spike98
06-09-2007, 05:10 PM
There is a big thing going on in the media these days about a local alderman Cathy Smith. She is responisible for many of the local bylaws preventing stripclubs, porn shops and forcing maxim magizines to be treat as porn in local gas stations.
Well with a reputation like that there is obviously going to be some angry people. That mixed with facebook as lead to this....and i think its funny!! HAHA I just wanted to post this up to bring up awareness to our "problem" here in the hat and hope that all of you from here will do there part in voting her out come Oct.
Here are the aritcals...
Crossing the line
By Andrea Klassen
Jun 8, 2007, 05:25
Everyone’s a critic these days.
“We Need to Get Rid of Cathy Smith,” a group on Facebook, is dedicated to ousting the controversial alderman.
The group has 430 members, and is already filled with
memories of Smith’s time in office.
The group isn’t the first on the Internet networking site to be critical of a politician.
But it’s the first to bring a truly local flavour to Facebook’s political debates.
Facebook is, essentially, a social networking site for college and high school students.
Registered users can search the site for old classmates and friends. If their friends also have profiles, the site allows them to keep track of their activities in intense detail.
The average profile contains
photos, messages and some
personal information. It’s not uncommon to find phone numbers or addresses lying around the site.
Not to mention, most users post their real names, first and last.
Which means all those Cathy Smith critics are easily identifiable.
This in itself is not a bad thing. Free speech is an essential part of democracy.
Sure, comments like “the day she gets to bann [sic] bikinis from the hat will be the day I move” aren’t as capitalized or copy-edited as an old-fashioned letter to the editor.
But they’re part of the public debate that’s necessary for a healthy political life all the same.
The problem is, the group doesn’t stop there.
While some Facebook users stick to policy discussions,
others move on to personal attacks.
The nicest word used in those comments is “goat.” Most are unprintable. Some mention physical violence.
That’s not to say any of these posters are serious. The group is listed as “just for fun.” Still, anyone with a Facebook account can view it with little effort, and it takes all of two minutes to create a Facebook profile.
And while these posters may see this as good fun, t
hreatening a politician isn’t something everyone is going to take lightly.
Public debate is one thing. But bad behaviour is serious business, even on the Internet.
and.....
Cops eye threats against Smith
By ANGUS HENDERSON
Jun 9, 2007, 01:09
Email this article
Printer friendly page
Medicine Hat News
City police are investigating what appears to be an alleged death threat against Ald. Cathy Smith on the popular social networking website Facebook
In a group called “We need to get rid of Cathy Smith,” the moderator informs a poster named Christopher that his postings had been deleted because the moderator wasn’t going to tolerate threats on the alderman’s life.
“No death threats to Cathy on here,” said the moderator. “I think everything else to do with her I will allow.”
Smith said she’s aware of the website, but has been told by friends not to look at it because of the alleged threat and other nasty comments about her.
Staff Sgt. Rick Wigle said city police were looking into it because there had been some concerns expressed about the website.
“We’re trying to find out what was there (on the website) prior to (the threat reference) and how threatening it was and whether it was criminal in nature.”
The network group has more than 400 members.
Here’s one example of the comments included: “How about we treat this group as a campaign to get rid of Cathy Smith,” wrote Paul Carolan on June 6.
Other comments centred on attacking Smith’s stand on the original Doll House and other issues people were angry about.
Many reflected the comments of a Laura Brost.
“Come election time, lets get her the hell out of here!” wrote Brost. “I mean she’d be an idiot to run again anyways . . . but still, I guess the point of this rant is not really to do with Cathy Smith herself, but to everyone that didn’t help vote her out in the last election.”
“Since when are people allowed to make threats against people?” Smith asked in an interview Friday.
“As an elected official I certainly am a big girl and can take most things and I’m quite prepared, as a person who makes decisions everyday that half the people are not going to like — that comes with the territory.”
