The seeds of hatred
Sir: Richard West, for all I know, may be totally correct in his diagnosis of the Brixton riots (18 April) but the form of his argument does not inspire confidence, Peer through the rhetoric and he seems to be saying: 'My generalisations are truer than your generalisations'. Without supporting evidence, this is merely meaningless.
Realising the need for such support, he goes on to say: 'You can tell that my generalisations about the Brixton blacks are true, because they are identical with my generalisations about the Jamaican blacks and also my generalisations about the United States blacks'. This seems unworthy subject that ought to be taken seriously. Don Peters 32 Newman Street, Sir: In your editorial (18 April), you say that in Mr Powell's 'rivers of blood' speech, his language 'could have been more carefully chosen'. Really? You also say, cians ignored him or reviled him; and they failed to avert the tragedy [of the Brixton riot]'. Do you seriously suggest that Mr Powell would have averted it? By repatriation? It takes a statesman with the political élan of Idi Amin and the sensitivity of Josef Stalin to come up with a solution like that.
In the end, though, your editorial loses its nerve, hoping that Scarman will 'compel government finally to act constructively for the future'. Come now. You can do better than that. Sadly, the real answer to this, as to many other problems, is tedious and unspectacular. We must keep on trying: to improve our society, materially and spiritually, to convince those who feel aggrieved of our good intentions, to deprive the simplistically-minded of scapegoats for their own failure. We can only keep on trying. David Craig
38 Lady Margaret Road, London NW5
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