Context is crucial in facing up to racism - your views

" Sometimes it isn’t just the words or language used, it is more a “tone” or “feeling””

Context is crucial in facing up to racism

After the Meghan Markle Prince Harry interview, may I say context is everything.

Seventeen years ago when I was expecting my baby, many people shared my excitement about what my baby might look like. Would he have dark skin, hair and eyes like me, or would he look more white

As a person of mixed race who has coped with racist comments for 40+ years I have become finely attuned as to what is an innocent remark and what is intentional racist abuse. There is a world of a difference.

Sometimes it isn’t just the words or language used, it is more a “tone” or “feeling”.

I think it will be difficult to prove anything without knowing the true context and that’s what we didn’t get from the televised interview.

If the remarks Meghan Markle alluded to had an underlying agenda, then fair enough, anyone would be upset. But if innocent remarks are being portrayed to the press as racist, then that is unforgivable. The issue here comes down to interpretation, which can only be done by those actually present at the time.

Alissa Syme, Braid Road, Edinburgh.

Tree-huggers vanish when you need them

Four 200-year-old oak trees and 1000 other trees are to be felled to reconstruct Notre Dame's spire which was destroyed by fire in April 2019.

This is environmental carnage, since an oak can live for more than a thousand years. An oak supports more animal and insect life than any other native tree species.

We are repeatedly told that the ability of trees to absorb and lock in carbon is crucial in the fight against climate change, so why are these ancient trees being sacrificed for a replacement spire when other materials could be used? Where are the tree-huggers when we need them?

Clark Cross, Springfield Road, Linlithgow.

Helen is wrong on free personal care

I understand that columni-sts should have free range to express their own viewpoints but Helen Martin cheer leading for the SNP has become outrageous. In her list of benefits given to us by the SNP she includes free personal care.This was introduced by the Labour/LibDem government and it seems wrong that false information should be published as truth.

Ian Lewis, Mayfield Terrace, Edinburgh.

Church can’t make up its own laws

The judicial review secured by some religious leaders to demand that their churches uniquely be exempt from lockdown legislation has been promised a written judgement within two weeks by Judge Lord Braid.

These irresponsible demands have already been disowned by Church of Scotland officials as “speaking for themselves.”

The court had been told exceptionalism of religious worship is underscored by a constitutional settlement separating church and state. The church is not the state and cannot make its own laws.

Neil Barber, Edinburgh Secular Society, Saughtonhall Drive.

Gove’s predictions getting more crazy

Tory clairvoyant Michael Gove has predicted that Douglas Ross will be the next First Minister of Scotland.

In other predictions: Brexit will be fine, Meghan Markle will be the next Queen of England, the Lib Dems will return home to prepare for government and Boris Johnson will admit he got something wrong.

D Mitchell, Coates Place, Edinburgh.