Letters to the Editor: We cannot allow hate to become the norm
Christy Galligan writes: 'No amount of imposed or enforced legislation to stem this level of intolerance, violence, and hate has succeeded.' Picture: iStockÂ
What kind of society do we want if we allow violence, hate crimes, and assaults to become the norm?
The increasing violence we see and hear of on a daily basis is not helped by online misinformation that promotes a culture of hate, violence, misogyny, and indifference, to our fellow human beings.
Looking at the paper headlines of â
26,000 assaults on HSE staff, aggressive behaviour, assaults and abuse of staff in IPAS centres, and attacks on South Asian individuals â does not give a good impression of an Ăire of a thousand welcomes.
What we are seeing is Ireland becoming a country driven by extremes. Extremes of different cultures, and religions.
We are no longer dominated by one or two religions or a single culture, which was predominately white and Catholic, but with differing cultures and religions from all over the globe.
We are seeing a dramatic shift to a multicultural, as opposed to a monocultural, society where many varying and differing views have now been exposed but where some have not been accepted.
What we have seen as part of this transformation is a shift away from the norms and values that we set in the earlier part of the 19th and 20th centuries, most of which led to inquiries of abuse and corruption at all levels of society, replaced by a more liberal open-minded society where borders are no longer a bar to entry and citizenship.
But this, too, has led to a level of intolerance and increasing violence, taken advantage of by the extremists, which has divided differing societies and cultures, within our towns and cities.
Our prisons and youth detention centres are at capacity, our frontline emergency workers are tackling an almost daily deluge of violence with some state agencies unable to cope with the relentless assaults on their staff.
We need the rule of law to be fully implemented and where punishment fits the crime and a zero tolerance approach to those who attempt or promote intolerance and division.
Can we do it? Yes we can, but we must remove the straightjacket that has been imposed on those on the frontline, where direct and decisive action is treated as an abhorrence, where disciplinary action is a constant, but where a softly, softly, approach of turning the other cheek is lauded as a virtue.
How long before we adopt, as a collective society, a level of intolerance against those who promote division and violence?
No amount of imposed or enforced legislation to stem this level of intolerance, violence, and hate has succeeded.
This is because of the lack of will by successive governments to invest in programmes or services, and the constant barriers created by certain agencies and NGOs which constantly promote and defend the rights of those who agitate, while berating and undermining the services that protect us.
We are writing a book on the experiences of Irish female national school teachers, 1890-1950.
We are interested in any material, such as diaries, letters, photographs, or other artefacts that your readers might share with us.
If you have any information you would like to share, please email judith.harford@ucd.ie
While I admire the concept of the Dead Zoo and welcome its reopening at a new location in Collins Barracks, Dublin, while the Natural History Museum is refurbished, I canât help regretting the demise of creatures that once trod the earth and are now just professionally stuffed sensations.
When the collection was housed at the Natural History Museum, you could view tigers, lions, baboons, and water buffaloâŠamong other mammals.
They appeared to pose for the visitor â the bullet holes still visible in some of them. They looked noble and aesthetically pleasing in their glass and mahogany display cases, but Iâd so much prefer to see them grazing, at rest, or running free in their own domain.
The Dead Zoo came to mind recently when I listened to a talk on the threats to our wildlife. White-tailed eagles lovingly returned to our shores have been shot or poisoned. Despite the education campaigns, trigger-happy rural dwellers canât resist an opportunity to rid this island of an already rare species that adds so much to our eco-system and the natural balance in the countryside.
Our supposedly protected badger is still under attack due to the perceived link between it and the spread of bovine TB.
Our native hare, a sub-species unique to this island, has suffered a 50% decline over the past half century. Yet the State grants a licence permitting the capture of thousands for coursing. As with the white-tailed eagle and the badger, our law protects the Irish hare, but the same legal system exempts coursing from prohibition even while weâre in the midst of a biodiversity crisis.
So, while Iâd recommend a visit to the Dead Zoo, Iâd hate to think that the mighty white-tailed eagle, the long-suffering badger, or our beloved Irish hare would ever end up in what a Victorian writer called âa cabinet of curiositiesâ.
I want to applaud the Irish Examinerâs Niamh Griffin for her article on pain killers (âPainkiller addiction warning as opioid prescriptions rise by 25% in eight yearsâ, August 18). This lead story warns of the addiction risks presented by the rise in the use of painkillers in Ireland.
Ms Griffin highlights a study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology using research by UCC among others where we find that there has been a 25% rise in the use of opioids and a 5O% increase in the use of medication containing oxycodone. The study points out that ocycodone is one of the drugs prescribed when other painkillers are not working.
The study found a relative 389% rise in the use of Tepentadol which is another drug prescribed for chronic pain.
I note that the authors of this research have said the long waiting lists for orthopaedic care such as knee operations can leave people with severe chronic pain, potentially waiting years for surgery.
As a clinician, I believe that a multifaceted approach is crucial, focusing on non-pharmacological interventions along with addressing the underlying causes of pain.
This includes exploring psychological therapies, physical therapies, and lifestyle changes as well as considering alternative pain management techniques. Itâs also vital for people to understand the potential risks with long-term painkiller use and this is why itâs always important to prioritise patient education and support.
I commend Niamh Griffin for her well researched article.
There has been a lot of discussion lately about the naming of suspects.
Personally, I have always felt that it is fundamentally unfair on persons merely accused of having committed a crime to be named in the media prior to any trial or conviction. No matter the eventual outcome their good name and presumption of innocence will inevitably take a hit.
Even if acquitted of the crime of which they are accused and told by the judge they are âfree to leave the court a free personâ, their naming in the media will inevitably haunt them as there will always be prejudiced and merciless people who will nod âknowinglyâ and say âthereâs no smoke without a fireâ and assume the mere fact of being arrested and appearing in court is enough to prove a personâs guilt.
The argument that ârevealing the personâs name could help other victims come forwardâ does not hold any weight with me.
The accused ought be freed or convicted on the strength of the evidence for the specific crime for which they are on trial, not the weight of putative accusations for which they are not on trial.
The media could choose voluntarily not to name anyone merely accused of committing a crime and it would not take a âgag orderâ from the courts to do this â it would simply take an ounce of humanity on the part of journalists and their editors who report on court cases. It would simply take recalling the famous dictum âdo unto othersâŠâ
I would like to see a change in the Law in this regard, but until then, the media (and social media) could lead the way by doing the right thing and have a shred of humanity and not name or identify any suspect unless or until they have been found guilty of the crime with which they were charged.
