Let’s hope ‘Trumper Tantrums’ don’t become the new norm in US elections

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Sean O’Grady provided a damning character assessment of the current president of the United States on Friday.

The consequences of parents overindulging their children, especially when their children’s lies and excuses are believed to avoid punishment, can lead to multiple negative and ugly consequences in adulthood.

What we are now witnessing in America is the unedifying spectacle of someone so self-absorbed and self-centred that the president literally cannot see beyond himself. The bullying tactics he has employed in the past, and have served him so well, are being deployed openly and on all fronts – evident for all to see. In ordinary circumstances this would be laughable, or at least highly amusing to the outsider. However, the stakes in this situation are obviously so much higher.

If “the Donald” persists in this embarrassing tactic, and those around him fail to moderate his behaviour, then his “legacy” may be somewhat different to what he had imagined. For it is not beyond the realms of possibility that, in future, the behaviour of any adult when told they can’t have what they want (deploying a red-faced hissy fit rage, throwing all their toys out of the pram in the process) is instantly recognised and understood to be a prime example of someone having a “Trumper Tantrum”.

Nigel Plevin

Somerset

Morality of A Clockwork Orange

I agree with Geoffrey Macnab that A Clockwork Orange is a very moral film, but he is wrong about the anecdotal nature of violence related to the film. I was around at the time and there were thuggish members of society who called themselves “Clockwork Orange Boys” and dressed accordingly with the intention of putting the boot in. They were of course too stupid to consider the film’s finer details.

Cole Davis

Norwich

Travel during lockdown

Here is one small example of how the government is controlling the spread of Covid-19. I came back from Spain in a ferry from Bilbao last week. Brittany Ferries had carefully organised the vessel so we were divided into four colour groups. The floor was laid out with distancing tapes and there were arrows to direct the flow. All of this designed to keep passengers at a safe distance from one another. Hardly anyone took a blind bit of notice of any of it and nobody tried to police it. Indeed, members of the staff and crew were also offenders.

On arrival at Portsmouth we were directed down to our vehicles one colour code at a time, which again everyone ignored. There were, of course, no tests, just the general instruction to go home and self-isolate. Foot passengers all clambered into a bus to take them to the station. Lorry drivers got into their cabs to drive off into the night. We got into our car and drove home where we have been indoors until now. No checks to see whether or not we are obeying the rules.

I have to say that there were no checks on arrival in Spain either.

The entire ferry was a superspreader hub. If this is an example of how the rules are carried out then lord help us all.

David Pollard

Hove

Vote counting

The US Democratic Party has a very fitting name, unlike Donald Trump’s far-right Republican Party, it actually supports something called “democracy”. While Joe Biden and the Democrats support counting legitimate American votes, Donald Trump and his grotesque old party (GOP) have informed the world that they’d obviously prefer the Russia or Belarus manner of “vote-counting”. Whether you agree with the policies of the Democratic Party or not – and I certainly do – it is clear that they’re the only major American party that respects democracy and the rule of the law. It’s a damming indictment on the Republican Party, but I’m afraid they’ve shamed and disgraced themselves in ways most of the world never thought possible. 

Sebastian Monblat  

London

Coronavirus calamity

The UK government seems to be out of its depth with the pandemic. The second national lockdown has been a result of contradicting government policies and irresponsible public behaviour. 
I fail to understand why only now students are made to wear masks, when there has always been evidence that wearing a face covering reduces the transmission of coronavirus. 


Until a vaccine is widely available, we will continue to suffer further lockdowns, followed by people behaving recklessly when restrictions are lifted or prior to lockdowns, increasing the spread of coronavirus. 
Cancer patients are not going to be the only casualties of irresponsible behaviour as the NHS is again overwhelmed by Covid-19, as patients increase and the death toll escalates. 
The lockdown will also be a financial strain on the population, which will be left to pay the cost of the pandemic, and the effects will be felt for years to come. 
 

Jeannette Schael

Hampshire

Scottish referendum

I am yet again struck, but hardly surprised, by the arrogant and misguided authority with which Scotland’s secretary of state, Alister Jack, parrots the UK government line that there should not be another independence referendum in Scotland “for a generation”.

This is straight out of the Donald Trump playbook and it is, of course, not for Jack, Johnson or any other UK government minister to decide whether there should be another referendum north of the border. We live in a democracy and this is a decision for the Scottish people. One can, however, recognise the Tory government’s concerns, as over the course of the last few months opinion polls, now 12 in total, have shown that the majority of Scots are now in favour of independence.

Jack and his colleagues need to remove their tin-ears and listen to what the Scottish people are saying. Professor John Curtice is absolutely right when he notes that Boris Johnson cannot “bind” the Scottish electorate, who have the “right to be fickle”. If the electorate decides that it wishes to back another referendum, and  give the SNP an overall majority at the next Scottish parliamentary elections, then it would be foolish in the extreme for Westminster to ignore this.   

Alex Orr

Edinburgh

Denied worship

No 10 wants to “save Christmas” but, yet again, we are being denied church worship. This is not the Spanish flu. We had about 50 attendees last Sunday, and more on YouTube … we have learnt the art of “Corona Communion”. 

It was nice to see each other, share the difficulty, admit to each other it is hell, hear a sermon on frustration, listen to the organ, honour a deceased churchwarden and PCC member who made us laugh. It was refreshing.  

If they are to save the “Mass of Christ”, they must open the Church.  

Charles Charles

London