to post her political views since the 2004 presidential election. Not only does she have her own Web site, www.debfrisch.com, but she also loves to "troll."

"Trolling is a type of Internet behavior where you post inflammatory comments on blogs when you know they disagree with the blogger and their minions," Frisch said.

On July 4, Frisch found herself on Goldstein's blog, or on-line journal. Soon, she was trading barbs with Goldstein and others of his political bent. At first, Frisch said she was enjoying herself.

"I like to play with fire. I'm a left-wing Rush Limbaugh. I'm a writer and I like to fight with words. I'm a word warrior."

Suddenly though, Frisch said, the conversation degenerated into disparaging personal remarks, many of a sexual nature.

She said she asked Goldstein to tell the others to desist, but was ignored. Eventually, she grew frustrated, she said.

"I wrote something that would make him as queasy as they were making me feel," Frisch said.

According to Goldstein's blog, Frisch wrote "You live in Colorado, I see. Hope no one JonBenets your baby" and "I reiterate: If some nutcase kidnapped your child tomorrow and did to (him) what was done to your fellow Coloradan, JonBenet Ramsey, I wouldn't give a damn."

Six-year-old JonBenet was strangled to death in her Boulder City, Colo., home in December 1996. Her killer has never been caught.

Kaszniak said he was not aware of Frisch's blog or her trolling behavior before the incident. Had she not resigned, he said an investigation of her actions would have been necessary.

The UA's Handbook for Appointed Personnel includes "an obligation to respect the dignity of others, to acknowledge their right to express differing opinions, and to foster and defend intellectual honesty, freedom of inquiry and instruction, and free expression on and off the campus,"

Goldstein, in a telephone interview from his home in Colorado, also says Frisch suggested he kiss his son inappropriately and made disparaging remarks about his wife -- something Frisch emphatically denies. She says someone must have used her name and Web address to impersonate her; Goldstein said he traced the remarks back to Frisch.

"I should have just left the blog. It was a horrible, terrible thing to say and I hope his son never finds out about it," Frisch said.

University of Arizona spokesman Johnny Cruz Monday confirmed Frisch's resignation.

Goldstein, a stay-at-home dad, freelance writer and former English professor, said he has grown used to personal attacks since he began blogging following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"Debbie is unusual in that she used her actual identity," Goldstein said. "Usually I get people who hide behind anonymous names and fake e-mail addresses." Goldstein said he never felt threatened by Frisch.

He's not sure if his blog has seen an increase in the number of visitors, but he says attackers have managed to bring it down three times within the last week.

Frisch said the number of visits to her Web site increased from 25 hits a day to 30,000 in the past week. What saddens Goldstein is, according to him, an ever-growing number of people are coming out in support of Frisch.

"I'm seeing more and more people from the left embracing her as a heroine," Goldstein said. "Some of the liberal bloggers are apologizing on her behalf, but others sites are trying to justify what she said."

Frisch's comments were likely a calculated move to get banned from his Web site, Goldstein said. "Being banned is a badge of honor for hard leftwing commentators," Goldstein said. "That way they can say 'They censored me. They can't handle the truth.' " Attacking someone's beliefs is one thing; attacking someone's family is another, Goldstein said.

"I think this speaks to Debbie's character. She's someone who wants to be the victim, the martyr. She wants to be embraced by a political party," Goldstein said.

Goldstein denied urging his supporters to contact the UA. He said he simply posted her comments and the address of her Web site.

Kaszniak described the affair as "simply very sad. The comments that she is alleged to have made are highly in appropriate. I don't think that kind of language is in anybody's interest, regardless of the nature of the political debate. It's certainly not the thing the University of Arizona or my department supports in any way."

Now that she won't be teaching, Frisch said she plans to finish writing a book on decision-making. While she still hopes to fill the need for "edgy lefties," Frisch said the entire debacle has taught her where to draw the line.

She'll continue to write inflammatory comments, but she'll stay away from personal attacks.

"I don't want to get anywhere near that line again," Frisch said. "It's been scary, overwhelming and exhausting."

Star reporter Eric Swedlund contributed to this story. Contact reporter Kim Smith at kimsmith@azstarnet.com or 573-4241.

