Active cases more than double as Somerville Facebook page founder quits over lockdown comments
A community stalwart who has spent years championing her town is taking a step back from her role after an ugly spat on social media. Here’s what happened.
South East
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The debate over Mornington Peninsula’s inclusion in lockdown 2.0 has turned nasty forcing a Somerville woman to “step back” from her role with a popular community Facebook page.
Cally McNulty announced she was taking a break as an administrator for the Somerville and Surrounds Community Space after enduring a barrage of ugly comments.
The spat started on the weekend when another administrator added a post encouraging people to sign a petition calling for the region to be freed from the lockdown.
The petition now has 5581 signatures and continues to garner interest despite the number of active coronavirus cases rising from two to five on Wednesday.
Hundreds joined the Somerville debate with many arguing that the region was safer in lockdown.
Others went further, calling for the post to be removed and urging people to ignore the petition.
The discussion then became heated with some members of the private group comparing the State Government to Hitler and using Nazi quotes.
The offensive material has since been removed and comments on the initial post have been closed.
Ms McNulty said the dispute left her in tears.
“I’ve tried for years to build a community, to mend bridges, to support my town,” she posted.
“I’ve worked my ass off trying. I’ve watched over the weekend and clearly my view is different to others.
“I always wanted this group to passionate, flexible, supportive and fun. Community pages don’t need to ruled with an iron fist, they need to be flexible. These are very trying times, we should be supporting everyone.”
Ryan Tofts, who first added the petition to the page, later said he had not signed it.
“I’m in two minds about it,” he said.
Mr Tofts was unapologetic about the furore that stemmed from his post.
“Some people got unnecessarily nasty about it, but hey, it’s the internet. We can’t always be watching.”
The Facebook group was founded in 2012 and is the oldest Sommerville community page on the platform.
It has more than 8000 members and acceptance to the group can require providing proof of residency.
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