Letters: No need to fret over hate-speech laws, Scotland proves they work just fine

Lorraine Courtney has taken aim at Scotland’s new “hate-speech” legislation (‘Scotland’s hate-speech laws have been a disaster – are you watching, Simon Harris?’ Irish Independent, April 29).

She worries serious crimes will go unsolved while police are busy dealing with complaints about the behaviour of a celebrity author who set out to “test” the new laws by deliberately making inflammatory comments about trans people.

Your columnist needs not fret. No prosecutions resulted. No one’s right to be boorish, ill-mannered, gratuitously offensive or insulting was denied. The new law worked as designed.

Bernie Linnane, Dromahair, Co Leitrim

UK not the only place with immigration loopholes, we have plenty of our own

Taoiseach Simon Harris said “Ireland will not provide a loophole” for the migration challenges in other countries.

The Taoiseach means the UK, of course. But is this reaction based on the obvious fact that Ireland has enough loopholes of its own when it comes to the immigration issue?

Peter Declan O’Halloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan

Make hay while the sun shines – even if someone tries to dampen your mood

Last week’s glorious weather was worth waiting for. Well, I thought so anyway, until a local self-acclaimed weather expert joined me as I was enjoying a 99 and a coffee and he complained that we had lost the run of ourselves.

As one who makes the most of good weather and outdoor living, I was taken aback by the rebuke. He insisted that unseasonable weather is precarious and upsets the natural order.

“It’s far too early, it won’t last and we’ll pay for it later on. It’s the middle of Scaraveen, so this brief spell of good weather will be followed by the rough weather of the cuckoo,” he said.

He predicted that the whole country could soon be laid low with colds and flu because of our obsession with a tan. He rubbed salt in the wound by inferring that my attire of shorts, T-shirt, fedora and shades was more appropriate for the Costa del Sol than downtown Tralee on an April day.

To add insult to injury, I was further chastised for swimming out of season: “Have you never heard the old adage, April and May stay out of the sea, June and July swim ’til you die?”

Even though my ice cream had melted and my coffee had gone cold, I stood my ground.

“Live in the moment,” I said. “As Gerry Murphy, a real meteorologist and RTÉ weather forecaster advises, enjoy the good weather when it comes. What’s seldom is wonderful.”

Billy Ryle, Tralee, Co Kerry

Does Santa Claus hold the key to deciding Donald Trump’s immunity claim?

What is immunity? Is it a bulletproof vest that stops a shot to the heart but not to the head? That would be partial immunity and not really that much protection.

The US Supreme Court is examining the issue in a case involving Donald Trump, and it appears that an exact definition will be difficult, which will lead to more chaos, further delays and damage to the legal system.

Perhaps it is time to get outside advice from Santa. He has a simple list of good and bad. There is no “being good on the weekend” or “good when granny visits” – just good or bad.

A God-fearing, bible-carrying – or bible-selling – Christian, as Trump claims to be, knows there will be a decision made by the final judge at the pearly gates and then there will be no delays, bluster or conflicted accusations.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

Women all have skin in the game when it comes to being ‘beach body ready’

I am in my 60’s, a time to celebrate my own and all female bodies – that is, until reading Édaein O’Connell’s piece on Saturday (‘Maybe that topless guy we all see around is right – it’s time to let go of the body hang-ups,’ Irish Independent, April 27).

She reminds us this is the time of year “where we must show skin”.

It made me think of the term “beach body ready” that often appears around this time of year and has always put the heart crossways in me.

Anne Marie Kennedy, Craughwell, Co Galway

Exhausted GAA players must be protected from young pitch invaders

For fear of being called a killjoy, I think it’s about time the GAA addressed the matter of pitch invasions, primarily by young, enthusiastic fans after matches.

I have been thinking about writing to you on this issue for a while now, but your front page picture (Monday, April 29) of poor Aaron Gillane having all those hurleys thrust at him for autographs made my mind up.

A good job he still had his helmet on. I think it’s only a matter of time before someone gets injured in one of these melees. And the poor players are caught between a rock and a hard place if they make a run for it to the dressing rooms, as they will be accused of ignoring their fans.

Give the players more protection and escort them off the pitch in a safe manner. After all, they have just given their all for 70-plus minutes to entertain these same fans.

Seán O’Dowd, Rahoon, Galway

Have we learned nothing from the inhumanity and cruelty of the Holocaust?

I read Eugene Tannam’s letter with interest and, I must admit, some disbelief (‘European Jews in Israel were not “opportunistic”, they were returning home’, Letters, April 29).

While I will always sympathise with the pain and horror the Jewish people and others suffered in the concentration camps, what happened 80 years ago does not justify the prolonged and devastating war in Gaza or the horrific treatment of the Palestinians by the Israelis. It begs a question: have we learned nothing?

I visited Auschwitz years ago and remain dumbfounded as to how man could commit such horrors. I walked through a room with human hair, mounds of glasses and suitcases. Looking at the piles of baby shoes, I wondered if there was such a thing as humanity at all.

Watching the news from Gaza, I’m again flabbergasted. It’s 2024 and the disregard for human life is unpalatable. To bomb hospitals, kill civilians and to boast about it on social media. Where is the compassion or love? “Never again” is a phrase I use often. The likes of the Holocaust should never happen again to anyone.

Julie Bennett, Co Laois

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