Love they neighbour (From The Oxford Times)

Love they neighbour

7:50am Thursday 9th February 2012 in Letters

Sir – Robert Triggs’ arguments are misconceived (Letters, February 2). While Mr Triggs, the Fellows and Master of Pembroke College, not to mention the rector of St Aldate’s church are evidently not partial to kebabs, the fact remains that someone in the vicinity must be, or the kebab vans wouldn’t bother to park there!

Beer is notorious for inducing the munchies, so my guess is that some of the main culprits are probably students after a night out drinking!

Ludicrous and somewhat sinister is Mr Triggs’ suggestion that kebab van owners, as “relatively recent immigrants” have less of a right to be there than the Fellows of Pembroke College. Any British citizen who wants to make a living legally in a public place has a right to do so. The association of such rights with race or cultural background is how the holocausts of the last world war got started, and Mr Triggs should know better than to let snobbery lead him to such language.

I do have some sympathy with Mr Triggs’ love of Oxford’s beautiful architecture, and can see how the sight of a kebab van might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

However, it should be remembered that the university is founded on Christian Principles.These include the equality of humankind, love of our neighbours (even kebab sellers), and the rights of decent people to make an honest living. People take precedence over stone and mortar, however beautiful and however antique they may be.

Dr Daniel Emlyn-Jones, Oxford