Letters: Forget the row about slavery: when are we going to see apologies to the Scots who were forced off the land? – HeraldScotland

SLAVERY is an abomination; it never should be or should have been tolerated. I can guarantee you that nobody in my family as far back in the generations I can trace ever owned a slave or a plantation. My ancestors who had gainful employment didnt have philanthropic employers and were paid as little as the Establishment thought they could get away with. It is a fallacy to suggest that society in general profited from historical slavery, it was the few in the Establishment who did so and to suggest that the common man in the UK profited from it is farcical.

When the UK is still struggling to right the wrongs done to the Windrush Generation its ridiculous that its in vogue to apologise for the actions of a few long-dead capitalists who were handsomely rewarded firstly for being involved in the slave trade and then again from the public purse when the practice was outlawed. The fact that today we have a Government-mandated minimum wage that is recognised to be less than the living wage shows that the Establishments attitude towards the workforce hasnt changed dramatically. Dare I mention P&O?

Why todays politicians and activists feel the need to apologise for the actions of a few individuals who profited from slavery beats me, as it does nothing for those who were adversely affected by the practice and the descendants of those who profited from the trade carry on regardless. What about all the Scots who were forced off the land and made to emigrate; does that not warrant a few statues being tumbled?

David J Crawford, Glasgow.

FIGHT BACK AGAINST THE BANKS

I ENVY Rosemary Goring ("The customer is no longer king. The customer is now always on hold", The Herald, March 30). At least she can vent her anger and frustration in a column in a national newspaper. Her bank will continue to treat her like dirt, as all our banks treat us all, but at least shes got it off her chest. The rest of us suffer the same contempt and indifference with no steam valves available. My own bank used to be Scottish, venerable and customer-friendly. Now it has changed its name to a tabloid jingle and seems to think I should be more interested in getting cash back if I spend money in the fawning retail outlets it has signed up than actually having someone to talk to when I need it.

Ms Goring captures graphically the telephone misery and will-to-live erosion of trying to phone them. Clicking contact us on their website leads you on a fruitless game trying to dodge their traps to force you down one of their predetermined routes to bland generic nothingness. They never offer even an email address where you can state your issue and wait for an answer. This would waste their time and its far preferable for them to waste yours. Of course they have no trouble issuing emails to you when it suits them. But try replying to their email and you will swiftly be told no one reads such replies and you should go to the website. In my professional life I used to act for a bank. If I had treated it as my client the way it now treats me I would have been rightly and summarily terminated.

We really ought to be able to fight back. Banks are far from the only culprits among the corporate mighty. But lets start with them. Is there any bank out there which promises and achieves instant telephone and email availability the way helpful businesses do? How about a league table putting banks into a pecking order in these respects? I for one would happily switch to the league leader. Right now banks cant contain their indifference to the plight of an individual customer. But if we start to move away in droves?

Donald B Reid, Bearsden.

WHY THE RAGE AGAINST MUIRBURN?

IT was very interesting to read the report on the fire on the island of Gruinard ("Island of Death fire gives native wildlife the chance to regrow", The Herald, March 30). The gist of the report was that a controlled fire would have a beneficial effect on allowing regrowth of native species and hence native fauna. This is in contrast to uncontrolled moorland fires which actually burn the underlying peat and cause a massive release of carbon dioxide and are extremely difficult to extinguish.

I wonder why then there have been several letters to The Herald criticising muirburn on sporting estates? Could it possibly be that they are ignoring the facts and the welfare of native flora and fauna in order to wage war on sporting estates and the rural economy in some ill-conceived attempt to wage a class war?

David Stubley, Prestwick.

KITCHEN SMOKE ALARMS ARE TOAST

RICK Lawrie (Letters, March 31) asks if someone can explain why his old smoke alarm is activated when he burns the toast whilst his new system is not.

Smoke alarms are no longer recommended for use in the kitchen and heat sensors should be used instead. If the new system is, as he says, correctly installed it should include a heat sensor in the kitchen and not a smoke alarm. The new system should reduce if not eliminate false alarms from burnt toast.

David Clark, Tarbolton.

Visit link:

Letters: Forget the row about slavery: when are we going to see apologies to the Scots who were forced off the land? - HeraldScotland