Only Slagging?

Sir, - Jack Downey (September 27th) seems to believe that the racist abuse that is increasingly being experienced in Ireland …

Sir, - Jack Downey (September 27th) seems to believe that the racist abuse that is increasingly being experienced in Ireland is only "slagging", and can be dealt with by a slagging response. Is he seriously suggesting that the man who was recently chased by three people with iron bars wanting to do to him what they did to his car could have resolved the situation by slagging his potential assailants?

Get real. It is time we accepted that racism has reared its ugly head here and must now be tackled. Mr Downey's naive denial of the existence of racism will not make it go away. - Yours, etc.,

Peter Fitzgerald, Arran Quay, Dublin 7.