She added that it’s fine for people to have their own opinions about issues, but it’s something else when people resort to alleged death threats.
© Copyright by Medicine Hat News.com
Well with a reputation like that there is obviously going to be some angry people. That mixed with facebook as lead to this....and i think its funny!! HAHA I just wanted to post this up to bring up awareness to our "problem" here in the hat and hope that all of you from here will do there part in voting her out come Oct.
Here are the aritcals...
Crossing the line
By Andrea Klassen
Jun 8, 2007, 05:25
Everyone’s a critic these days.
“We Need to Get Rid of Cathy Smith,” a group on Facebook, is dedicated to ousting the controversial alderman.
The group has 430 members, and is already filled with
memories of Smith’s time in office.
The group isn’t the first on the Internet networking site to be critical of a politician.
But it’s the first to bring a truly local flavour to Facebook’s political debates.
Facebook is, essentially, a social networking site for college and high school students.
Registered users can search the site for old classmates and friends. If their friends also have profiles, the site allows them to keep track of their activities in intense detail.
The average profile contains
photos, messages and some
personal information. It’s not uncommon to find phone numbers or addresses lying around the site.
Not to mention, most users post their real names, first and last.
Which means all those Cathy Smith critics are easily identifiable.
This in itself is not a bad thing. Free speech is an essential part of democracy.
Sure, comments like “the day she gets to bann [sic] bikinis from the hat will be the day I move” aren’t as capitalized or copy-edited as an old-fashioned letter to the editor.
But they’re part of the public debate that’s necessary for a healthy political life all the same.
The problem is, the group doesn’t stop there.
While some Facebook users stick to policy discussions,
others move on to personal attacks.
The nicest word used in those comments is “goat.” Most are unprintable. Some mention physical violence.
That’s not to say any of these posters are serious. The group is listed as “just for fun.” Still, anyone with a Facebook account can view it with little effort, and it takes all of two minutes to create a Facebook profile.
And while these posters may see this as good fun, t
hreatening a politician isn’t something everyone is going to take lightly.
Public debate is one thing. But bad behaviour is serious business, even on the Internet.
and.....
Cops eye threats against Smith
By ANGUS HENDERSON
Jun 9, 2007, 01:09
Email this article
Printer friendly page
Medicine Hat News
City police are investigating what appears to be an alleged death threat against Ald. Cathy Smith on the popular social networking website Facebook
In a group called “We need to get rid of Cathy Smith,” the moderator informs a poster named Christopher that his postings had been deleted because the moderator wasn’t going to tolerate threats on the alderman’s life.
“No death threats to Cathy on here,” said the moderator. “I think everything else to do with her I will allow.”
Smith said she’s aware of the website, but has been told by friends not to look at it because of the alleged threat and other nasty comments about her.
Staff Sgt. Rick Wigle said city police were looking into it because there had been some concerns expressed about the website.
“We’re trying to find out what was there (on the website) prior to (the threat reference) and how threatening it was and whether it was criminal in nature.”
The network group has more than 400 members.
Here’s one example of the comments included: “How about we treat this group as a campaign to get rid of Cathy Smith,” wrote Paul Carolan on June 6.
Other comments centred on attacking Smith’s stand on the original Doll House and other issues people were angry about.
Many reflected the comments of a Laura Brost.
“Come election time, lets get her the hell out of here!” wrote Brost. “I mean she’d be an idiot to run again anyways . . . but still, I guess the point of this rant is not really to do with Cathy Smith herself, but to everyone that didn’t help vote her out in the last election.”
“Since when are people allowed to make threats against people?” Smith asked in an interview Friday.
“As an elected official I certainly am a big girl and can take most things and I’m quite prepared, as a person who makes decisions everyday that half the people are not going to like — that comes with the territory.”
She added that it’s fine for people to have their own opinions about issues, but it’s something else when people resort to alleged death threats.
© Copyright by Medicine Hat News.com