Freedom of expression
IT IS not racist to criticise someone from another race or religion.
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It is only racist if you target them specifically because of their race, be they black, brown, red, yellow or white.
Just as fascism is not a right wing political ideology, but another variation of communism.
These terms are being abused to defame and shut people up from speaking the truth or winning the argument.
NB: On the colour spectrum, white is a combination of all colours.
V M Redburn, Riverside.
Child Abuse
WHY is it that a few parents who should know better think it is OK to abuse children in public, assault children in public, when this is clearly a crime?
If they hate their kids that much then they should do the right thing and put them up for adoption. They should hand themselves to the police because they are clearly unfit to have kids.
Davis Seecamp, Trevallyn.
Hitler Program
JUST watched a program on the history channel about Josef Goebels who was Hitler’s propogandist.
He began by attacking the media outlets, particularly newspapers and calling their articles “fake news”.
Sound familiar?
From there it was a short step to controlling all aspects of German life.
If the republicans in the US don’t rein in Trump this is what that country can look forward to.
It seems that he can get away with anything, from groping and mocking women to what is being called fraud by certain news outlets, not Fox News, which seems to be Trumps own station.
Of course, anything on other stations or in the papers is fake news.
Glennis Sleurink, Launceston.
Past Wrongs
SORRY Bianca, but we do not have the power to right past wrongs (The Examiner, October 5).
Given so, we could undo wars and all injustices throughout history.
Mankind only has the power to influence our tomorrows and that is best done by all of us pulling together without expecting instant miracles.
Looking over our shoulders at yesterday will not bring it back so that we can undo any part of it.
For all that we have taken we have given much in return and it is better to look at the blessings received than to mourn an imagined rose tinted past.
Len Langan, Longford.
Australian Anthem
IN RESPONSE to Geoff McLean (The Examiner, September 28) who says it doesn’t matter how a nine-year-old girl formed her beliefs, think back to the Hitler Youth movement and say again it doesn’t matter.
Consider the woman in a Sydney court who refused nine times to stand up for a judge despite a possible two weeks in jail for each offence and $1200 fines.
Surely it’s a matter of common courtesy and respect. Oh and so a word that is being forgotten in today’s world – tolerance, on both sides.
Ron Baines, Kings Meadows.
Health system
Our health system has been broken for some time, but not beyond repair. It’s easy to blame the government (especially conservative side, where the narrative is the Liberals are “reducing” Medicare) for not throwing more money at health. The truth is, spending is continuing to increase and we are still getting sick from largely preventable illnesses.
Perhaps what we require is a regulatory body that can depoliticise the health system; that has same status as ABS. Such a body from a non-political stance would have the ability to initiate research into new medical technology, disseminate information about this technology, conduct health promotion to reduce illness, investigate performance and disseminate information. A regulatory body would also have the freedom to correct political disinformation, like what we are currently receiving from Labor.
We need a fresh conversation on how to fix our health system. Simplifying health care delivery and providing a plan to help the most people at a reasonable cost will win the day. There are straightforward fixes. Complexity of Commonwealth/state-“marble cake federalism” – relations acts as a barrier to designing good care for chronic and preventable diseases and in providing targeted health promotion. To improve our health system we need to take personal responsibility for lifestyle choices that determine our health and demand bipartisan political agreement on solutions. We need long-term policy and recognition that health dollars are more effectively spent on prevention than on acute care.
Dr Darren Pullen, Windermere.
LGH
The Tasmanian Government has regularly told us that they are spending a high proportion of our money on the health system, yet we are continually getting a variety of reports and comparisons that indicate our hospitals and health system are performing poorly.
This government has now been managing the health system for the last four years, eight months, so the only conclusion I can draw is that their performance as managers leaves a lot to be desired.
Steve Watts, West Launceston.
Health Crisis
WHILE the Tasmanian health department is run by a former school teacher, the hospital staff and patients of this state will never receive a fair deal. But for the dedication and commitment of the overworked nursing staff, hospital mortality rates would soar.