Wanting to ‘feed the world’ doesn’t make you racist

Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

For the last 30 years, I have given one per cent of my income to charity.

I have always felt extremely fortunate that I live in a country where people hardly ever starve to death and where clean water is readily available to all. I always thought that to help people who lack the very basics and who suffer enormously, or even die as a result, this was a good thing.

But according to Ava Vidal, I am being racist (“Forty years ago, a BBC news report shook the world – and kickstarted white saviourism”, Saturday 19 October).

In her article, Ms Vidal seems to suggest that if a white person in a rich country gives money to help a Black person in a poor country, this is “white saviourism”. She even uses the term “hate crime” in relation to the Band Aid charity record.

I take her point about geographical inaccuracies in the lyrics of the song. But they meant well, and they did good. Were people starving or were they not? Were lives saved as a result of the charity record, or were they not?

Ava Vidal, with a comfortable income and a full fridge, might think it’s better for people to die than be patronised by smug, self-satisfied white people. I doubt whether anyone who is actually starving to death would agree.

Liza Somarion

Address supplied

Someone to smartwatch over me

So the latest wheeze to improve the health of the nation is the distribution of smartwatches (“Wes Streeting’s NHS revolution laid out in 10-year plan with smartwatches to monitor diabetes”, Sunday 20 October).

I rather think we already have to triage ourselves before deciding which route to go down.

In any event, when I wake up to an alert about my blood sugar or oxygen saturation or whatever, who do I contact? Will there be anyone there to help?

Dr Anthony Ingleton

Sheffield

That’s a bit super-rich!

In his report ("Reeves plans stealth taxes as Starmer prepares to splurge billions on NHS", Saturday 19 October), David Maddox says that, “according to UBS’s Global Wealth Report some 500,000 millionaires – or 17 per cent – will quit the UK by 2028".

If my arithmetic is correct, this means that, out of a population of 68 million, there are some 2.9 million millionaires in the UK at present, Which seems an awful lot.

Would we really miss them if a few decided to take their money and move somewhere more sunny? Or would we prefer to keep the super-rich who don’t like paying their way and wave goodbye to the doctors and nurses instead?

Helen Bore

Scarborough

America’s election fright-night

In this most horrifying of Halloween seasons, even the sanest of American voters might find their heads spinning like the possessed child in The Exorcist.

Donald Trump, swaying and “dancing” – to “YMCA” and “Ave Maria” – for 39 cringey minutes is not the former president’s sole inanity of the past few days (“SNL mocks Trump’s dance-a-thon town hall”, Sunday 20 October).

Americans, as a people, are being subjected to a stress test without precedent. The only antidote to Trump-induced anxiety, sleeplessness, denialism or fatalism is voting.

Eric Radack

Santa Fe

Now Gaza is a Greek tragedy

After his decisive victory over the Greek alliance at the battle of Chaeronea, Philip II of Macedon gave a funeral oration in Athens in praise of the fallen Greeks. Is it likely that Mr Netanyahu, or his sponsor Mr Biden, will give a funeral oration for the fallen Palestinians, once they have achieved victory? ("Biden tells Netanyahu: Now is the opportunity to seek peace in Gaza", Friday 18 October)

Julian Scott

Address supplied