The striking feature about the face-off between Women Won’t Wheesht and Resisting Transphobia in Edinburgh (RTiE) and Trans Kids Deserve Better (TKDB) was not the arguments contained in the article but in the ironic headline and the images which accompanied it (“Rival feminist and pro-trans groups face off outside Holyrood”, November 1). They form a rather remarkable montage.
Read more:
- Rival feminist and pro-trans groups face off outside Holyrood
- After Brollygate, police weathered Women Won't Wheesht's protests well
One of the images showed approximately 50-70 people from the pro-trans protest of which, again approximately, 20-30 people are wearing masks.
The second photograph shows the pro-women group with approximately 15-20 people visible in the immediate foreground and background cluster, none of whom are wearing a mask.
In his book The Soul of The World, the philosopher Roger Scruton devotes a chapter to the importance of the human face. He writes there that when confronting the other, face-to-face, the experience is entirely different from confronting someone’s shoulder or knee.
Face to face, we do not simply see a part but the individual centre of consciousness, the free being who reveals themselves in the face as another like me.
It is a recognition of the other that is simultaneously physical and metaphysical. As such, it is the starting point of dialogue and moral accountability.
One can easily tell from these photos which group is genuinely comfortable with their identity and which, quite obviously, isn’t.
Graeme Arnott, Stewarton.
Deciphering the wind turbines
May I have a go at answering Alan Fitzpatrick’s question about the design of wind turbine blades (letters, October 31)?
The slender rotors don’t so much catch the wind as direct it over a convex surface. The sails on a four-masted sailing ship, or galleon, are designed to catch the wind and be pushed forward.
Directing moving air over a convex surface creates lower pressure over the curved area, which causes the blade to rotate, as it is fixed to the ground and can’t dissipate the energy in any other way.
This is similar to the venturi effect, and it is why aeroplanes fly. If Mr Fitzpatrick compares the wings of a glider to the wings of a powered aircraft, he will see that a glider’s wings are more slender because they need to be much more efficient, just like turbine blades.
The sails (wings) on racing yachts use a similar principle.
John Jamieson, Ayr.
My self-esteem took a fare knock
While travelling on a local bus service recently I had an experience , which was both uplifting and disconcerting. It was a single-decker bus and it was very busy.
It was uplifting to find that thoughtfulness and courtesy were alive and well; young people gave up their seats and offered them to the senior citizens on board. It was also disconcerting because a young lady offered her seat to me. My self-esteem about how young I look for my age took a knock .
Lessons learned: our young people are not as self-centred and lacking in sensitivity as some would have you believe; and the passage of time had taken a greater toll on me than I had hoped.
Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.
Rethinking our annual Poppy
For no acknowledged reason Scotland has always received an inferior Poppy to that of our southern neighbours. This year however it appears that a nadir has been reached since, as displayed and sold, the Poppy is actually unusable.
I appreciate that keeping the cost of production to a minimum should ensure a higher income but I think a return to the drawing board is needed.
Andy Trombala, Stirling.
Home-grown players at Celtic
Whilst I don’t necessarily disagree with Allan Sutherland’s premise that there are too few home-based players in Scottish senior football teams, the letter (November 1) does illustrate the dangers of relying on Wikipedia for knowledge.
He asserts that Celtic has only one such player and I immediately thought of McGregor, Forrest, Ralston, Tierney and McCowan. I was reminded of a further three when I visited Celtic’s own website.
My knowledge of English clubs is little more scant (and again I don’t disagree that, once upon a time, there were many more quality Scottish players playing in the top tier of English football) but I immediately thought of the current captain of Scotland, Andy Robertson of Liverpool, and John McGinn captain of Aston Villa.
Like I say, the dangers of relying on Wikipedia......Just saying!
Ms L M Cook, Troon, Ayrshire.
Scotland’s north-south divide
I would like to reassure Mark Smith regarding his article (“A new train station for Scotland. But there’s a catch I’m afraid”, November 1) that funds will indeed be made available for the project at Winchburgh.
I am certain of this because the work to be carried out is south of Perth, and of course the Scottish Government’s refusal to sanction expenditure on infrastructure applies only north of that divide.
Robert Craighead, Peterhead.
Fishing industry under threat
Once again the Scottish fishing industry is under threat with a derisory allocation of eight per cent of the UK fishing allocation.
Having already weathered the storms of Brexit and quota allocations, coupled with the destruction of fishing grounds due to offshore wind-farm developments, it beggars belief that the Scottish industry, which contributes 60 per cent of UK fish landings and 60 per cent of seafood exports, is treated so unfairly.
Many of our islands and coastal communities are economically fragile and the industry is their life blood for survival.
One hopes that representations from Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland, and other Westminster MPs who are seeking a review of these allocations are successful – otherwise, our island and coastal communities which depend on the industry for survival will face serious decline.
D.G. McIntyre, Edinburgh.
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