Guernsey Press

Published letter was threatening and intimidating

I WRITE in relation to the letter headed ‘Treason in the 21st century’ published on Saturday 20 November.

Published

I think the above letter was wholly inappropriate to publish in the form in which it appeared. I say this because:

n Not having a Covid vaccine is a choice open to all and is entirely legal.

n There may be many who have not had the Covid vaccine because there is a medical reason why they should not do so.

n There may be many who have not had the Covid vaccine because they have not been offered it yet eg. children of certain age brackets.

n I emphasise that not having the vaccine remains legal. It is legal in this jurisdiction for people to have different views. It is legal for those views to be aired publicly. Indeed that is the heart of our free and democratic system.

I was therefore very troubled to read the letter, as published by you, the gist of which was that people who have expressed their legal and democratic right should be:

n Guilty of something that is worse than murder.

n Should be arrested and put before the courts.

n Should be subject to the death penalty.

It is quite clear to me, of course, that such a statement is complete nonsense. Not everyone is as robust as me. But not everyone recognises legal nonsense when they read it. Many people will take the view, quite properly I think, that matters placed in the Guernsey Press are subject to proper editorial scrutiny, and therefore what is printed has some force.

This letter cannot be passed off as light-hearted or humorous, but rather was aggressive and threatening. I am sure others were extremely frightened by what they read. The gist of the letter was that people whose actions are within their legal rights should be arrested, as a matter of law, and put to death.

I am also concerned that some of those who may have wished to have the vaccine could have been advised not to do so for underlying medical conditions. They must have found the letter particularly threatening and intimidating. I also believe it may amount to pushing forward a proposed policy amounting to discrimination based on a person’s individual medical circumstances. That is not something any responsible editor should have done.

Not everyone who reads the paper will necessarily be able to simply put that matter out of their mind. Children may have read the letters page. Those children may not have been vaccinated and again, taking the tenor of the letter at its whole, may be concerned that if they were to express their view contrary to the wishes of the author of the letter they too could be subject to arrest, charge and a possible death penalty for treason.

The law is a distant and threatening thing to many people.

I recognise the letter as amounting to legal nonsense but I am not writing on my behalf.

I am writing on behalf of all of those concerned islanders who may now feel that going about their legal business and carrying out and exercising their democratic rights should now mean they could be subject to the threat by at least the author of the letter that they should be put to death.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

Editor’s footnote: The letter referenced above has generated some feedback. There are many views on the government and personal response to Covid and we are happy to publish a counterpoint to that expressed in the original letter.