The City is right to disable YouTube Chat
I stated on Nextdoor when the CoSF chat was disabled that I was surprised it lasted as long as it did. The use of that feature had gone horribly wrong. I will be the first to admit it was entertaining to read some of the comments and watch live as council members and the mayor reacted. At time it was "let me get my popcorn". I attempted from time to time to provide facts but no one is interested in facts when they are on the attack. I cringed when I implored a council member not to respond to comments and they did.
Over time it became a no win situation with the lack of decorum, attacks back and forth, out right lying and the ocassional half truths going around. It also was an embarrassment for the City, council and mayor. I repeat... it was also an embarrassment for the City. There are folks in our community who love nothing more than to throw rocks to shatter other folks lives. The discourse often took away from the meeting and its purpose. It also put the staff in a untenable situation as they couldn't shut down the keyboard jockeys fast enough. Council members and the mayor would use the discourse to try to score points as if it was an instant poll. The trouble with that is, its not how to govern.
It's no surprise the mayor wants it to continue the practice. It allows him to assemble his followers to take shots at the council in a way that he can't. It's like shooting fish in barrel and that's not fair. Calling the media and lining up supporters to stand by and make claims like a damsel in distress is getting old already. It's time for folks to grow the hell up. We need our leadership to be adults.
No one's rights are being violated by disabling the chat. There is no law that states the chat feature of a public meeting shall be live during that said meeting. If you're seeking to participate that's fine. There are civil ways to do that. Seek them out.
Video the story on Channel 2 SMDH
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About The Author
When you have a WSB-TV news reporter in your back pocket that you can call at any time and get a negative story about the City of South Fulton on the air your voice is not being silenced. If anything your voice is being amplified far more than the voices of the council and the 107,999.99 residents who aren’t running to Channel 2 news with every petty grievance they can contrive.