>In general, looking up where someone lives to attach a threat of violence (ie - Russian tanks in $your_city) would be considered a threat.

No, it wouldn't.

Similarly, when someone says "What if it were your child?" , that isn't a threat -- it's a request for a change in perspective.

The idea is to impress upon the reader that they're not any safer than the victim; rather that they got lucky to be unaffected and should consider the positions and perspectives of the victims when coming to a judgement of the situation.

> In general, looking up where someone lives to attach a threat of violence (ie - Russian tanks in $your_city) would be considered a threat.

I don't think Don was trying to imply that he's in command of a Russian tank battalion.

(there is a thing to contemplate)