She deserved it?

Buried in the Telegram story about Shannie Duff finally speaking out against the personal abuse she has suffered at the hands of Mayor Andy Wells are these comments from unidentified councillors:

One councillor suggested Duff "sometimes brings it on herself," but added that Wells often crosses the line in his treatment of councillors.

One councillor wouldn'’t go so far as to characterize Wells' behaviour as harassment, but said he is "abusive."

We have to take it that these two comments come from different councillors.

But here's the thing: we now understand why Wells has been able to bully just about everyone in sight and get away with it time and time again for his entire time on council.

There are at least two councillors who either lack a functioning moral compass or lack the coglioni to be able to stand up to the reprehensible behaviour of our not-so-beloved mayor and help put a stop to it.

In what bizarre universe is "abuse" - either linguistic or physical - not considered harassment and something that should be stopped immediately, without further debate?

As for the other comment quoted above, one can only wonder in what dark place of the soul that councillor has been lurking for the past 30 years to say that, in effect, whatever abuse Shannie Duff has been suffering she somehow deserved it.

Wow.

That's like the cops a half century ago who would respond to a domestic dispute and likely then tell the battered woman that if she hadn't pissed her husband off he wouldn't have had to give her a black eye and throw her down the stairs.

"Honey, ya brought it on yourself. Now be a good girl and don't give him an excuse to slap you around."

If there is any right left in the world, we will see the start of a public outcry against Andy Wells and his Neanderthal behaviour toward others. Maybe, just maybe, we can put a stop to his appalling behaviour. While we are at, let's also sort out the two councillors quoted above.

The best solution in this instance would be for Wells and his two supporters quoted above to hand in their resignations.

At the very least, the pair should put their names behind their comments so voters can know who they are.

That's a naive wish, of course.

If either had a cojone between them - let alone an ounce of common sense - Wells would have been out of business a long while ago.