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Thursday, the City of Calgary cancelled a private swim event at Calgary’s Southland Leisure Centre to be hosted by Calgary Nude Recreation. The city didn’t suspend the event because the swimmers were going to be naked. It cancelled because an online mob, whipped to a frenzy on social media, made such vile and virulent threats that the city actually feared for the physical safety of the naturists. Calgary police were investigating at least one of those threats.

It wasquintessential Calgary NIMBYism — but at a fever pitch.

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“There was a bomb threat. There were people who were saying we’re going to write down all the licence plate numbers and post them as pedophiles, we’re going to take a baseball bat to car windows,” Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi told CBC Radio on Friday.

“Hopefully, people like this will be invited to enter the ovens,” wrote one person on the Southland Leisure Centre’s Facebook page, in a horrific allusion to the Holocaust.

“I know the left wants to downplay and accept pedophilia. Maybe this is the way?” read another.

“I’ll never set foot in Southland Leisure Centre with my family after hearing about your pedophile soup event,” wrote yet another.