The best way to deal with Elon Musk? Ignore him

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

Give men like Musk attention and they begin to think their ideas have merit (AP)

James Moore’s comments on Elon Musk’s interference in UK politics are spot on.

Musk’s involvement is partly the arrogance of money – which is his power base – and partly the voice of a puppet of deeper and darker control.

It does not matter that the Twitter/X social media platform has a diminishing number of followers, poison can work in small quantities.

Immature people with power who use social media to indoctrinate audiences with their uninformed or directed ideas should be treated like naughty children and ignored.

Give them attention and they begin to think their confused or dictated ideas have merit.

Matt Minshall

Brittany

Language of the unheard

Andrew Grice’s piece today reminded me of the words of Martin Luther King Jr: “A riot is the language of the unheard.”

Not in any way to condone such behaviour, but this anger did not appear out of nowhere. There are many who feel – rightly or wrongly – ignored, commodified and angry.

Most simmer and disengage but some vent rage. Part of the way forward is to start listening to those who feel disillusioned and disempowered and address the genuine grievances amongst the online-fed deceptions.

Paul Keeble

Manchester

Spare us the U-turn

Am I the only person astonished by the rank hypocrisy of the right-leaning press in the UK?

Recent headlines are quite rightly full of praise for the brave men and women who came out onto the streets to show that the country is not full of those who hate immigrants and look to sow division in society.

The sheer hypocrisy of those outlets who have spent more than a decade demonising anyone coming to this country to claim asylum; referring to them as “swarms”; telling us that we have to “halt the tide”; and referring to the judges who rule in favour of migrants as “enemies of the people”.

Having worked for years to try to convince the public to see immigrants as a threat to our culture, our law and order, these publications are suddenly full of praise for those facing down the “yobs and thugs”. Those very yobs and thugs have been fed a daily diet of hatred and intolerance screaming from newsstands around the UK.

Spare us the sudden U-turn by these tabloids and other sections of the media. They’ll be back to their immigrant-bashing headlines as soon as this storm blows over.

Karen Brittain

York

A call to prayer, not violence

Robert Jenrick’s recent comments show how ignorant he is. Allahu Akbar is the first phrase in the Muslim call to prayer. Speaking as someone who lived for 25 years in the Middle East, it is not a call to violence. To claim as such is nothing more than dog-whistle politics.

Ian Rutherford

Bromley

Would we not do the same for our families?

Much of the violence unleashed by the rioters stems from a misguided belief that immigrants are toxic invaders – corrupting our way of life, consuming our taxes and services, and threatening to change our land and its people forever. Five words screamed by the mobs say it all: “We want our country back.”

Where, in all this furore, is humanity and empathy? Some may not deserve asylum, but many do. Those who have fled war, persecution, starvation and other unimaginable hardships deserve help. We must appreciate the level of fear and desperation that pushes ordinary people to change their lives, leave their homelands and embark on death-defying journeys to save themselves and their families. 

Perhaps sentences given to convicted rioters should include mandatory meetings with some of these families, who could tell their stories and explain how – and why – they fled to the UK. By putting ourselves in their shoes and understanding their predicament, it becomes easier to accept their presence and live together in peace.

There is no country to “take back” because it has not been taken. If we treat each other with humanity and tolerance, our country will benefit from many of these newcomers. They are motivated to study, work hard and earn their place in society. 

How many of us would not have done the same for ourselves and our families if we faced a similar plight? We must not become the sort of people who made them refugees in the first place. We are better than that.

David Platts

Newark