Anger over 'abusive' online comments

COUNCIL DEPUTY LEADER SLAMS FACEBOOK POSTS ON SCULPTURE

- By JANET KING [e-mail]

A POIGNANT new Remembrance sculpture unveiled last week by the city council, and displayed on its social media, has attracted ‘abusive’ comments from the public.

The comments were so appalling that Plymouth City Council was forced to take down the comments section on their Facebook page, where they had proudly posted a picture of the new memorial sculpture, erected outside the Council House for Remembrance Sunday.

“When criticism turns into harmful, disrespectful tirades that target the armed forces and children, something’s gone fundamentally wrong” Plymouth City Council’s deputy leader, Jemima Laing, told The Herald. “We face a growing trend in which social media anonymity emboldens aggression in ways our public discourse may never have anticipated.”

Jemima, who is also the city council’s Cabinet member for Culture and Communications, was completely shocked by the comments, and the “verbal venom directed at children”.

She told The Herald: “Last week, the Council shared a post on Facebook unveiling Ebb and Flow, a new sculpture in Plymouth created in partnership with Babcock, Arts University Plymouth and local children.

“It's a beautiful tribute, evocative of our naval heritage, that honours families who endure separation when loved ones are deployed. It’s a heartfelt tribute to those who serve, have served, and to those we've lost.