Letters: Each and every person deserves to be treated humanely and with respect

In fact, people in power (irrespective of religious views) are morally obliged to have an ethical long-term view of the effects of their policies.
There are ample historical examples of sadistic treatment of fellow human beings seen as 'others'.
Kristallnacht 1938; Hungary 1956; Mississippi 1964; Burntollet Bridge 1968; Bloody Sunday 1972.
The Gaza and Israel of today – will they ever meet other than violently?
This week Los Angeles was chosen because it is a Democrat-voting state, for no other reason than to stir up violence. As William Butler Yeats reminds his readers, responsibility lies with those who light the match; alas, the instigators walk away from their responsibilities.
Why? They reject the fact they are accountable for not only their soul, but the intellect given to each of us for the greater good of mankind.
Today greed is astronomical, when allied to ignorance – they become like oil and water.
Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia
Parallels between Warsaw Ghetto and Gaza hard to ignore, despite protests
Gustawa Jarecka, a survivor and writer of the Warsaw Ghetto, depicted the effects of hunger and morale collapse among residents. We should all take note.
She writes in A Cup of Tears: A Diary of the Warsaw Ghetto a first-hand account of the desperation that led residents to commit horrible acts against one another in their struggle to survive. She could be writing about Gaza.
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Jarecka described the overwhelming obsession with food: 'The first days of hunger are the worst, then, it becomes bearable. First comes the weariness, your arms and legs feel heavy, each word becomes a painful noise ringing in the ears. The colours do not bring joy to the eyes; the light hurts them. You feel a constant thirst; chapped lips dry out.
'The jaws clench of their own accord and you feel a pain behind the ears at the sight of a tin spoon abandoned on a table. Then, thoughts about food start; terrible, exhausting daydreams.'
The purpose of the ghetto was to dehumanise the residents, to make them appear to their oppressors as less than human. The next stage was to displace, eradicate and replace.
The tragedy today is partly that we seem powerless to act to stop the crimes against humanity being committed by Israel. But isn't it a moral crime also to be cowed by anyone who uses the martyrs of the Warsaw Ghetto to justify identical crimes today?
For Israel to condemn anyone who draws the parallel between the Warsaw Ghetto and Gaza as 'antisemitic' is an absurdity.
Declan Doyle, Co Kilkenny
Seventy-year-old granny putting all those spineless EU politicians to shame
Seventy-year-old Cork grandmother D Murphy has been deported by Israel after spending time in Givon Prison because she felt she could not sit around while Pales­tinians are being killed and forced out of their homes in the Occupied West Bank – something that has been going on for decades.
I suggest EU politicians, who many would say 'talk out of both sides of their mouth', could learn from this lady.
Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Co Cork
Our food processing chain gets more protection than elderly people in homes
At the moment in many food processing plants in Ireland there are full-time Department of Agriculture inspectors whose job is to ensure that rules and regulations are adhered to.
They have the authority to shut down lines when a problem arises and are not answerable to the owners of the plant. The cost of having them on site is recouped from the owners.
Would it not be possible to have a qualified person in a care home full-time to ensure nothing like what we witnessed on Prime Time would happen again?
That person would be there for the protection of both staff and patients. The benefits of having eyes and ears permanently in those homes would be immeasurable.
It may sound like drastic measures, but really, when we are revisiting a problem that most of us thought was no longer an issue, then maybe drastic measures are all that will work. Or is food safety more important than old age and abuse?
John Higgins, Ballina, Co Mayo
The magic of sport is its uncertainty – and that always breeds new hope
One of the joys of live sport is its unpredictability. Now that the dust has settled at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, we can reflect on how nail-biting the Munster hurling final remained until the long-awaited final whistle.
The subsequent tie-breaker resolution leaves room for further debate.
For neutrals, no doubt it was an enthralling contest. For Cork supporters, there was the glorious satisfaction of winning another provincial championship. To the victors the spoils.
For this Limerick fan and my fellow believers, the phrase 'all is not lost' now carries deep and tantalising possibilities. Further twists will emerge as the hurling season continues to beguile us.
Tony Wallace, Longwood, Co Meath
With the greatest respect, Pride now highlights only the things that divide us
I'm frequently told by people of impeccable judgment that I haven't a vindictive bone in my body. By and large, I subscribe to the 'live and let live' philosophy'.
However, I'm beginning to find the relatively recent phenomenon of Pride events irritating in the extreme.
Why on earth do people have to make such a big deal of their sexual­ity? It shouldn't be your defining characteristic. There is much more to human beings than that. It's ess­entially a private matter and no one else's business.
I don't really want to know if anyone is heterosexual or homosexual, provided they are decent in their dealings with me.
So, while wishing those with same-sex attraction peace and contentment, can we please put an end to these Pride events? They only emphasise difference rather than our common humanity.

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