Get them in, get them drunk

I sympathise with Mat Mclean’s situation, ‘‘Chef shuts the door on central city ‘zoo’’’ (Tuesday, April 24). I am actually surprised that he has held out as long as he has. On any given Thursday, Friday, Saturday night in the south end of the city, between the hours of 10.30pm and 3am you will be confronted with absolute chaos, drunkenness, violence, vandalism and the ever-depressing scenes of young, intoxicated girls crying or vomiting on the footpaths.

So, considering how certain bars in the south end are marketing the cheap drink deals, etc, it looks in my opinion that they have a ‘‘get them in, get them drunk, get them out at 3am’’ and then let the police deal with the aftermath ‘‘policy’’.

Drinking culture has changed, but so has the management of licensed premises, and not for the better. It is for the bar proprietors to start taking more responsibility for their actions. As Mr Lawrenson so proudly states, ‘‘Ten per cent of the city comes through his bars or restaurants’’. Then if he is making so much money, why doesn’t he give something back? Maybe free dinners in his restaurants for all the street cleaners and police and hospital staff that have to deal with the consequences of his profits. OWEN DUNCAN Hamilton 8: 60-61: ‘‘If they resort to peace, so shall you and put your trust in God.’’ Chapter 2: Verse 256: ‘‘There shall be no compulsion in religion.’’ (translations by Dr Rashid Khalifa).

Just as we don’t brand all Christians as warmongers and a threat to mankind because of the actions of Bush, the Lord’s Resistance Army, the Irish Republican Army, the Crusaders and Anders Brevik, neither should we demonise true Islam, because of the non-islamic actions of those who corrupt Islam for their own purposes. LYNNE ADRIENNE Raglan