Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
Dog owners, spare me your ‘thank you’
I would like, appropriately enough, to thank Mark from Staines (MetroTalk, Thu) for drawing my attention to the article two days before about the different ways Brits have of saying ‘thank you’.
One example that would not have been included is people saying ‘thank you’ when they should say ‘sorry’.
Many times I have had to wait for a dog owner to leave an alley – rarely the same owner but usually the same alley. Often, they say ‘thank you’ as though I am being kind to – or even well-disposed to – them or their pet.
Well, dog owners, I am not. I am waiting, not to spare you of any inconvenience but to avoid putting myself in danger, as you are inconveniencing me.
If you were visibly carrying a gun or sword, would you thank me for not confronting you without my own weapon?
When you are driving your car, do you thank all the pedestrians who stay on the pavement rather than walk along the middle of the road?
Well, a dog is a weapon as well and, worse than the others, a weapon with a mind of its own.
So, don’t thank me for doing what’s in my best interest. Instead, apologise for delaying me by choosing, of all the many domesticated species you might have for a pet, a peculiarly insensitive and unpredictable one. Charles EL Gilman, Mitcham
Trump’s war on words would make Orwell proud
‘the restriction and depletion of language can limit what we are able to think.’
It was recently revealed that the Trump administration has listed dozens of words and phrases that should be purged and avoided in official government documents.
These include ‘bias’, ‘climate crisis’, ‘diversity’, ‘inequality’, ‘LGBT’, ‘prejudice’ and ‘pronoun’.
If the book Nineteen Eighty-Four taught us anything, it’s that language has the power to shape the way we think – and that the restriction and depletion of language can limit what we are able to think.
It states: ‘The whole aim of Newspeak [the new language in the novel] is to narrow the range of thought. In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.’
Hence aspiring totalitarians try to change the way language is used in order to serve their own ends. This is not even to mention the banning of books from schools and libraries.
If we value freedom, we must remain vigilant and fight these policies at every opportunity. Sharon, Manchester
Ditching the brands that don’t align with my values
‘Elon Musk is doing a spectacular job of making his brand the most undesirable one on the planet.’
I’ve shunned Starbucks and other US chains in favour of a local independent and replaced my Americano with a Ukrainiano.
I’ve also deleted my account with the toxic snakepit called X and as to Tesla… well, Elon Musk is doing a spectacular job of making his brand the most undesirable one on the planet. Guy W, Richmond
Labour’s shift right: did we really vote for this?
‘They are all policies advocated by the Tories that have been adopted by Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government’
Question: what connects an increase in spending on defence, a reduction in foreign aid, benefits for the disabled and the size of the civil service, more private companies brought into the NHS and protection for those on high incomes and the wealthy
Answer: they are all policies advocated by the Tories that have been adopted by Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government.
Is this what people voted for when Labour promised change? Chris, Stockport
Man United’s stadium dream: should they build a better team first?
‘get back to being one of the world’s greatest teams first?’
So, Manchester United want to build the world’s greatest football stadium (Metro, Wed). How about trying to get back to being one of the world’s greatest teams first, of which they are currently a million miles from being?
Hearing former Man Utd player Gary Neville’s dreamy fantasy about the future on the voicevoer of the stadiumvideo made me think his ex-teammate Roy Keane needs to get hold of him in the club canteen (no discounts, mind) and tell him in his no-nonsense way of about the current plight of the club.
Anyway, if they do go ahead with the stadium, I have a suggestion for its name – Old Knackered. Dec, Essex
