Mainstream newspapers can inform me of the current affairs occurring within England and across the world, and in the same breath wind me up. I keep a wide berth from tabloids and have done for many years. Most mornings I will go for a leisurely stroll to my local café for a takeaway latte, and pick up a copy of the Metro as I live by a mainline station direct route to Waterloo.

The Metro doesn’t really inspire nor annoy me, just a free paper to browse through whilst back at home with my breakfast before I hit the laptop for a day of writing, admin or whatever. However when I read the headlines of 18th February 2013, “Send Her To The Tower” by Tariq Tahir, my blood boiled.  Mr Tahir’s article was in response to the Booker Prize Winning author Hilary Mantel’s remarks made on the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, which were taken out of context and the Metro only focused on the negative aspects of her comments. My anger was  enraged so much that I wrote an email direct to the paper (full version of the email appears at the end of this article).

The reason for my gripe, is that we have the right to be anti-royal and it is not a newspaper’s job to make it out to be treason.  OK, yes it may be tongue in cheek, but I believe it was a smokescreen by the paper to rally support in favour of the Royal Family and attempt to ostracize Ms Mantel.  Unfortunately in the year 2013, being in favour of a republic as opposed to a monarchy run state, you are perceived as a social leper and an outcast, and the Metro was trying to emphasize this (or what they feel to be) consensus  of opinion.  I am in favour of a republic state, and when someone airs views that I might agree with, they should not be railed by the media, we do not live in an oppressive society.

I wish no harm to the Royal Family, and it’s not a question of having them against the wall. Anyway this article is not about being anti or pro-Royal, but how a paper is denying  the freedom of speech. Will and Kate’s wedding was OK, as I went food shopping whilst they were getting married and my word, did I get my shopping done quickly. 

Furthermore I contacted Ms Mantel’s publishing company Fourth Estate and her agent, and the apathy and, to be honest, their cowardly behaviour surprised me. A writer of theirs had been branded a traitor, and there was no sense of fight in them. Perhaps they were too scared that they might miss out on some PR night or whatever, oh well that is the new media “Spineless bastards all” and after I put the phone down, I paraphrased Basil Fawlty to myself “this is exactly how Nazi Germany started”. Extreme maybe, but wishing to send someone to the tower because they spoke their mind is little more than extreme.

Nevertheless, the Metro did print my letter (abridged version) the following day, and it appeared on page 14, which made me smile, yet in the same breath a little paranoid that I might one day be lead to the tower via traitor’s gate before an angry crowd, because I exercised my freedom of speech. 

Full Version of my Letter to the Metro

Dear Metro,

I am writing in regard to the remarks that Hilary Mantel made in reference to The Duchess of Cambridge.

I went to bed the night before your front page headline of Send Her To The Tower hit the stands, believing and thinking that we lived in a democracy and freedom of speech was allowed. Clearly in your eyes, we are not, and anyone who is anti-monarchy and in favour of a republic should be banished to imprisonment in the Tower of London.

The Tower of London was a brutal regime, where many innocent people were tortured and imprisoned, due to their political and religious beliefs. Now, as a popular daily, I do not believe you have the right to pass judgement and punishment on someone exercising their right to the freedom of speech. 

Ms Mantel is totally within her rights to state what she thinks about Kate Middleton, and contrary to belief, not everyone in the UK is pro-royal. In addition, with headlines like yours, you are creating a totalitarian society where people are too scared to air their opinions due to the fear of being ostracized because of their beliefs. You are on a par with George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in his acclaimed novel 1984 with your actions.  What next, run a campaign where neighbours call you direct if they believe their neighbours to be anti-royal ?

Yours sincerely,

Matteo



© Words – Matteo Sedazzari