Dear Sir,
I find the recent letters from Cllr Kathy Beetham somewhat ironic and disturbing. She has called for tolerance and opposed bigotry in her letters whilst, in her ‘rather angry and sweary private Facebook post’ in June 2016 under her pseudonym Lilith Mooney, having described all leave voters (ie the majority who voted) as ‘racist idiot scum’ and ‘morons’, and expressed the view that they should be ‘gassed first’. Interestingly, this appears to have not merited expulsion from the Labour Party.
It is particularly ironic and disturbing that she talks of ‘gassing’ people when Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbin is widely recognised as having an intense dislike of Israel and is considered by many to be anti-semitic, when gassing Jews (as well as black people, homosexuals and others disliked by the regime) during the Second World War was one of the most notorious acts of genocide in the history of mankind.
Cllr Beetham refers to this as a ‘private posting’. Does that make such appalling comments acceptable? They certainly do not reflect the thought patterns of a tolerant individual.
All this stems from Cllr John Clare’s attendance at a protest rally opposing President Trump, pictured holding a banner saying ‘refugees welcome here’. I respect Cllr Clare’s right to attend such protests – that is everyone’s prerogative in a free society. However, I have to take issue with the factual accuracy of his banner, as there is strong evidence to suggest that a sizeable chunk of UK residents are not happy with us taking refugees – surveys clearly show that opposition to immigration is one of the key reasons for the Brexit vote.
I do not concur with Cllr Beetham’s view that opposing immigration amounts to being ‘racist idiot scum’. Many people are legitimately very concerned about the high risks of bringing into the country people from war-torn countries where law and order has broken down, murder is de rigeur, religious extremism is rife, and it’s very difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Common sense dictates that this is a potential recipe for disaster, and we must not let political correctness get in the way of common sense.
The volume of immigration is also a legitimate concern, due to the pressure it places on already stretched public services. Again ironically, the Brexit vote appears to have reduced net immigration from the more civilised, more Anglophile European countries, while that from outside Europe has risen. I think most people would agree that the country does need some immigrants, but it needs to be those who will make a positive contribution, respect UK law and integrate effectively into UK society, not commit terrorist atrocities or aim to undermine the fabric of British society.
Whilst I may be concerned about immigration, I do not advocate violence or intimidation and find talk of ‘gassing’ people totally abhorrent.
John Snowball
