City Council meetings anywhere can go off the rails. But Tuesday’s regular meeting in Durango went down in history as the city’s first to be Zoom bombed by about seven intruders who signed up online to comment.

The bombers didn’t have anything to say about the proposed Tree Farm Village housing development, the reason for required public comment because of a proposed land-use change. But they sure did about Jews, spewing hate speech with one going as far as referencing sex acts with babies. Disgusting.

Another’s screen name was Zeke Isle. Say it aloud and it sounds like “Sieg Heil,” a Nazi Party phrase that translates to “Hail Victory.”

Staff members scrambled and disconnected the bombers as quickly as humanly possible when it became obvious what was happening. But it took a minute because the scene was so unexpected and weird.

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Afterward, residents’ general questions included, “He said what?” and, “Did he just say what I think he said?” and, “What just happened?” Simultaneously, multiple people yelled, “Turn it off!”

Understandably, meeting participants were shocked and shaken up. As awful as the situation was on Tuesday night, it’s still important to allow online participants to comment at Council meetings and hope for the best.

Consider that Council members don’t have to include online participants. It’s more technology that needs attention and could go wrong. Meetings can return to the pre-pandemic days, when people showed up in person. Or not.

But we hope this won’t be the case.

Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms, which became ubiquitous during the pandemic, made meetings more inclusive. During lockdown, Zoom allowed us to work remotely, and join classes and even family gatherings.

Online participation became one more way to include those who couldn’t attend a meeting in town for whatever reason, whether a disability made the drive difficult or driveways weren’t plowed or residents just couldn’t make it in time – in person – to Council chambers to participate in governance.

Zoom opened doors to more people. We can’t let Zoom bombers with ugly, ignorant messages get in the way of that.

Zoom bombing is something we’ll have to deal with – it’s one cost of public participation and speech that’s free until it’s something else. We all know, free speech has its limits. We can’t yell “fire” in a theater and not face consequences.

Anyone who wants to Zoom bomb a meeting can likely get away with it. For a few brief moments. But we’re willing to risk it in the spirit of including more participants, from the comfort of their homes and offices.

Sadly, we may see more of it with artificial intelligence hurtling into our private and professional lives. Zoom bombing can be weaponized, too, to keep people from congregating and sharing ideas, especially in an election year that can be divisive.

Maybe Council members can request names and addresses from online participants to be confirmed before public comment. But that’s up to them.

Zoom bombing is something we can all manage. Look to city staff members. After experiencing this bizarre situation, they will jump into action and push the buttons that delete these bombers from our screens and, ideally, our consciousness.

Durango Herald Editorial Board

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