‘Economic treason’ charge vilifies public servants

YOUR editorial headlined ‘Day of action becomes day of cheep beer’ (November 25) referred to “strikers who abandoned picket lines to sit in four and five-mile tailbacks outside Newry as they went North to do a bit of Christmas shopping”.

No evidence was offered. Public service employees were on strike last Tuesday. There was heavy traffic on the road to Newry. So this is “proof” that those on strike went in large numbers to Newry to purchase cheap beer?

Obviously, this is what passes as responsible journalism at the Irish Examiner.

And when you had concluded that those on strike went to Newry, you then felt within your rights to vilify them and accuse them of “economic treason”.

I have no idea who was in those vehicles on the road to Newry. But whoever was in them was not breaking any law by shopping in Newry. And those on strike were acting within the law by withdrawing their labour.

You have freedom of speech. But surely you also have a responsibility to base your commentary on verifiable facts, not on supposition and anecdote.

You also have a responsibility to refrain from incitement to ridicule, resentment and even hatred of 250,000 people in this society who were acting within the law.

I am not aware of a single public sector employee who went to the North last Tuesday.

That, of course, does not mean it did not happen. But you feel free to vilify all those on strike because some strikers may have done so.

I always shop local, buy Irish produce whenever possible, always ask for Irish produce in restaurants. But you have declared me guilty of “economic treason”. I might as well have organised a fleet of buses to take strikers from the Cork region to shop in Newry that day. I could even have organised an overnight stay on Monday as hotels are cheaper there too.

Perhaps I should do so on the December 3 because whatever I actually do, you’ll write what you want others to believe in order to promote your agenda of hatred of public service workers.

The only treason in evidence here is the treason of which you yourself are guilty.

Stirring up resentment and hatred between sections of this society on the basis of very dubious conclusions drawn from very flimsy evidence is gutter journalism of the worst kind and would fit my definition of treason.

Elizabeth Ahern

(Public sector employee)

Curragh

Kanturk

Co Cork