Sir, - Some weeks ago RTE offered a comprehensive apology for comments by a comedian on the Late Late Show which were felt to offend Christian beliefs. I wonder what chance those of us who were offended by the performances of Ms Aine Ni Chonaill and Gay Byrne have of a similar apology.
Some of us, possibly a minority, have certain fundamental views about human dignity and our responsibilities to our fellow citizens of the world, whatever their origin or plight. They are encapsulated in the Christian principle, "love thy neighbour", and in the socialist notion of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need".
RTE decided to air the sensitive and difficult issue of immiration and racism on its flagship lightentertainment TV programme. In the face of Ms Aine Ni Chonaill's intellectural disingenuousness and arrogance, Gay Byrne's lack of rigour in pursuing the issues raised was appalling. She got more sympathy for having her meeting disrupted than did the likely victims of her crusade. She was at her most successful in rejecting the label "racist" by defining it to suit her purposes (i.e. racism equals racial supremacism) and then saying she was not a racial supremacist.
I will give a simpler definition. Racism is the promotion of views whose inevitable effect is to stir up dislike/antagonism/hatred of whatever is whatever we are not (whatever that might be!). It is the ugly chemistry of intolerance and selfishness, fuelled by ignorance and fear, and it has led to some of the most awful barbarity of which our species is capable.
Ms Ni Chonaill's claim that her group exists only to lobby the Government - and "surely that's no crime" - would be all very well, except that this campaign inevitably involves whipping up antagonism towards a variety of visitors to this country (and some citizens who may be black, to judge from the comments of Ms Ni Chonaill's supporter in the audience). Ms Ni Chonaill was not subjected to a single searching or critical question by the show's presenter and RTE's decision to give her a platform on such a programme was a disgrace. Members of a studio audience are at an inevitable disadvantage in such a situation.
I wish the potential damage in this case could be limited by something as simple as an apology. - Yours, etc.,
St Columbanus Avenue, Milltown, Dublin 6.