The_Week_UK_-_Issue_1251__02_November_2019_UserUpload.Net

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SympathyfortheDUP

ToTheTimes

Inthemidstofalltheknee-

jerkexcoriationandmockery

oftheDUP,IwasgladJohn

Brehcist’sletterremindedus

ofthehorrorstheunionist

communitylivedthrough.

Theyarerequiredtoshare

powerwithSinnFéin,which

isledbypeoplewhoextolthe

terroristswhomurderedand

mutilated;whostillhavetheir

strategysecretlydictatedby

unelectedIRAveterans;who

usethelawtotrytoeradicate

thesymbolsofBritishness;and

whohavecynicallyrebranded

themselvesaspro-EUprogres-

sivestowinsupportfromthose

withshortmemories.

Theyarealsorighttothink

Britishgovernmentsare

unreliableallieswhohave

serially appeasedthe violent.

Thebetrayalof thecentre

ground wasreportedlyjustified

byTonyBlair,regarded asa

visionarypeacemaker,tothe

SDLP’s SeamusMalloninthese

terms:“The troublewithyou

fellowsisthatyouhave no

guns.” Itistruethatin the

interestsoftheUK asawhole

thisPrimeMinisterhasbroken

hiswordoncustoms

arrangements.However,he

isgenuinely aunionist,and

Ithink theDUPshould accept

adeal thatgivesNorthern

Irelandextraordinary

opportunitiestobecome aself-

reliant andprosperousplace.

Thisisaboutasgoodasitgets.

DrRuthDudley Edwards,

author ofTheFaithful Tribe:

anIntimatePortraitofthe

LoyalInstitutions

Hold the applause

To TheTimes

Iwas interested to read that

the Oxford University Student

Council is to replaceclapping

with “silent jazz hands”.The

studentcouncil maynot be

aware thatin many Hollywood

films sinceTheJazz Singerin

1927 ,and in popular variety

TV programmes in the UK

during the1960sand 1970s,

this gesturewasassociated

with white artistswho

“blacked up” as minstrel

singers. In our present

enlightened times,this may

be viewed asaracially abusive

move. Maybethese student

bodies should consider an

alternative wayofshowing

their appreciation,perhaps

usingthewell-established

“thumbsup” sign.However,

somelearned readersofThe

Timesmaywellpointout

thatthismayalsobeconstrued

as aninsult insomeparts of

theworld.

Peter Clarke,BourneEnd,

Buckinghamshire

Absolvinggrey squirrels

To The Independent

Irefer toyourreport by

PhoebeWeston regarding

invasivespecies.

Iamgetting tiredofthesame

oldrhetoricbeingtrottedout

aboutgreysquirrels (and

indeedthe muntjacdeer)in

particular. If people were

bothered to findoutfacts other

than thoseconstantlybeing

peddled by so-called redsquirrel

lovers, theywouldfind that the

grey squirrel hasbeeninthe

UK formorethan150years

(as hasthe muntjacdeer).

Theywouldunderstandthat

red squirrels were culled almost

to extinction until the1950sby

farmers whowere paidapenny

atail. They wouldsee that the

red squirrel’s habitatisrare

at best in theUK, andnon-

existentacross much of it.

They wouldalso findoutthat

the majority ofredsquirrelswe

have nowareintroduced from

Scandinavia (a bitofaman-

madeneo-invasion wouldn’t

yousay?). Theywouldhaveto

considerthatamajorsourceof

squirrelpox isredsquirrel

feedingstations–man-made

areaswhichare ahaven for

dirt anddisease.

Perhapsabitmorebalanced,

logicaland,dareIsay, kinder

thinkingisin order. Thereis

always more thanonesideto

anystoryif someoneiswilling

enoughto look.

Tracy Battensby,North

Yorkshire

More power to the foot

To The Guardian

Yourarticleaboutgreen

numberplates overemphasises

the role electric vehicles(EVs)

can playin theUK’szero-

emission revolution.While

theyare an importantpart of

the solutiontoreach theUK’s

legal targetof netzerocarbon

emissions,the Government

should not relyon asingle

technology. Infact, building

abatterypack foranEVis

incredibly energy-intensive,

andit take ssignificant

mileagebeforethe EV has

worked offtheCO 2 released

duringits manufacture.

In addition, theywillplay

littl epart in cleaning up the

toxicair which plaguesour

citiesand towns. Particulate

matterisone ofthegreatest

threats tohumanhealth,with

no safelevels,and research

shows that inLondon,45%

of ithasbeenattributedtotyre

andbrake wear. Furthermore,

theywillnotmakeourstreets

safer,lesscongestedormore

attractive placestomove

around .Ratherthanfocusing

on EVs, the Government

shouldbe doingeverything

it cantoshiftpeople away

fromdrivingtoheal thy, clean

alternativessuch aswalking

andcyclingforshorter

journeys.Thisisthebestway

to reach azero-carbonfuture.

TheGovern mentneedsto

pu tanendtobu ilding more

roadsforcars,and instead

makewalking and cyclingthe

easiestandmostconvenient

options formorepeople.

Pedestrians andpeople on

cyclesshouldhavepriority,

andnetworksof protected

cyclelaneson mainroads

shouldbe thenorm sothat

everyonefeels moreconfident

travelling around.

RachelWhite, head ofpublic

affairsatSustrans

Adance to inspire fear

To the Inewspaper

WatchingtheAllBlacksdoing

thehakapriortothe match

againstEnglandhasgiven me

anidea:perhapstheEngland

teammanagement should

returnthechallengebyhiring

atroupeof morrisdancers to

gothrough one oftheir

routineson thepitch.

Thatwouldbeequally

entertaining and should

strikeasenseof fearinto

theopposition.

TeresaBullock,Kettering,

Northamptonshire

2November 2019 THE WEEK

LETTERS

Pick of the week’s correspondence

©BANX/FT

“He’s stopped waiting

for Brexit and moved

on with his life.”

●Letters have been edited

Why vegans cause tension

ToTheGuardian

GeorgeReynolds’sarticlemayhaveoverlookedthemain

reasonthatvegansupsetpeople.Preparingandsharingfood

issocentraltohumanculturethatithasritualsignificance.

Strictveganismunderminesthefundamentalsocialriteof

eatingtogether.

Whenveganscookforomnivores,theinteractionis

generallysuccessful.Theguestseatwhattheyaregivenand

complimentthecooking.Theetiquetteoffood-sharinghas

beenpreserved.Butwhenstrictvegansarefedbyomnivores,

thereistension.Thehostsfaceadauntinglistofexclusion

andmusttrynewrecipes.Forpracticalreasons,thevegan

menumaybeimposedonthewholegathering.Thisoffends

ourdeep-rootedbeliefthatguestsshouldadapttothehost’s

culture,gratefullyacceptingwhateverfoodtheyaregiven.

Thealternativeoptionofthevegansbringingtheirownfood

isevenmoreoffensive:thesocialbondoffood-sharingwill

notbeachieved.

Historically,religiousdietarytabooswereusedasatool

topreventsocialinteractionwithothersoutsidethesect.

Unconsciously,vegansmaybecausinggraveoffenceby

“othering”theirfamiliesandcommunity.Thishas

implications for the best strategy to reduce meat-eating and

save the planet. Rather than undermining traditional food-

sharing culture, adopting gradualism, flexitarianism and

reinforcement will result in greater societal change.

Dr Quentin Shaw, Shrewsbury, Shropshire