Facebook prank post leaves Warkworth man humiliated

WARKWORTH -- The next tme Ronnie Troter is

hanging out with his friend Robert Savage, chances
are he wont be leaving his cell phone out of reach
or out of sight.
If there is a next tme, that is.
Afer what occurred last weekend, Mr. Troter
might not want to see Mr. Savage for quite a while.
Mr. Troter discovered just how powerful and far-
reaching social media is these days when a prank
post by Mr. Savage on Facebook prompted swif
reacton among hundreds of Mr. Troters followers,
most of whom expressed shock, dismay and disgust
over the indecent comment.
Coupled with the fact Mr. Troter lives in a small
town such as Warkworth where news travels amaz-
ingly fast, it has only made things worse for him. He
admits the incident has lef him feeling embarrassed
and humiliated.
The last few days have been hell absolute hell,
Mr. Troter told the Warkworth Journal in an inter-
view yesterday. Ive been called everything from a
wanker, a pervert and a creep -- and thats just from
friends and neighbours!
And you should see the dirty looks Im getng from some peo-
ple in town -- especially the old ladies.
The controversial post occurred last Friday evening when Mr.
Troter was visitng his friend Mr. Savage.
While enjoying a few cold beverages in Mr.
Savages backyard, Mr. Troter got up to use
the washroom. He lef his phone on the
table and, as a joke, Mr. Savage grabbed it
and quickly posted a comment on Mr.
Troters Facebook page.
I love playing with myself in Savages
backyard, is what Mr. Savage typed, not
realizing the frestorm he had just created.
By the tme Mr. Troter had returned, his
phone was almost vibratng of the table
with a slew of messages. When Mr. Troter discovered what his
friend had done, he turned to Mr. Savage, shook his head and
said, You son-of-a-bitch.
The rest of the evening was spent reading all the comments
pouring in from Mr. Troters Facebook friends. When it became
apparent that the joke had gone horribly wrong, Mr. Savage fnal-
ly got around to postng an apology (sort of) on his Facebook
page. IT WAS JUST A JOKE, THATS ALL. LIGHTEN UP PEOPLE!!!
Mr. Savage wrote.
Despite the apology, Mr. Troter says it has been difcult show-
ing his face around town, and he acknowledged that hes getng
the cold shoulder from many town folk, including merchants.
When he walked into the local LCBO store on Saturday to buy a
botle of rye, sales associate Elise Lewis glared at Mr. Troter and
said, Afer what you posted on Facebook last night, I dont even
want to look at you, let alone serve you!
Down the street at Scots Variety, as he went to pay for a cou-
ple of botles of Pepsi, store owner Paul Kim looked at Mr. Troter
and said, Guys who drink cofee outside my store this morning
say you been naughty boy. They call you wanker.
And when he showed up to his job at Steelworks in Peterbor-
ough on Monday morning, Mr. Troter was greeted at the door by
his boss, who wanted to speak with him in his ofce right now.
Even Mr. Troters mom, Barb, has encountered some grief over
the incident. When she atended church service on Sunday, Mrs.
Troter told The Journal she received quite a few strange looks
from some of the congregaton at St. Pauls United Church.
It made for a very uncomfortable situaton, she said.
As for Mr. Troter, hes just looking forward to the day when his
life returns to normal. For now, he plans to stay at home and
avoid people -- and Facebook -- for a while.
Will he be seeking a litle revenge on Mr. Savage in the not-too-
distant future?
Oh, yes, Mr. Troter promised. There will be payback.
Warkworths Ronnie Troter (botom lef) is taking lots of heat these days for
a vulgar comment that a friend had posted on his Facebook page as a joke
on the weekend (top). The comment immediately triggered a food of reac-
ton on social media (botom right), which has lef Mr. Troter embarrassed
and humiliated. (Photos courtesy of Facebook)

Friends joke causes plenty of shock
and disgust in town and on social media
ROBERT SAVAGE:
It was just a
joke, thats all.