A battle of insults on social media shows how far we’ve descended into personal invective as a political weapon.

All too often the attacks are based on surface qualities — race, gender, sexuality, weight, age, attractiveness.

There was a day when this ad hominum tactic — attacking the person rather than the argument — was frowned upon. A person who used it had already lost.

Now, deeply personal slurs are often the first and only point.

This battle started with a brutal jab at Naheed Nenshi, the ex-Calgary mayor and possible NDP leadership candidate, by David Parker, nominal head of right-wing group Take Back Alberta.

Parker posted: “The fact that a man as grotesque as Nenshi ever won “sexiest man of the year” in Calgary (let alone four years in a row); tells you everything you need to know about the mainstream media in Calgary.”

The slam at media is daily boilerplate. But “grotesque?” That’s nasty. In the context of “sexy” it’s also weird, as Nenshi noted right away.

He posted: “I’m not sure how to respond. Thanks for your interest, I guess?

“Hope you find a sexier man to satisfy you? (Or just “you seem scared of something. I wonder what.”?)

Thus goaded, Parker came back with an even cruder........

© Calgary Herald