Sir, - The Immigration Control Platform "literature" which is currently being pushed through the letterboxes of Dublin and its suburbs is an insult not only to the spirit of tolerance and diversity which this country is finally beginning to enjoy but also to the intelligence of its people.
In what way does Aine Ni Chonaill distinguish her agenda from that of National Socialism, which also aimed to protect the "ethnic purity" of the Aryan "race"? Whereas, on the one hand, this type of ignorance and intolerance can - and indeed should - be disregarded as the xenophobic ravings of a powerless minority, we cannot ignore the potential misunderstanding and misuse of such ideologies, particularly in a society whose widening gap between rich and poor is causing aggression and disenchantment to fester beneath the veneer of economic prosperity. Couched in a terminology of pseudo-tolerance ("We do not mind a reasonable number of refugees"), this "literature" advocates precisely the opposite. It is the language of neofascism.
If we are to apply the ICP's policy at a global level, it can only be assumed that Ms Ni Chonaill and her acolytes are as vehemently opposed to the huge numbers of illegal Irish immigrants travelling each year to the United States, or to the freedom of movement of labour within Europe. Or does the flow of cultures merely pose a threat when those involved are people of colour? The ICP would do well to clarify its political objectives by stating exactly whom it is they don't want and why. Perhaps if its members had spent some time living abroad, outside their cabbage-and-spuds microcosm of cultural zealotry, they might have broadened their horizons by learning to live among other (non-European) peoples, cultures and religions. Ironically, their own insular world-view is fundamentally anti-Christian.
The only thing that should not be tolerated in any society is intolerance. It is those who refuse to live in harmony with their fellow man and woman who are outstaying their welcome. - Yours, etc., Debbie Ging,
St Joseph's Road, Dublin 7.