Shrikeshire County Parish Council Decided To Use Extreme Measures To Deal With Internet Trolling By Sending the Bailiffs To Any Trolls They Could Identify And Empty Their Houses
Internet trolling is a big problem in the 21st century, and one that Shrikeshire Council faces on a daily basis, with negative comments and threats from the online community. A counter-measure to deal with these people was to send the Bailiffs around to their houses and take all their belongings, making them reconsider what they put on the internet in the future. That’s if they could then gain access to the world wide web after all their electronics and computers were seiged.
“This is a joint venture between the council and Shrikeshire Comms (an independent local area communication and broadband company). IP addresses and locations were found on the offending reviews, threats and comments, and that customer was traced and resources allocated to gather their possessions”, reveals Councillor Ian Overman. When asked if this sounds more like extreme measures he responds, “The extremity is in the unpoliced freedoms of those who wish to threaten bad-mouth and cause a cancer with their words to the very people who are voted, employed and trusted by the electorate to improve their lives.”
In fact, this project became so huge with a list of over 2000 offenders, that the Council is making temporary Bailiffs of some of their own workers, to join this co-ordinated new venture. Overman continues, “We believe that there is only one way to deal with such internet criminals and this is to strike with a zero tolerance policy towards the offenders! They will think twice about what they do or say online and understand there are consequences for every single word.”
Overman himself was subject to great ridicule about his appearance and posture, and says personal attacks on the way people look and present themselves is becoming all too common and ridiculously shaken off as someone just expressing an opinion. “When was expressing an honest opinion, more important than a person’s feelings and mental health? Honesty is definitely not the best policy when it’s an excuse to be cruel and malicious to someone. This has to stop, and it will!”
Trolls as old as 74 have been so far targeted in what they council calls Phase 1 which is the more serious offences, including negative reviews on Trip Advisor, and Twitter Bullying. Richard Miles and David Moon (pictured bottom right in the photo above), both had their homes emptied and found solace in each other. Miles confessed to calling Mayor Graham Parsnip a “Baboon with mal odorous Gorilla breath” and took great amusement on social media a couple of years ago when Parsnips car was egged and he skidded off the road. Moon admitted that he sent certain Council Committee members a picture of his bare bottom, asking one to eat it or resign immediately.
“It feels like a police state,” a tearful Richard Miles confessed, “everything was taken away from me. My laptop, my television, my complete Bluray Collection of Little House on the Prairie which isn’t available in the UK yet.” He is visibly sobbing with David Moon holding his arm around him. Moon interjects “Yes I did wrong, but come on, taking 12 grands worth of my stuff, my phone, computer, I can’t even get on the net to watch Amazon Prime. All because of one arse pic!”
When The Shrikeshire Times asked if either of them would do anything similar again, they sobbed together nodding that this was not only a deterrent but a signal for them to leave Shrikeshire, a plan they are keen on together.
Mayor Graham Parsnip was unsurprisingly in defence of these new measures, adding that not only would it be an effective way of avoiding negativity on the internet, but the extra money gained from these raids would be a bonus to the budget for the local area. “I’m delighted that phase 1 was a success, and we could not be more proud of the way our new workforce has adapted to instigate this new initiative. Internet trolling is one of the most heinous of anonymous crimes and we are pleased we have ways to police the internet and bring those accountable to justice.”
As ever we welcome any comments about this new scheme. Has it put you off saying anything bad about our local politicians and the way they run things? Or will you be investing in a VPN to cover your IP address just in case?
