Malta is a proud nation. But there are times when the behaviour of some makes the vast majority of the population want to hang its head in shame, and that is exactly what happened this week.

We are talking about the barrage of abuse that was directed towards European Commissioner Cecelia Malmstrom in the wake of the tanker standoff incident which took place this week.

Let us set off from this premise. Legally, Malta was correct in refusing entry to the MT Salamis – which had rescued just over 100 migrants some 24 nautical miles off Libya. Rome’s Search and Rescue Centre instructed the caption to do an about-turn and take the migrants back to Tripoli, because it was deemed to be the closest safe port of call. The vessel was some 140 nautical miles off Malta at the time, but the captain decided to steam towards Malta, which was the ship’s original destination.

Morally, however, it was a different kettle of fish. European Commissioner Malmstrom urged Malta to take in the immigrants, but the government refused. In the end, the standoff was resolved when Italy’s Prime Minister Enrico Letta decided that his country would let them disembark in Syracuse.

In the aftermath, Commissioner Malmstrom tweeted and wrote on Facebook, thanking Italy for “saving the lives of many”. This prompted a completely irrational and awful backlash from many Maltese who commented back on her wall.

The comments that were posted up there were vulgar, atrocious and did nothing except expose the bigotry that this country hosts within its society. What’s worse is that the sheer depravity of some of the comments made us look like a bunch of rednecks from a backwater island. Perhaps that is exactly what we are, given the volume and sheer backward statements that some people made. The comments ranged from calling the woman ugly, to not so veiled innuendos about black men and their genitals and what she should do with them. Well done to all who posted there – you made us all look like a bunch of racist, sexist idiots.

This is not about the European Commission or the Commissioner really, it is about our people making us look like savages. Thankfully, a great many people also posted on the Commissioner’s page saying that they did not feel the same way that others did and that a minority was painting the true feelings of Maltese people in bad light. But still, the damage has been done.

What a sad, sad day for Malta. This will be a blemish on our history for ever. We are used to it here. If people cannot string together an intelligent and reasoned argument, they turn to insults and hate. But to do it in the cyber world, where everyone can see? It’s just unforgivable.