[kcvl]

Cecile McKee, left, a UA faculty member, has started looking for work where she can get benefits for partner Deborah Frisch.

[ItsForTheChildren]

I'm a left-wing Rush Limbaugh.

She has a $290 million multi-year contract and a 3-hour-a-day radio show heard on hundreds of stations across the land? Gee, how come I've never heard of her?

[scan58]

"Trolling is a type of Internet behavior where you post inflammatory comments on blogs when you know they disagree with the blogger and their minions," Frisch said.

I wonder if she's been booted off FR? Frisch? Is that you?

[kcvl]

Frisch’s apology was immediately followed by a walking back of that apology, and has now culminated in a desire to see rightwingers heads cracked open with baseball bats, and suggestions that I doctored her comments.


http://tinyurl.com/l2ncv

[DAC22]

Didn't Dean Wormer say "Ugly, Left Wing and a Lesbian is no way to go through life" or something to that effect?

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

More proof that when your sexual orientation goes upside down, everything else follows suite. Just ask that lesbo academic from Santa Cruz who planted her head into a San Franciso sidewalk from tewnty stories up a few weeks back.

[martinidon]

wow, who would have thought a lesbian liberal professor....who is the poor child in the picture? I even feel sorry for the dogs in the picture!

[kcvl]

Dr. Debbie Frisch, adjunct instructor of psychology at University of Arizona (formerly of the U or Oregon)...



I’d like to hear more about your “tyke” by the way. Girl? Boy? Toddler? Teen? Are you still married to the woman you ephed to give birth to the tyke?

Tell all, bro!

And

[...] as I said elsewhere, if I woke up tomorrow and learned that someone else had shot you and your “tyke” it wouldn’t slow me down one iota. You aren’t “human” to me.

[...]

So if you could just tell me the AGE and SEX of your “tyke,” I’d be stoked!

Thanx!

And

Ooh. Two year old boy. Sounds hot. You live in Colorado, I see. Hope no one Jon-Benets your baby.

Are you still married to the woman you humped to produce the toddler?

And

I reiterate: If some nutcase kidnapped your child tomorrow and did to her what was done to your fellow Coloradan, Jon-Benet Ramsey, I wouldn’t give a damn.

And

Give your pathetic progeny (I sure hope that mofo got good genes from his mama!) a big fat tongue-filled kiss from me! LOTS AND LOTS OF SALIVA from Auntie MOONBAT, if you don’t mind!

Somehow, Jeffy boy, I think you get off on the possibility of Frenching your pathetic progeny, even if it is a boy. You seem like a VERY, VERY sick mofo to me, bro.

And

You know, Jeff, I just don’t get it. You say, and I believe you, that a human female chose to procreate with you and you have produced a 2 year old progeny.

But you live in Colorado and I really can’t believe there are women desperate and/or stupid enough to procreate with the likes of you.

What am I missing, dude?

So the poor bitch is dirt poor and that’s why she pretended you were worthy of procreating with?

And

Just my two cents: The pathetic jeffy boy goldstein plays the jew card 24/7. Didn’t you notice?

THIS IS A CESSPOOL!!! GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!!!!

JEFF!!! DRINK THE KOOLAID AND LET YOUR WIFE RAISE THE little Goldstein Junior!

And

I am SHAKING, I tell you, SHAKING!!! in my boots at the prosect at an FBI and/or state police trooper tromping down my driveway to see if I was a threat to the progeny of the pissant name of Jeff “pissant” Goldstein of the pathetic, neutered, sissified, state of Colorado. I don’t give a rat’s ass whether the pissant’s progeny live or die, but I have no intention of snuffing the mofo’s chillen myself.

And

Still waiting for some words of wisdom (NOT!) from you, Jeffy boy!

Your little boot-lickers have had their say. What say you, king dingbat?!

Wanna escalate this game. Fine wit me.

Bring it on, hombre.

Bring it on.



http://proteinwisdom.com/index.php?/weblog/entry/20640/#180817

[james500]

Kaszniak described the affair as "simply very sad.
The comments that she is alleged to have made are highly inappropriate. I don't think that kind of language is in anybody's interest, regardless of the nature of the political debate. It's certainly not the thing the University of Arizona or my department supports in any way."

