Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, – I commend Robbie Sharpe (Letters, May 3) for having brought up three children on his own. However, in trying to establish a causal relationship between wearing a uniform and the stifling of creativity and individuality he offers only an opinion and little to back it up.
If his point is that his children have achieved more because they did not wear a uniform that would appear to be moot as he says nothing more of them.
His own background and degree have as much relevance to his point as the price of a pint of milk, unless he is saying that he also did not wear a uniform and this made all the difference to him.
His choice of North Americans as an ideal for young people with a sense of self is unfortunate, as many will see only their self-absorption and need for instant gratification.
If there is a lack of this sense of self in Japanese society it hasn’t stopped them becoming the third largest economy in the world and their motor industry from surpassing ours.
If his comments pertain to the situation at Grove Academy I have to declare an interest.
I am a former pupil and wore a uniform throughout my time at Eastern Primary and Grove. It didn’t stifle my individuality otherwise I wouldn’t have lapped up the invitation to perform on the Caird Hall stage in 1973 at the Dundee Schools Music Festival concert for individual prize winners as a vocalist.
The uniform gave me a sense of community and comradeship, something which is still evident when I meet up with school friends 50 years after our first class together.
Steve Dron.Muirfield Crescent,Dundee.
Decision marks a sad day for Scottish justice
Sir, – The rejection of Paul Donnachie’s appeal against charges of ”acting in a racially aggravated manner” is very worrying and not just for the defendant, who has demonstrated both within and outwith the court his sincere commitment to racial harmony and fairness.
It marks a sad day for Scottish justice and also for Scotland’s Jews.
The Scottish University Jewish Chaplaincy, which has welcomed this decision, has no mandate to speak on behalf of Scotland’s ”Jewish Community”.
Jews, like any other group, exhibit a range of political opinions and to suggest otherwise could itself be construed as racist.
Thursday’s Courier acknowledges this with a long quote from Jews protesting their government’s policies from within Israel.
Within Scotland (as the chaplaincy should know), Scottish Jews for a Just Peace has issued a public statement condemning ”the way that the sheriff’s decision confuses the legitimate right to criticise the State of Israel with racism and conflates Jewishness with support for Israel”.
Sarah Glynn.Member of Scottish Jews for a Just Peace and Tayside for Justice in Palestine,Castle Terrace,Broughty Ferry.
Needs simpler explanation
Sir, – I attended the count for Perth and Kinross Council election on Friday morning and was appalled at the fact that more than 500 voters had turned up to vote but had their votes rejected because they marked the voting paper wrongly.
We can’t blame the Electoral Commission whose booklet declared on the cover: ”On 3rd May you need to mark your ballot paper with numbers. Here’s how.”
How many of us read it or the many leaflets put through our letter boxes by candidates? Was it another case of overkill with too much paper and not enough use of TV and other media?
The general opinion seemed to blame us oldies for failing to adapt. The most common fault was using an ”x” instead of numbers. The whole point is to record your order of preference.
So before the next election under the single transferable vote system there has to be a simpler and more direct campaign using the media rather than mailshots.
Five hundred people were denied their democratic right because of failure to cope with change.
Ian Gilbert.16 Robertson Crescent,Pitlochry.
Shale has good track record
Sir, – Eric Swinney writes from Lafayette USA to take issue with me and asserts shale gas extraction ”causes water contamination” (Letters, May 4) a phrase meant to conjure up fear of death and disease.
The green lobby and the subsidy junkies in the renewables industry want to stop shale gas exploration by any means possible.
The exhaustive study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded: ”With 20,000 shale wells drilled in the last 10 years, the environmental record of shale gas is for the most part a good one.”
Fracking has been used without controversy since the 1940s and cannot be linked directly to ground water contamination.
Shale gas in the UK could prevent the installation of 4,000 large wind turbines. It needs no subsidies and would make turbines obsolete.
Bring it on!
Clark Cross.138 Springfield Road,Linlithgow.
Hospital thanks
Sir, – Sincere thanks to the staff of ward 19 at Ninewells for making my recent enforced stay there enjoyable despite my illness.
They carried out their duties in a professional and caring manner with a cheery word or smile. Nothing was too much bother.
A word of praise, too, for the kitchen staff. How they manage to provide such wholesome quality meals for hundreds of patients at a time is incredible.
George Fyfe.9 Tayview Road,Liff, Dundee.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL. Letters should be accompanied by an address and a daytime telephone number.