Letters - Monday, September 13, 2021

Good old Blackpool. Where else would racist, sexist and deeply upsetting material be allowed?

Yes, I am talking of the article about Roy Chubby Brown, whose view of decent non-racist people is that they are ‘snowflakes’, pandering to ‘political correctness’, in other words not wishing to see people filled full of hate in the name of entertainment.

I find the fact that he thinks his hate-filled material is suitable says it all about the man... and sadly, about Blackpool.

Alex

Address supplied

I agree with and commend the Gazette for their balanced editorial on the forthcoming appearance of Roy Chubby Brown in Blackpool.

Brown is indeed part of the resort’s fabric and genuinely popular with many people.

His detractors are perfectly entitled to their views that he is offensive. But they are not entitled to say his act therefore should not be allowed and Brown should be ‘cancelled’, as happened in Sheffield. Being offended is not a valid reason for pulling the plug on a show. Anyone can claim to be offended.

Cancel culture and authoritarian censorship go hand-in-hand and it is now the standard, perhaps knee-jerk, response to cancel anyone who disagrees with or challenges the perpetual indignation and ideology of the (very) vocal minority.

Detractors talk about hate speech, and throw other labels around: sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic etc etc... etc. In this country we have rigid hate speech laws which help prevent harm being done before the words are actually spoken. Brown is edgy but is no doubt well aware of these laws. He can tread that fine line skilfully - that’s why he is funny, popular and oddly refreshing.

His appearance is indeed a victory for freedom of speech and a victory for Blackpool.

Charles Spicer

North Shore

VACCINES

We have to weigh risks and benefits

Anne Nightingale ( Your Say, September 8) is concerned about the Government’s proposal to give anti Covid-19 vaccines to children aged 12 to 15 against the advice of the independent committee, the JCVI. This she says is ‘unprecedented’.

Untrue. Over many years UK governments have overruled scientific advice, for example at the time of the debate over TB, polio and MMR vaccines; claims by some scientists that the latter caused autism were disproved.

She advises parents therefore to ‘do your own independent research’. I wish them well.

Vaccines are extremely complex. The general public simply do not have the advanced scientific knowledge required to research them and analyse their findings. Even eminent immunologists disagree; the past two years have amply demonstrated this. How many people even understand how vaccines work?

Over the years many vaccines have been subjected to intense scrutiny by the scientific community. Vaccines against, for example, smallpox, TB, polio and diphtheria were hotly opposed by many scientists including some renowned ones.

Political decisions about whether to vaccinate or not have to be based on weighing current scientific research and opinions in the light of the known effects of a killer disease. No one can guarantee the outcome for everyone vaccinated. However, serious complications are extremely rare.

Vaccines hesitancy is a well known phenomenon. The World Health Organisation regards it as in the top 10 health threats. It points out that those who spurn vaccination reduce herd immunity for all.

Life involves weighing risks against benefits. The Joint Committee, quoted by Nightingale, in fact agreed that the benefits of vaccination probably did outweigh the risks. Notably it failed to discuss the social effects of a decision not to vaccinate.

The US, France and Spain already vaccinate the 12 to 15 age group; currently, we vaccinate only the seriously disabled.

Dr Barry Clayton

Thornton Cleveleys

HEALTH

Tax wealth instead

The almost unanimous support given by Conservative MPs to the proposed changes to funding the NHS and social care is nothing short of shocking, not least because they were elected on a platform of maintaining the Triple Lock and reforming social care.

But then I forget that a Cabinet reshuffle is imminent! Such is the ambition for power and promotion amongst these MPs that, at their leader’s bequest, they somewhat cowardly abandon their election manifesto pledges and, it would seem, sense of social justice.

I can only speculate on how they are able to sleep in their beds at night and sincerely hope that those who voted for them see through this shambolic contempt for the UK electorate before the next election. If this Government has taught us anything, it’s that a Parliamentary majority of 80 is an unhealthy foundation for meaningful scrutiny and dissent.

It is impossible to justify the increase in National Insurance contributions to fund health and social care services (which, if history teaches us anything, we know that most of which will be swallowed up by the NHS), something that will still further reduce the standard of living of the ever growing number of poor people and low paid workers.

Dawn B Judd

Address supplied

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