The Observer - 04.08.2019

Section:OBS 2N PaGe:46 Edition Date:190804 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 3/8/2019 16:00 cYanmaGentaYellowbla

• The Observer
  46 04.08.19 Comment & Analysis

disincentives that are already

working, and off er more

constructive treatment and

sentencing for those caught in

possession.”

Andy Cook, chief executive of

the Centre for Social Justice

The Conversation

‘Everyone will benefi t’

“If carried out correctly,

everyone will benefi t from

less crime and stronger rule

of law. Legalising the drug

will especially help protect

young people and even

lower their consumption of

the drug. It is also a way of

raising taxes for the state,

instead of fuelling criminal

organisations, which control

the illegal market.”

Alice Mesnard Th e

Conversation is a site that uses

content from academics and

researchers

The Guardian

‘Mellow alternatives’

“ In the UK, children fi nd it

easier to access cannabis

than alcohol. Taking cannabis

out of the hands of street

dealers and putting it behind

the counter in shops with

security guards and ID

requirements would help

protect those under 18. For

adult users, there would be

more mellow alternatives

to the super-strength

skunk linked most closely

to psychosis, which makes

up around 94% of the black

market.” David Lammy

This week’s issue

Article reinforces

trans stereotypes

Your article on transgender groups

was transphobic (“ Politicised trans

groups put children at risk ”, News ,

last week ). I’m sure I don’t need to

explain to a leftwing newspaper why

presenting a minority group as a

“heavily politicised lobby” putting

pressure on non-group members

in order to force children into

unnecessary medical treatment is a

bad and inaccurate idea. Particularly

when no specifi c groups or actions

on the part of this lobby have

actually been cited.

The assertions being made are

astonishing – that a nefarious

pro-trans lobby is putting pressure

on the NHS and schools to make

children transition. Why, then, did

it not have one single transgender

person or charity giving a comment

on the claims? Surely an article

making such sweeping statements

should at least give a nod to an

opposing perspective?

Th e article promotes the idea

that transgender adults are working

in mysterious and harmful ways

against children and young people.

It is assertions like this that have

led to the rise in hate crimes against

not only trans people, but also gay

people. LGBT people have often

been seen as preying on children

and this article reinforces this idea.

Amy Rawe

Sheffi eld

My daughter came out as trans at age

15. I know that she was not properly
    supported and instead pushed
    down the trans pathway because
    only affi rmation therapy is offered.
    Having met her psychologist at her
    gender clinic, I can confi rm that the
    language used and therapy given
    were limited to affi rmation therapy
    and any notion of underlying
    comorbid conditions dismissed. She
    was later diagnosed ADHD.
    I believe most media outlets are
    staying silent on these issues to
    avoid the backlash but, quite frankly,
    by staying silent they are complicit
    in the harm that is being caused
    to perfectly healthy gender non-
    conforming children. I do hope you
    will be covering this issue more.
    Thank you.
    Jill Gardner
    Milton Keynes

respect for bargees, horses, canal

residents, walkers, dogs and even

kittens.

Bruce Whitehead

South Queensferry, Edinburgh

Your supplement on the canal

revolution seems to have

sparked huge interest among

complete strangers in my lavatory

arrangements, which, apparently, I

am always happy to discuss. Thanks

for that.

Ian Grieve

Shropshire Union canal

No justice for rape victims

Discussing the falling prosecution

rate in rape cases, Barbara Ellen

notes that “unless there’s full

disclosure from the defendant, the

police or CPS have been known to

drop cases or refuse to proceed”

(“ Rape victims deserve more

support every step of their way to

court ”, Comment , last week ). She

means the complainant, not the

defendant, but this partly explains

why victims withdraw from rape

cases: they realise it is they who are

on trial, not the accused.

My daughter was raped by the

owner of a bar where she had a

summer job. When it became clear

that the process of seeking “justice”

would destroy what remained of

her fragile mental health, devastate

her life for years and probably result

been reluctant to accept Muslim

infl uences despite the confl ict with

the Ottomans: the Polish aristocrat’s

characteristic dress is a Turkish-

style kaftan and the characteristic

Polish sword is a version of the

Turkish scimitar.

The self-styled patriots are

ignorant of their own history and

the depth of the Polish commitment

to freedom and tolerance. During

its Commonwealth phase, Poland

was one of the most tolerant nations

in Europe, welcoming Jews, Muslim

Tartars, Armenians and heretic

Unitarians. During the partition

period, Polish intellectuals and

poets created a movement called

Messianism, where the sufferings

of the Polish nation would lead to

the emancipation of all oppressed

people, regardless of faith.

