It was interesting to learn yesterday that some of Peterborough’s ‘movers and shakers’ (as they’ve taken to calling themselves) who pride themselves on having a sense of humor were unaware of the double entendre in the title of Monday’s article, “Peter Tweeter Exposé.” They love humor so much, they request articles on the subject as Peter Tweeter nominee Pat Trudeau, owner of Trudeau Photography (and multi-branch manager for a temp service that provides dependable temporary labor to businesses) did yesterday on Twitter.
Nonetheless, the matter of the double entendre became a matter of interest to Peter Tweeter nominees as they spread the news that the Urban Dictionary had an actual definition for the expression. Peter Tweeter nominee Nick Ferrio appears to have been among the first to share the information with his followers.
Now, if an individual wishes to self-identify as a “Peter Tweeter” that’s well within their rights. Sure, it’s an in-house joke between some in Peterborough and that’s fine, but on the Internet (where in-house jokes are less prone to be understood by those who have little to no vested interest in Peterborough, Ontario) that self-identification may not prove as humorous as previously thought.
But if an individual doesn’t want to be thought of as a “Peter Tweeter” that individual ought not to have the moniker hung on them (as can happen with the open nomination categories in the Peter Tweeter Awards.)
On Monday, I wrote about the potential for bullying because of the original name given to Category 17: Barfiest Couple.
What ensued on Twitter (and elsewhere online on various social networking sites) was an interesting display of behavior by Peter Tweeter nominees who took great exception to my personal opinion on my own blog. Never mind that in the FAQs, it clearly states that the articles on this blog are the “opinion or point of view” of the individuals who author them. Because the opinion expressed on this blog on Monday wasn’t in keeping with what some of the Peter Tweeter nominees believe to be true, they expressed their outrage in what I feel is a wholly unprofessional manner.
When the Peter Tweeter Awards committee decided to rename the category Peter Pair, some Peter Tweeter nominees proved that there might be good reason to be concerned about the potential for bullying those by way of the “open nomination” categories (there still is but that’s a moot point).
Comments by people like Peter Tweeter nominee, Mike Moring (who also works as a Real Estate Sales Representative for a well-known Real Estate Agency in Peterborough) who voiced his opposition to the change by posting:
That snappy comment was retweeted by a few people including fellow Peter Tweeter nominee, Rick Dolishny who produces “carefully designed work for educational, medical and legal market” and states online that he is an owner of Blush Wedding Films as well as an owner of Ardee Productions New Media Services:
Not to be left out of the retweeting theme, Jeannine Taylor (whose company is a Peter Tweeter nominee) followed suit by retweeting #petertweeter comments such as this one (although it should be noted that Jeannine Taylor posted a few original tweets in keeping with the tone of her fellow Peter Tweeter nominees who were on the attack):
Well, you get the idea, right? It’s what a group of bullies sometimes does … circles the wagons.
They resort to name calling.
They resort to outlandish claims against the person they hope to bully into silence.
The most humorous part of all this is to read tweets that falsely allege someone is a terrorist because they wrote a blog article — a blog article that does not advocate that readers engage in unlawful action of any kind. If you want to talk about over-reacting, making false allegations of terrorism is definitely over-reacting!
After all, a terrorist is someone who engages in acts of terrorism, and terrorism according to the dictionary is “the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective.”
After numerous public tweets, private message, direct messages, etc., Peter Tweeter nominees new to the controversy joined in with comments from self-avowed dad, adventurer and student Keith Anderson:
Maryam Monsef – who promotes herself as being opinionated, thirsty for new knowledge and experience, and intolerant of injustice — added her voice to the Twitter cloud as well.
Anyone who has read Monday’s article will undoubtedly find it amusing that so many Peter Tweeter nominees are falsely alleging aggression, bullying and terrorism as the reason the Peter Tweeter Awards committee decided to rename Category 17 to a more positive name that is more representative of the intended spirit of the awards.
So in response to people like these two Peter Tweeter nominee supporters …
… perhaps it’s time for those of you who actively participated (either as authors of comments, retweeters of comments, or friendly bystanders of the first two groups) to take a look at the social bullying that has taken place since Monday’s article was posted. Take note of your own culpability in the situation. By the standard definition, the repetitious nature of the negative comments posted against one individual by numerous individuals in a group (Peter Tweeter nominees) fits the definition to a tee.
I have shared only the less aggressive (believe it or not, being called a terrorist counts in this instance) comments here with the express purpose to reveal why it was so important to draw attention to the possibility that the previously-named Barfiest Couple category could lead to abuse.
Peterborough’s Peter Tweeter nominees who participated in the flurry of personal attacks against me for daring to take a stand against bullying proved that there was reason to be concerned with the original name for Category 17.
To those of you who are in on the in-house “Peter Tweeter” joke, I wish all of you well at the Awards night next month.
To those of you who are part of the global community and who aren’t in on the in-house “Peter Tweeter” joke … well … what can I say that you aren’t already thinking yourselves?
Elyse Bruce
P.S. When writing this article, I couldn’t possibly include everyone who participated in the flurry of aggressive tweets. That’s the nature of writing a blog article as opposed to writing a novel.
UPDATE on 1 March 2013: Peter Tweeter Bullies (PDF)
UPDATE on 4 March 2013: Earlier today, someone on Twitter suggested renaming Category 17: Tweetest Couple. I would love to acknowledge the person who made this wonderful suggestion, however, that information is not available on the Twitter account, the blog site or the website. Nonetheless, thank you for suggesting a name that is in keeping with the spirit of the awards, and in line with the “Best” categories.
March 5, 2013 at 9:01 am
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