Here's my missive, just sent to James Harding at the Times ,
james.harding@thetimes.co.uk
Subject: Matthew Parris hate-piece, The Times, 27 December 2007
Dear Mr Harding,
I'm writing to express my incredulity at the ignorant and disturbing rant produced in 'the Times' by Matthew Parris on 27 December 'What's smug and deserves to be decapitated?' (link below).
If this is Mr Parris' idea of a joke I am afraid he is sadly deluded. Regrettably, assaults on cyclists using the method he advocates in his article are not unknown in this country, and have indeed been reported in your own newspaper. Parris' incitement - which is what his article amounts to - contributes to a climate of opinion, led by the media, which regards people who choose to cycle as social inferiors, and hence fair game for both verbal and physical attack.
At a time when all of us as individuals and organisations (including newspapers such as 'the Times') need to encourage people to cycle, Mr Parris' article is likely to have the opposite effect. It's all the more puzzling given my understanding that your workplace is actively encouraging its own employees to cycle to work. Clearly, some of your colleagues have understood that cycling is good for individuals as well as the wider community.
I don't know if the concept of ethical journalism has any currency with the editorial staff at 'the Times'. Given the newspaper's distinguished history and the fact that it remains a paper of record, I very much hope so. I would have thought that, at the very least, an apology and retraction from Parris is called for.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours with disappointment etc.
