Oh I see. They are both religions. Therefore they are both equal. Heigh ho.

You speak of Hinduism as a belief system that is on a par with Catholicism. That is an open invitation to online lynching by the self-appointed guardians of The One True Religion.

I don’t follow.

Insomma, AE, ma fhimt xejn. Pacenzja.

[Daphne – Editor’s note: This correspondence is now closed.]

Actually I was referring to the elegance of writing of the people who pitched in to agree with me. Certainly not yours, complete with poor spelling and recourse to vulgar language to express yourself. Funny too, that you should accuse me of getting the wrong end of the stick (there’s a nice phrase for you, so you don’t have to be rude), when you have jumped straight in and done so yourself.

[Daphne – Editor’s note: This correspondence is now closed.]

And J I was there. You weren’t. There were legions of homeless people in the place where I lived so I don’t need any lessons from you there.

I can tell a drunk when I see one and when you live in a place where you see the same individuals every day you tend to get to know a bit about them.

Giving him a sandwich was I thought then an act of kindness which most people don’t bother to do as they hurry on with their daily chores.

God only knows how often I myself have not stopped. But that time I did. No, I am not congratulating myself for doing so. It is just a fact.

I am sure we all could do more than we do to help those who slip through the grids of life. Giving him money would not have been kind and the council where I lived used to advise against that.

There is nothing bigoted about what I wrote. What is bigoted is jumping to conclusions about what one says.

And finally, yes I used the word ‘tramp’ as did Daphne but I do not see you doing any berating there.

It was certainly was not meant in any derogatory fashion. So please do not make my little tiny intervention something it was not. Again my little story was only intended to show how right Daphne is that Martin is particularly polite.

That’s all there is to it. Now please go jump down someone else’s throat.

[Daphne – I happen to think that tramp is, in fact, the proper word to use here. Not all homeless persons are tramps and – this may come as a surprise to some – not all tramps are homeless persons. A tramp is exactly what we are talking about here. He is obviously not in the same category as a 15-year-old runaway or somebody who has just had his home repossessed. You can take political correctness too far. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131126/local/irish-tramp-vague-on-possible-malta-connection.496382#.UpUWKCcueV4 ]

And what elegant rhetoric are you referring to? Your own? Self-praise – tut tut.

So Catherine, not only are you rude but aggressively so. As we say in Maltese ‘qbadta minn sorma’. You made an issue were there was none. My little story was only meant to emphasise Daphne’s point that Martin is particularly polite.

X’porkerija ta’ ragunar. And I will end this discussion here as I note that elegant rhetoric is rather lost on you AE – you barely seem self-aware and there’s no gain in that case.

Well, actually, AE, you do need to spell out your conclusion.

Here’s your bigoted logic:

1. Homeless person refuses sandwich and claims to be vegan.

2. Therefore homeless person must want a drink.

Here’s the logic of someone who considers homeless people to be individuals:

1. Homeless person refuses sandwich and claims to be vegan.

2. Maybe homeless person is vegan.

The fact that you think that your conclusion is obvious simply proves the point that other people are making here. Your attitude is truly disgusting and part of the problem.

I’m glad the guy told you where to shove your sandwich. He could have responded far more colourfully to your condescension, so 10 points for subtlety.

Maybe you should listen to Martin and ‘look upon’ homeless people.