Share[<a href="//storify.com/theglobeandmail/one-mp-s-response-to-islamic-state-s-threats-again" target="_blank">View the story "One MP's response to Islamic State's threats against Canada: selfies" on Storify</a>]<h1>One MP's response to Islamic State's threats against Canada: selfies</h1><h2></h2><p>Storified by <a href="https://storify.com/theglobeandmail">The Globe and Mail</a>· Tue, Sep 23 2014 17:52:38 </p><div>You won’t see Kim Kardashian taking this selfie (hopefully) as the latest Twitter trend, known as the #securebedroomselfie, is an off-the-cuff mashup of hashtag activism, Canadian politics and the war in Syria.<br><br>It all began with Michelle Rempel, a Calgary MP and Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, who tweeted early Monday morning: “I'm feeling pretty secure right now - b/c of hard won freedoms. #Canada. #securebedroomselfie.” Attached was a picture of Ms. Rempel lying in bed, head comfortably on pillow and a smile on her face.<br><br><br></div><div>I'm feeling pretty secure right now - b/c of hard won freedoms. #Canada. #securebedroomselfie https://t.co/UCXuG9IFuM https://t.co/qfLQtGJyQSMichelle Rempel</div><div>Nothing about Ms. Rempel’s selfie was particularly unique (unless one counts a Conservative MP not named <a href="https://twitter.com/TonyclementCPC/status/509077782585180160">Tony Clement</a> who takes selfies as a unique occurrence), except for its context: as a direct response to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/09/22/the-islamic-state-wants-to-attack-these-western-countries/">news brief</a> about the Islamic State’s recent threats against Canada. The extremist group’s latest audio recording includes wide-ranging calls for violence against western countries who have sent military or civilian resources to support the fight against them. <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/islamic-state-urges-attacks-on-canadians-and-other-western-citizens/article20718108/">The Associated Press reports</a> that Canada’s contribution includes 69 special forces personnel who will advise Kurdish forces opposing IS militants.<br><br>But most pertinent to #securebedroomselfie, the speaker in the recording vows: “You will not feel secure even in your bedrooms. You will pay the price when this crusade of yours collapses, and thereafter we will strike you in your homeland, and you will never be able to harm anyone afterward.”<br><br>Why did Ms. Rempel choose to take a selfie? The only thing that can be confidently inferred is that, given her link to a mobile-friendly version of the news in her original tweet, she felt secure enough to read the day’s news from her smartphone in bed, in her bedroom, and perhaps one thing led to another in the wee hours before the beginning of another work week.<br><br>The hashtag didn’t really take off until six minutes later, when Ms. Rempel, deciding that #securebedroomselfie should be “a thing,” challenged three prominent Western Canadian pundits to take their own. </div><div>I now challenge @SheilaGunnReid, @KVMarshall and @graciestyle to make #securebedroomselfie a thing. https://t.co/UCXuG9IFuMMichelle Rempel</div><div>And it seems the additional tags and thoughts these three added to the mix, such as #freedom and #equality, served to solidify the tone of most selfies that followed. </div><div>@MichelleRempel @SheilaGunnReid @KVMarshall #securebedroomselfie #freedom #equality https://t.co/rZrnfFVfX4Alise Mills</div><div>@SheilaGunnReid took the messaging a step further with tweets that referenced cultural differences between Canada and more extreme societal practices in other parts of the world:<br><br></div><div>Because my little girls have a future that doesn't entail child marriage and genital mutilation #securebedroomselfie https://t.co/zeAcDzaFkZSheila Gunn Reid</div><div>My daughter likes to read and shoot and she's great at math. She won't be an old man's wife. #securebedroomselfie https://t.co/MLeMqTi0JBSheila Gunn Reid</div><div>And so variations on military pride and, well, “suck it #ISIS” took hold.</div><div>@MichelleRempel #securebedroomselfie suck it ISIS. https://t.co/qNAZSbF5EC https://t.co/NlqCk2qARFAmanda Dee</div><div>@MichelleRempel ive yet to feel insecure in my room :-) #ISIS #SecureBedroomSelfie #canada #bitoffmorethanyoucanchew https://t.co/Hy8k4Gl2EfLloyd from Canada</div><div><br><br>As the hashtag gained momentum, the inevitable backlash began to occur. After all, what better chance to attack a junior minister for the Conservative government’s various positions than on social media, in response to a relatively innocuous tweet?</div><div>@MichelleRempel Thanks to Harper's economic policies, here is my Secure Bedroom Selfie #SecureBedroomSelfie #cdnpoli https://t.co/u3xKC6a4KQDanno</div><div>#elxn2015 MT @KVMarshall: Hey Canada, let's get some more #securebedroomselfie's going! cc:@michellerempel #cdnpoli https://t.co/69fx63lZh1JohnnyCanuck</div><div><br><br>While #securebedroomselfie has struck a chord with tech-savvy political observers, the hashtag seems to have hit a wall. Twitter users both supportive and critical of Ms. Rempel <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/securebedroomselfie?f=realtime&src=hash">continue to make themselves heard</a>. But Ms. Rempel herself looks to have moved on for now: Her Twitter feed since Monday morning has refocused on her parliamentary efforts.</div><div>.@Selina50mm I spoke on c36 in the #hoc yesterday. You can watch it here https://t.co/fs8ZzDzXf4Michelle Rempel</div><div><br><br>On more official terms, Jason MacDonald, a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, responded to the IS threat in an e-mail to the Associated Press: “We will continue to work with allies to push back against this threat. Like our allies we will not be cowed by threats while innocent children, women, men and religious minorities live in fear of these terrorists.”</div>