A Congleton by-election candidate has told keyboard warriors “it is easy to forget that I am a real person, a mother, a wife and a daughter, with real feelings”.
Slurs about Chloe Myatt, the Green Party candidate in the town council by-election for Congleton North on 21st May, were posted on a community social media page in response to her details being uploaded, as well as a photo of her holding elections leaflets.
Among the posts were: “Another Green Party member as thick as a flock of sheep”; “God save us from a stupid young woman who hasn’t got a clue about what’s really going on in the world”; “F— off”; “Smile as false as your teeth and hair, good luck on that”; “Freak” and “I’d rather eat HIV with a rusty spoon”.
In response Mrs Myatt, who has a degree in economics and business studies, said some of the “worst” comments that were “truly offensive” had been removed after she reported them to the page administrators.
Undaunted by what had been said about her, Mrs Myatt said she “completely understands” why people are “angry and frustrated” with politics at the moment “as I share a lot of that myself”.
She added: “The beauty of democracy is that we don’t all have to think the same and healthy disagreement is important to help us move forward together. However, there is a difference between political disagreement and personal abuse.”
Mrs Myatt, a supporter of the mental health charity Mind, said: “As a society, we often speak about the importance of mental health but that sentiment quickly disappears when someone expresses views that others disagree with.
“It’s easy to forget that I am a real person, a mother, a wife and a daughter, with real feelings when sat behind a screen and I’d argue social media is contributing to the decline of empathy we are seeing in everyday life.”
Support
The Green candidate praised her supporters in the face of the online slurs saying: “I am grateful that I have a very strong support network around me so I’m able to brush off many of the comments as misplaced anger rather than take them personally.
“That said, I do think it sends the wrong message, especially to younger people who may want to get involved in politics or become more active in the community.”
She added: “We should be encouraging people to engage not creating an environment that scares them away.”
Town councillor Kay Wesley, who represents the Equality Party, said its candidate in the election Abbie Smith, a trans woman, had also received abuse online, which had been reported to the police.
She described the social media comments as “appalling”.
“This just shows what happens when women step up to be parish and town councillors. All councillors and candidates get abuse, which is a terrible reflection on our politics today.
“These people are volunteering to give their time to their community on the local council and it’s not something you get a lot of kudos or status for. It’s hard work behind the scenes in their own time.
“Candidates, whoever they represent, deserve applause for stepping forward, especially at the moment when politics is so polarised.”
Coun Wesley added: “It’s a small number of people making these appalling comments and you can bet your bottom dollar that none of them have ever volunteered to help their community. They just want to be keyboard warriors.”
She said of Mrs Myatt: “She’s a young woman, she’s stepped up for the Greens so why should she get all this abuse? “Verbal abuse is the bottom of the pyramid of abuse. We can’t assume that it’s just on paper; there’s a lot of evidence that verbal abuse leads to physical abuse.”
The by-election was won by Gary Wilson (Reform), who has said he is not speaking to print media.
(Photo: Chloe Myatt).
