I AM just about the last person on the planet who would defend anyone who uses racist language, but the reference to 'coloured people' by Benedict Cumberbatch is a question of semantics ("Cumberbatch gaffe", The Herald, January 27).
Unless I am mistaken there is a long established civil rights organisation in the United States called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People". Is it OK for the ethnic group itself to use whatever language suits it but not the rest of us?
Some years ago I interviewed the singer Labi Siffre about his autobiography, the title of which was the dreaded "N" word. But that's okay, because Labi is black?
Let's get this into perspective, please.
Sheila Duffy,
3 Hamilton Drive,
Glasgow.
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