Dear Councillor KapoorI have watched the unfolding controversy over your “open legs-closed brain” comments on a Sky channel talk show with all the morbid curiosity one normally reserves for a road traffic accident when passing after queuing for an hour.I would normally let such things go except I work and live in your constituency and you blithely say “let the debate begin”, so I have decided to write you this open letter.I now find out your search for a cheap sound bite and attempt to demonise a vulnerable section of the community are directed at women who have children taken into care.I can say in my professional experience these women are almost invariably either a product of the ‘care’ system themselves, victims of violence or exploitation, suffer from mental illness or have drug and alcohol problems.We who have benefited from a good education and have jobs, do we really believe that these women are somehow just morally wrong or degenerate in some way? They have the same moral and intellectual capacity as the rest of us; but they do not have the same opportunities and stake in society along with its benefits and tangible sense of belonging that we enjoy. Therein lies the cause and there we'll find the solution.Using ones greater wealth, status, educational attainment and eloquence to make cheap playground style taunts and soundbites; attempting to scapegoat those less able to defend themselves is, in playground terms simply bullying.That this bullying is coming from someone elected and paid to serve the community is simply abhorrent. These women are a symptom of, not the cause of the ills of our society, I urge you to use your privileged position of influence to assist these women not demonise them. Yours sincerelyDr Graham Stretch
Dr Graham Stretch ● 4436d