Politicians, all politicians, including those at the local level, must be accountable to the public.
But that doesn’t mean constituents should have the right to harass and intimidate them beyond all reason.
Most of the harassment is, unsurprisingly, taking place online. While some local politicians have reported face to face interactions that were inappropriate or even scary (Cowichan Valley Regional District board chairman Jon Lefebure having his family threatened), these are few and far between compared to the vitriol people feel entitled to spew online.
We know a little something about that as a newspaper, as well. Our work is public and usually we love to hear from people who are reading it.
But with the advent of social media, the tone and the scale of comments people can direct towards their target has changed. Many feel secure behind a screen, anonymized, even if their name is there on Facebook or Twitter. They will say things through the Internet that they would never dream of saying to someone’s face, and they will feel justified in saying them over and over and over — and over — again.
It’s all too easy for little bullying mobs to form of the loudest (figuratively speaking) and most extreme.
To be the target of such a campaign can be demoralizing and depressing, even for those who know full well to ignore the digital flood. When it comes to our local politicians, it’s important to recognize that they aren’t like celebrities or national politicians. They don’t have assistants to comb through and trash the terrible.
It’s concerning that the prospect of having to deal with this kind of thing is turning good people away from running for public office. It’s easy to see why someone would decide it’s just not worth the hassle.
So before you hit send on that message or post in the next thread, perhaps consider whether you would say what you’ve typed if the setting was a public debate, or you were sitting down for coffee with your elected representative.
Civility is a good thing.