AILEEN HOOPER,
A chara, - Peter de Rosa castigates a letter writer for using "violent and abusive language" when describing abortion as the death penalty for unborn babies (January 10th). Violent and abusive language, or language which describes the reality of abortion?
In contemporary society, there seems to be a tendency to employ language which does not portray the actuality of situations. "Friendly fire" is anything but friendly to those on the receiving end; "joyriding" is particularly joyless for those whose vehicles have been stolen; "ethnic cleansing" is not an operation whereby the slopes of Mount Etna are cleared of litter, but rather a total negation of the basic human rights of huge numbers of people.
While it is of the utmost importance that this referendum be debated calmly and truthfully, it behoves us all to refrain from concealing basic truths with euphemistic verbiage. - Yours, etc.,
AILEEN HOOPER, Manor Mews, Norseman Place, Dublin 7.