By Letters To The Editor

Copyright independent

Any ability to curb free speech or to punish people for what they say is always going to be abused by who-ever has the power.

What qualifies as “hatred” will be defined by whoever has the power.

What qualifies as misinformation, disinformation or (the latest one) malinformation will be defined by whoever has the power.

The left is every bit as authoritarian as the right when given the opportunity, despite usually being portrayed as the good guys.

And all of this prevents any discussion that might actually lead to solutions to myriad problems facing us, because everyone is so busy being outraged at people who don’t share their opinions.

The question we really need to be asking is: Who benefits from having everyone at one another’s throats?

E Bolger, Dublin 9

Silencing the jesters like Kimmel will never stop the laughter from satire

When authoritarian regimes grow thin-skinned, they usually start with the comedians (‘Removal of Kimmel’s show will have chilling effect on other broadcasters’, Irish Independent, September 19).

In the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev banned political jokes; in Russia today, Vladimir Putin jails comics who poke fun at him; Xi Jinping erased Winnie the Pooh for resembling his gait; Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan drags satirists to court; and Adolf Hitler closed cabaret halls faster than he built autobahns.

Now America, once the world’s great exporter of humour, is flirting with the same reflex. Jimmy Kimmel’s “indefinite suspension” after ribbing Donald Trump suggests satire is becoming a more dangerous profession than banking.

The irony is that silencing the jesters never stops the laughter – it just drives it underground, where it grows sharper.

Wise societies know to tolerate their comics, for they act as safety valves. Foolish ones, alas, mistake mockery for menace.

Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh

‘Traitors’ thrills, not with filler challenges, but the human frailties on show

Pat Stacey writes (Irish Independent, September 19) that The Traitors is “devilishly entertaining – except for the measly prize pot and boring challenges”.

I have never seen other productions of the programme, so I cannot compare it, but in fairness the “chall-enges” are just fillers. They don’t really add much to the show. At the same time, they don’t really distract from it either.

The real fun is at the round table and in the conclave, and how people interpret their fellow contestants’ words and actions and construct a story about them that is often wide of the mark.

I had hoped Paudie would go all the way because he seemed to be fumbling his way through the programme without attracting major suspicions, and it was working for him.

Eamon the garda had a clear strategy, but it backfired on him spectacularly. Nick now thinks he is smarter than everyone else, but will he meet his Waterloo like Eamon?

The what-ifs and should-haves are what makes this programme fascinating. A bit like life, really.

Tommy Roddy, Ballybane, Co Galway

Global sanctions on both Trump and Netanyahu for Gaza genocide now vital

By now, reasonable-minded people are well aware of the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza and the West Bank.

Breaches of international law and violations of basic human rights and the Geneva Conventions are routine. Now genocide and starvation are part of the terrible litany.

US president Donald Trump not only fully supports Netanyahu, but sanctions any persons or organisation investigating these actions.

It is time for elected representatives from the free and democratic world to sanction Netanyahu and Trump. Continually expressing concern but failing to act is shameful.

Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Cork

Jim Gavin is like a fish out of water in the Áras race of pretenders and wannabes

Mary Regan probably uttered the understatement of the year when she wrote “…and, although it’s early days, it seems Mr Gavin is not living up to his hype” (‘Mary Lou McDonald teases a Sinn Féin ‘game-changer’ in race for Áras, but is it all just for sport?’, Irish Independent, September 19).

If there ever was a fish out of water, it is Jim Gavin in his presidential campaign. I mean, seriously, who is actually running for the Áras – Jim Gavin or Micheál Martin?

There’s a story in The Kerryman this week in which Fianna Fáil councillor Norma Moriarty said “every one” of Ireland’s past presidents had an incredible depth of experience as public representatives before becoming president as she urged her fellow councillors to reject the nomination of Gareth Sheridan.

Her comments went down like a lead balloon in Kerry. The Soldiers of Destiny will be hoping their own candidate can rise above the fray. At the moment, Jim Gavin looks lost.

Tom McElligott, Listowel, Co Kerry

Putin plays war games to test the fractured West, which needs a good leader

The Kremlin has accused Nato of complicity, when it said “the alliance was fighting against Russia” and was “de facto involved” in the war in Ukraine as the bloc provides direct and indirect support to Kyiv.

Russian drones have entered Polish and Romanian airspace and were shot down by fighter jets from each country.

The real question is: “What is Moscow up to now?” Is it testing the readiness of the EU to defend itself in the event of invasion? Or is it trying to divide a fractured EU, with France and the UK struggling politically and financially at present?

With Denmark having military exercises in Greenland this week without the US, in light of Donald Trump’s threat that he wants to take over the country, have we a badly disunited West? All this suits Russian president Vladimir Putin as he seeks to expand his empire.

Europe and Nato are in need of a strong, respected leader who will unite and lead from the front.

Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo