The middle-class thugs who want to stifle freedom
Regardless of one’s opinion of Brexit or members of the current Government, anyone who believes in democracy should abhor the intimidation tactics used by Left-wing political groups against anyone who dares to disagree with them. I specifically refer to your report last week on the attacks on Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg when he spoke at the University of the West of England.
It did not surprise me in the least to learn that one of the protagonists, Josh Connor, is a member of the hard-Left Momentum group, which seems to consist of middle-class youngsters from comfortable backgrounds who seek to impose their Marxist doctrine upon the rest of us.
Such people clearly do not believe in freedom of speech, as shown by their use of violent words and actions, and their attempts to conceal their identities with balaclavas and dark glasses. Keeley-Jasmine Cavendish, London Those who attacked Jacob ReesMogg call themselves anti-fascists but surely it’s those who want to stifle free speech who are in fact the fascists. Mary Wiedman, Hemel Hempstead The snowflake generation are acting like the Thought Police in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty- Four, which Stephen Pollard summed up beautifully in his opinion piece last week on freedom of expression.
Clearly Soviet thinking has already infiltrated our country, so the Russians won’t need to start a war. It is the beginning of the end. Peter Bryant, Ramsgate Josh Connor’s grandmother Jillian said: ‘Who doesn’t get cross with Rees-Mogg occasionally?’ She’s absolutely right. The man drives me up the wall sometimes. But in a democracy, it’s his right to drive me up the wall with what he says. And it’s my right to disagree with him. But that’s where the debate ends – with words. It should never involve fists.
J. Benn, London What strikes me about members of the hard-Left is that there is often so little intelligence to their protests and arguments. Describing Jacob Rees-Mogg as ‘scum’ actually says nothing. If his critics had said why he is, in their view, ‘scum’, that at least might carry some weight. J. McLean, Manchester ‘He’s not the Messiah. He’s a very naughty boy!’ So said Brian’s mum about her son in Monty Python’s Life Of Brian film. I’m sure Brian’s mum would call Josh Connor a ‘naughty boy’ too, as Josh’s own grandmother did. But there’s one thing for certain: Josh is no Messiah. C. Dodd, Durham