BOYCOTTING IN THE NORTH

Sir, Hatred is not a natural emotion. We are not born with it children learn to hate as they are growing up

Sir, Hatred is not a natural emotion. We are not born with it children learn to hate as they are growing up. Adults (often parents) are to blame. Hatred destroys. But it does not destroy the object of one's hatred, it destroys the person who hates. It turns people sour, and a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Organised boycotting is a form of hatred. It leads on to intimidation, threats, suspicion, ethnic unrest and racial conflict. A community divided will never flourish. We have seen examples of that all over the world. We don't want it to happen here.

We can understand how some people may think that boycotting is justified. In the aftermath of Drumcree, the whole country is "screwed up". But organised boycotting is not the answer. It is unworthy of us. Let us wipe the slate clean and start all over again. There are nine months left to sort everything out. Yours, etc., Omagh Alliance Party, Dergmoney Place, Omagh, Co. Tyrone.