Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
Were they truths or just Tebbit’s takes?
Your report into the death of Tory grandee Norman Tebbit at 94 said ‘he spoke his truth’ (Metro, Wed).
He did not ‘speak his truth’. We don’t all have our own individual ‘truths’.
Norman Tebbit spoke his opinion. Like anyone’s opinion, including yours or mine, it was a product of a flawed personality, intellectual shortcomings and limited life experience.
Tebbit’s opinion was certainly not any kind of truth. In many areas his views were miles away from objective reality.
Take unemployment as an example – you can’t, as he put it, just ‘get on your bike and look for work’ if you can’t work or don’t have the means to get to work or there are no jobs that pay the rent.
Impressions, views, opinions, feelings – these are not facts. I know I’m stating the obvious but it’s far too easy to lose sight of that.
I don’t mean to sound disrespectful – on the contrary, I can think of no greater tribute to anyone’s memory than to learn from their mistakes. I very much hope that when I die, other people will learn from mine. Helen Shaw, Liverpool
‘Increasingly unhinged’, ‘bigoted and angry’, reader shares their take on Tebbit
Tebbit was a fairly brutal ethno-nationalist who became more bigoted and angry as he aged.
This state of mind was no doubt aggravated by the effects of the 1984 IRA bomb attack of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in which his wife, Margaret, was paralysed.
This was understandable but it meant his contributions to a discussion on, for example, Northern Ireland or the EU, became increasingly unhinged.
He was treated with great respect by the right-wing media but it could be argued that one of his legacies was the disgraceful race riots after the Southport murders. Robert O’Mahony, Lewisham
No ‘cheap political points’ here, reader praises Mexico’s response to the Texas floods
After all of Donald Trump’s racist smears, insults and threats toward Mexico, you could forgive the Mexican people for holding a grudge against the US president’s supporters.
So now that floods have hit Texas, deep in the heartlands of Trump country, do Mexicans stand by and watch? No.
They’ve sent emergency manpower and essential supplies and are on the ground saving lives. Instead of scoring cheap political points, the Mexican government is doing the right thing, regardless of the past.
I can think of many richer countries that would do well to learn from this example. JWA Caley, St Pancras
Spitting image returns, but who’s the puppet master of politics?
I agree with Dennis in Australia (MetroTalk, Wed) that the return of satirical puppet show Spitting Image on YouTube is good timing.
However, it missed out on US president Joe Biden – he was already a puppet who believed in the great American dream, so was always asleep.
As for Sir Keir Starmer, well, Donald Trump is always pulling the strings. Henry, London
Take the ‘thugs’ first, reader comments on the Horizon computer scandal
Bob Readman (MetroTalk, Thu) asks how much longer must we wait until the top Post Office executives responsible for trying to cover up the Horizon computer scandal are arrested?
The first Post Office ‘cover-up’ employees to be arrested and tried should be the thugs who visited and threatened the sub-postmasters and lied to them individually, saying they were the only people who had faulty accounts. Martin J Phillips, Leeds
Are e-bikes motor vehicles?
It is getting more difficult to relax in London’s parks these days.
I put this down to what I call ‘fake’ or ‘pretend’ cyclists. By that, I mean e-bike riders.
They’re buzzing all over the place in parks, travelling along paths that are signposted as ‘No cycling’. They don’t even watch where they are going because they are staring into their phones. The pathways are not safe.
The proper cyclists aren’t so bad, by which I mean those who use leg power to move bikes. As e-bikes are effectively motor vehicles, e-bike riders should require a licence. Alfie Mullin, West London
To the lady on Brewer Street…
To the lady walking up Brewer Street in Maidstone on Friday. I pointed out that your child had dropped its bottle.
I would like to say thank you for berating me for this fact, especially when you were still calling me names after I was walking up the street (yes, I could still hear you). Paul, Maidstone
A suggestion for Steve
Steve (MetroTalk, Fri) asks whether it’s worth sacrificing his peace of mind to stay informed about current affairs, no matter how angry it makes him.
Reading the news and being well-informed is so important. It broadens your horizons and you get to understand how the world works – and much more.
I suggest spending as little as 15 minutes discussing the news with a loved one after reading the newspaper. That will help release the tension and make sense of the world together. Mike, Manchester
