Nesrine Malik’s article (What’s so hard about defining Islamophobia?, Journal, 20 May) misses an obvious problem – the word itself. “Phobia” means an irrational fear of something. Islamophobia, like homophobia, is not a fear at all – it is the result of miseducation or bigotry. So perhaps we need a different word?
Pete Greening
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
• I beg you to add “blue rinse” – anyone, but especially Tory – to your list of phrases banned in the style guide along with lazy stereotypes such as pensioner and that picture of pathetic old gnarled hands that newspapers trot out when they have a story about social care. We older women have a rainbow of colours we use on our hair, so assure Marina Hyde (The blue-rinse Tories finally get their favourite naughty boy, 18 May) that blue is probably not our colour of choice any more, and that some of us don’t even vote Tory.
Jenny Rogers (currently pink hair)
London
• Congratulations to the man in front of me in the supermarket queue – having paid for his goods he was unwrapping fruit and veg and leaving the plastic on the counter. Everybody stopped and stared. Security was called. People thought he was mad. No. He’s not mad. Madness lies in stopping and staring, and doing nothing when we have an emergency on our hands.
Yvonne Joyce-Midgley
Devizes, Wiltshire
• Your obituaries never seem to give a cause of death for anyone over 70, as if it was only to be expected at that age. As a healthy 74-year-old I resent this.
Rodney Smith
Chapelton, Strathaven
• Why do we often hear, “Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon”, but never “Cliff Richard, whose real name is Harry Webb”?
Nigel Healey
Aboyne, Aberdeenshire
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