Update: Ald. James Cappleman emailed Chi-Town Review saying:
“When someone is blocked from my twitter account, it’s not due to disagreement…”
Read more in the story:
Ald. James Cappleman, of the 46th Ward, is tired of local pigeons invading his North Side ward. Last month, the alderman proposed an ordinance to make pigeon-feeding punishable by up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
A 46th Ward constituent, who uses the Twitter handle @LakeviewGreg, thinks the alderman’s war against the pigeons is “stupid.” LakeviewGreg took to Twitter and Facebook to voice his opinions, but Cappleman apparently didn’t like what Greg had to say.
A 46th Ward resident claims his alderman blocked his account on Twitter after he posted tweets criticizing the official’s stances against pigeon control.
Cappleman did not confirm why he blocked his constituent’s account, or if in fact he intentionally blocked the account. Chi-Town Review asked Cappleman for his side of the story. The alderman emailed Chi-Town Review explaining his decision to block users.
“When someone is blocked from my twitter account, it’s not due to disagreement. I welcome it because I need it to help me become more informed on an issue,” Cappleman said.
“Someone gets blocked when their tweets are demeaning and disrespectful. There can be no constructive dialogue when one party tosses out insulting and derogatory remarks about the other.”
LakeviewGreg said he didn’t recall tweeting snarky comments directly to the alderman’s account and was perplexed by the move.
Blocking users on Twitter does not prevent the users from tweeting at the blocker, but bars them from following the blocker or adding their tweets to lists. This means LakeviewGreg can interact with his alderman via Twitter, but cannot follow him.
Cappleman came under fire by animal rights group this week after allowing an Indiana farmer to collect ward pigeons for pigeon shoots. What’s a pigeon shoot? This video explains.
The tweets that may have prompted the block
http://storify.com/ChiTownReview/the-tweets-that-may-prompted-alderman-to-block-a-c
SOUND OFF! Should aldermen block their constituents’ social media accounts?