[Frank_2001]

Looks like a "Heather Has Two Mommies" thing as well... Dr. Deb looks a bit like Cindy Sheehan in that photo... Boy those lezzies have HORRIBLE taste in clothing!

[ChocChipCookie]

Now, if true, why doesn't that surprise me. Lesbians, and homosexuals in general, are among the angriest people on the planet. One counselor we know who works primarily with gay people said, half-jokingly, "It's the lesbians who scare me." LOL

[kcvl]

See post #28 for the "comments that she is alleged to have made".


I don't think there is any "alleging" anything, she made them.

[kcvl]

More from this Deb lunatic...


February 06, 2005
prof@ucla.law

A fellow named Stephen Bainbridge has his panties in a knot because I falsely described him as having supported Summers and criticized Churchill when in FACT, “professor Bainbridge” never even DISCUSSED the Summers fiasco.

He devoted a whole little blog entry to chiding me for my faux pas.

Dear Professor,

I am sorry for mistakenly accusing you of dissing Churchill but defending Summers. All you rightwing bloggers look alike to me.

Now that we’re on each other’s radar, a few observations about your blog.

1.Don’t you think it’s kind of tacky to beg for money on your blog when you’re an overpaid UCLA professor and a foodie and wine connoisseur? As a Catholic, don’t you feel a little bit of shame and guilt groveling for cash while discussing the relative merits of Bordeaux and Pinot Noir?

2. I checked out your control freak blog (no comments allowed!) and found this gem:

To insist that the overwhelming majority of this country stifle its religious impulses in public so that minorities can feel "comfortable" not only understandably enrages the majority but commits two sins. The first is profound ungenerosity toward a majority of fellow citizens who have shown such generosity of spirit toward minority religions.

Wow. Christians have been generous to those of us who don’t believe there’s a guy in the sky who had a son named Hey Seuss by a virgin named Mary who died for MY sins. I must have missed it.

Professor, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but there is no guy who lives in the sky. Jesus was just a person. He wasn’t the “son of god.” He didn’t die for my sins or yours. I know it’s scary, but seeing as you’re a law professor at UCLA, it would be nice if you joined the “reality-based community.”


http://debfrisch.com/archives/000087.html

[Musket]

Gosh. Feel the love.

[JustaCowgirl]

Alfred Kaszniak, head of the psychology department, said he has received close to 300 emails about the incident. "The majority were very angry and many of them were using similar kinds of language that she is alleged to have used, accusing myself and the university of all sorts of things," he said.

Language she was ALLEGED to have used? Have you looked at her sickening posts at all, Alfred? H*ll yes, she used it.

Oh and by the way - the language in those e-mails to you is not the core problem, Alfred. Quit trying to play the victim.

Here's a hint about why your e-mail messages included some that were very angry, you spineless wimp. The real people out here are getting sick and tired of wacko Marxist enclaves masquerading as university departments.

[kcvl]

More 'love'...


Hey bro - I am totally getting the vibe from you that we are not on the same page. You think I am the scum of the earth and the feeling is more than mutual.

I am sorry it had to end like this.

For what it is worth, I have a sh**load of respect for you for just writing a post that disses me instead of just banning my bitchy ass.

You, hombre, are most definitely not a little Eichmann.

Next year in Jerusalem, man. Next year in Jerusalem.

Deborah

[phoenix0468]

Well if it's about her decision making it should be quite a comedy, LOL!!

[MEG33]

This sick cretin was teaching our children..God help us.

[phoenix0468]

I agree, and not to say there is more of it on the right, it does exist. Those individuals who converse with maturity, respect, and dignity are who I will continue to pay attention to. The ones who are "inflammatory" in any way I try to ignore, mainly because I have a tendency to fly off the handle when confronted by them. I think I've gotten myself in more trouble replying to inflammatory idiots than I care to admit. This one would have gotten a pretty volatile email from me, that's for sure.

[FredZarguna]

Gee, how come I've never heard of her?

For the same reason you never heard of any of the other left-wing "Rush Limbaugh's." They're on Err America.