Ordinary Gweilo

Why does the SCMP publish a letter (Only time will tell – subscription required) from an American (with no obvious connection to Hong Kong) concerning a TV film commissioned by a UK TV network about an American subject? 

The new film, Death of a President, panders to an underclass which contemporary liberalism shelters but should abhor: the revanchist political left, with its marked intolerance towards opposing viewpoints and its too easy acceptance of the unworthy side of politics ("Bush assassination drama set to spark controversy in Britain, US", September 3) The film’s portrayal of US President George W. Bush being assassinated amid a sea of hateful protesters is offensive and corrosive to democracy. Leftist elements of the self-centred 1960s generation seem to resist the simple truth that mutual respect and compromise are de rigueur in any healthy democratic nation.

They would also reject out of hand comparison with the detractors of Abraham Lincoln, who began his presidential term being pelted in his railway car but ended it as a murdered icon.

Yet President Bush’s resolve in confronting terrorism may well come to be seen by history in a similar light and his domestic opponents judged accordingly.

As they await history’s verdicts the left shouldn’t leave it to time and the Grim Reaper to rescue them from intolerance and vulgarity.

RON GOODDEN, Atlanta

Still, it made me laugh whilst I was having Dim Sum, so I shouldn’t complain.

Channel 4 are getting a lot of free publicity!

Update: Dave is also on the case.  Apparently this Ron Goodden chap spends a lot of time writing letters to newspapers.