'Lynch mob' shows dark side of community

At its best it is a wonderful, positive energy, seen in children's rainbow pictures pinned to windows, flag displays worthy of a naval flotilla, artistic piles of pebbles and even the polite way people stand to one side on cliff paths or add ‘stay safe’ to the end of texts and emails.

Petty rivalries and smalltown politics have been set aside as people focused on what was truly important.

The notion that ‘we’re all in this together’ has been a major factor in islanders’ ability to self-isolate without complaint, keeping the virus at bay.

No one wants to let the side down.

Students coming back from university before Christmas instantly took this to heart and earned the grateful thanks of Public Health.

Such strong community spirit does, however, have the potential for a darker side when it is used in a negative way.

The head of the Civil Contingencies Authority opened the briefing yesterday with a warning that people on social media should avoid speculation about who might be responsible, if anyone, for the latest outbreak of the virus.

Apparently, someone had been posting pictures of what they thought were the ‘guilty parties’, complete with names.

The allegations gained enough traction that the police were forced to take time off their busy schedules to discourage islanders from spreading false rumours.

No arrests have been made and people were warned not to believe everything that they read online.

Such a ‘lynch mob mentality’, to use the head of the CCA’s phrase, does not help the island battle Covid. If anything, it distracts Public Health and other States officers from what is important at a critical time.

Furthermore, a witch-hunt destroys the precious unity of this island community by setting island resident against island resident.