Sir, - There is no need for Brendan Butler (September 12th) and I to be a cross purposes. He is mistaken in suggesting that I "assumed I was speaking for the majority of those who work for human rights and against racism in our society" when I condemned Amnesty's posters "Some say they're against racism. . ."
I accept that my view is probably a minority one. In a way, that was the whole point of my letter. It is possible, even (especially?) for well-intentioned constituencies, to be out of touch with the broader community of which we are a part, and sometimes the broader community may be right.
In this specific case, I think many people were offended by the suggestion that some of our major politicians were racist. Ineffective, yes; not progressive enough, yes; dangerously complacent, yes; even criminally negligent, possibly. But racist? It may sound like a quibble, but I don't think the word should be used lightly.
Having said that, the only aspect of the Amnesty campaign with which I disagree concerns the particular slogan and photographs used in that phase - I am certainly not against the campaign as a whole. The current, more detailed advertisements are excellent, in my opinion, and the survey which they commissioned and which has just been published is valuable, timely and disturbing.
I am concerned by Mr Butler's statement that there are young people who think it's cool to be racist. This is not because I think he is mistaken. Rather, it is evidence of the deep alienation of some who think that society has done nothing for them. (There are, of course, others whose racism is born of mere selfishness and a mindless disregard and/or hatred for anyone different.)
The alienated may well be right in thinking our wealth-obsessed society does not care about them. If we are to build an inclusive society, welcoming to all, we must include them as well. At the same time, there also needs to be a more effective application of the laws against racism - goodwill alone is not enough and voluntarist campaigns must be accompanied by policy with teeth. And yes, politicians have been too silent for too long.
The lack of effective leadership from the top does indeed send a powerful and dangerous message. - Yours, etc.,
Piaras Mac Einri, Director, Irish Centre for Migration Studies, National University of Ireland, Cork.