OPINION by editor Melissa Meehan
FRIGHTENED to leave their own homes.Threatened with rape and being burnt alive.
Some have been told to watch their backs, while others are mocked by faceless attackers online.
These are the taunts you would expect from bitchy teenage bullies, not adults who should know better.
While the Tecoma McDonalds debate is an emotional one, it has gone too far.
For months there have been rumblings from those both for and against saying the other side has been using dirty tactics to get their messages across.
Last week it came to a head when Alan Coutinho-Hogan came to the Mail upset he had received a number of threatening letters – he pointed the finger at members of protest group No Maccas in the Hills.
This week a number of readers who say they too have been the target of bullying.
We cannot prove who is saying what and when, but the constant and poisonous mudslinging has to stop.
Most of these attacks are taking place on social networking sites like Facebook.
We’ve even borne the brunt of these attacks on our own Facebook page, removing those who can’t play nicely online.
The most aggressive use aliases to hide their own identities. One woman said she was threatened with being raped with a banana, another was told that the bully hoped she burnt alive in the next bushfire.
No matter what side of the fence you sit on, these threats must make your blood boil.
I bumped into Councillor Samantha Dunn at a photo opportunity for a local politician earlier this week and what she said stuck with me.
“It’s the people who make the town. Not the bricks and mortar,” she said.
But what if these people can’t see past the bricks and mortar and tear down the very fabric of what is their town and it comes crumbling down?