Nothing less patriotic than the

behaviour of this government,

church and their thugs can be

imagined.

Michael Kowalewski

Melbury Osmond

Dorset

Stewart Lee – respect!

Stewart Lee has come out as a social

media celibate with no Facebook

or Twitter accounts (“ Can comedy

survive in an age of outrage? ” , last

week ). My respect for your comic

columnist has quadrupled!

Geoff Reid

Bradford

in the rapist getting away with it,

she decided, with our full support,

to withdraw co-operation with the

criminal justice system.

I fi nd it incomprehensible that

anyone still believes that tinkering

with this barbaric and benighted

system by improving “victim

support” will ever result in it

delivering justice or operating in the

public interest.

Name and address withheld

Buddhist order has moved on

I was surprised to read the lurid

account of the Triratna Buddhist

community as a gay sex cult

(“ Teacher, Buddhist, predator ”,

special report, 21 July). I’ve practised

Buddhism within Triratna for four

decades and your article bears little

relation to my experience. I write

as an insider, but also as a woman

playing a leading role in Triratna.

I care deeply about our ethical

integrity.

The accusations of sexual

misconduct have long been

acknowledged. Triratna was born

in 1967 in a culture of sexual

experimentation and our founder,

Sangharakshita, actively participated

in this. We’ve learned through

painful experience that people

suffered and that Sangharakshita

himself was sometimes the cause.

We’ve refl ected on our Buddhist

ethical principles, gradually learning

to bring awareness and compassion

into the diffi cult area of sexual

relationships. We’re still learning

and since 2015 we’ve instituted

rigorous safeguarding procedures

in our UK centres, reaching out to

anyone we know who’s suffered

as a result of these diffi culties. The

report you cite is an initiative by

several individuals within Triratna

who are not “disaffected” but want

to help move this process forward.

Ratnadharini, incoming chair,

College of Preceptors

Triratna Buddhist Order

Adhisthana, Coddington

Herefordshire

Poland’s history of tolerance

With reference to your harrowing

story by Jacek Dehnel, (“ Pride meets

prejudice in Poland ” special report ,

last week ): so homosexuality and

Islam are anti-Polish and foreign?

Well, Karol Szymanowski (1882-

1937) , the greatest Polish composer

since Chopin, was both gay and

infl uenced by Islam. Nor have Poles

YOUR

LETTERS

Write to us

The Telegraph

‘Maintain disincentives’

“ While wealthy Londoners

seek to expand their ever-

growing liberties, it is more

likely to be the single parent

on the housing estate

who will have to raise her

three children in the fug of

a neighbour’s habit, than

those pushing for change ...

we need to maintain the

Letters, which may be edited, should include a full name and postal

address and be sent to

Letters to the Editor Th e Observer, Kings Place,

90 York Way, London N1 9GU (to be received by noon Th ursday).

Email: [email protected]

(please insert Letters to the Editor in subject fi eld).

For conditions go to gu.com/letters-terms

Britain’s view on... MPs saying cannabis will be legalised within 10 years

Are children coming

under pressure?

The message, in German,

across the effi gy of Greta

Thunberg holding by the ear

a couple labelled “parents’

generation” was not that

the young Swedish activist

was fi nally taking action,

as our caption said. A better

translation of the words on the

carnival fl oat in Dusseldorf has

the 16-year-old activist telling

her elders: “Do something,

fi nally, to combat the climate

catastrophe!” ( “They see us as

a threat because we are having

an impact” , 21 July, the New

Review, page 8).

Write to the Readers’ Editor, the

Observer, York Way, London N1

9GU, email observer.readers@

observer.co.uk, tel 020 3353 4736

For the record

Towpath etiquette, please

Mark Townsend is wrong about

towpath cycling (“ The canal

revolution ”, supplement , last week ).

It’s an essential safe corridor for

zero-carbon active travel and it

can be totally safe. The problem is

with Mark’s riding style. He admits

that “racing along the narrow path

felt increasingly incompatible with

other users”. I commuted in central

London for many years and never

did that – you simply slow down

well in advance of other users and

get off if necessary. (Although my

trombone case did collide with a

Camden bridge once, pitching me

into the water.)

We can share the towpath as we

share the roads; in friendly, mutual

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