Serena isn’t behaving like a real champion
THE performance of Serena Williams off the court has tarnished her on-court reputation. A champion should act as a champion especially as they are seen as a role model.
Calling the umpire a liar is wrong – the umpire is right at all times, even when they make mistakes and video reviews should also be removed. After having coached many school sports teams for 30 years, I have always emphasised that philosophy and yes, sometimes umpires make mistakes – but not intentionality.
The statement that she doesn’t cheat is not that simple – her coaching team admitted there was coaching. It doesn’t matter that the coaching wasn’t seen, it did happen and should be responded to as it is cheating. The reality is that it is her team and thus her responsibility to prevent any cheating.
The statement that it never happened to a man is wrong – John McEnroe was disqualified from the Australian Open on January 21, 1990, after several code violations. Not telling the crowd to be quiet immediately during the presentations was also wrong. The winner should be cheered and Serena should be the loudest cheerer. It’s just good manners.
The concern for her daughter is positive, although the youngster will see this game and the performance on and off the court and may not see it as such a positive.
Return to being the champion that you have been before. DENNIS FITZGERALD,
Melbourne, Australia.
Help rural dwellers
IN OUR ‘on-the-spectrum’ filled world, elderly residents of the Irish countryside find themselves in the middle of the social spectrum
At one end, there is the organised thuggery aimed at them by individuals who regard the houses of rural residents as their own Fagin pick-’n’-mix.
A state of lawlessness exists in rural Ireland. Criminals operate without fear or hindrance leaving behind traumatised victims of their nefarious deeds.
While the loss of material goods is annoying, they can be replaced. What cannot be restored is the sense that a person’s living space will never be the same following an unwanted trespass.
At the other end of the social spectrum is the closure of rural post offices. Representing a premeditated use of an economic instrument to balance the company’s books at the expense of people’s access to services.
The State-driven pogrom to denude the Irish countryside of the financial, commercial and digital infrastructure, which allows rural society to function, is helmed by a city-based culture.
The social contract between the Government and its citizens must be maintained regardless of where it makes contact with human society. Behind the political spin lies an attempt to rewrite the terms of the social contract with the terms in favour of Irish citizens who are city-based, digital native and regard the Irish countryside as a weekend playground.
A rural post office is more than a commercial space bedecked with An Post livery. It is a community heartbeat, echoing on rivulets that reach into the homes of rural residents while providing the intangible known as human contact as it dispenses the tangible known as postal services.
Why should the elderly bow the knee and change the way they engage with public, commercial and social services? Living and being part of a society they helped to create, they are being portrayed as rural fossils refusing to embrace the digital times. Has it come to pass that your residential location determines your engagement with society? If that be the case, then would the last person out of the Irish countryside please turn out the light, latch the door and put the key under the mat.
JOHN TIERNEY, Fews, Co. Waterford.
Good luck, Mr Harris
IT HAS taken far too long, but at last we have a new Commissioner of An Garda Síochána that I can trust and believe in.
The position of Commissioner is so important to the security of our country that he should only answer direct to An Taoiseach, rather than the Office of Minister for Justice, which of late seems to be a very transient office in view of the fact that we have had three in recent years. I would also apply the same importance to the office of Chief of the Defence Staff, which controls our armed forces.
Drew Harris is a brave man to take on the poisoned chalice the office of Commissioner has become of late, but he is mature and experienced enough to carry out the task, and do a damned good job. He got the job not because he is one of the cartel of the old school of senior gardaí, but rather because he has shown his ability by becoming Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI, and he will have had lots of dealings with our Garda over the years.
His first task is to improve the morale of the younger members and middle management of the force, something he is well capable of. He will be able to quickly identify deficiencies in modern equipment which the force needs to bring us into the 21st century. So, Taoiseach, you will need to open the purse strings.
The media needs to get behind this fine man and give him all the support he needs, especially when he is looking for funding from the Government for equipment.
JOHN FAIR, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.