Readers defend OnlyFans teacher’s right to a private life

In MetroTalk: Is it fair to be fired or banned from your profession for having an OnlyFans? (Picture: Getty/Supplied)

Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.

Could station staff do more to tackle fare-dodging?

A reader suggests a fare-dodging deterrent (Picture: Supplied)

I understand it is difficult for station staff to confront fare-dodgers.

All but the smallest stations have a public address system. If station staff see a fare dodger, I suggest they press a button immediately, which announces something like ‘a possible fare violation has been detected. CCTV footage will be examined and action taken if appropriate’.

This would alert the transgressor that they have been seen and also deter others from fare-dodging. Robert Hall, Ealing

Please, use a tissue on public transport

Just a gentle reminder to fellow train passengers that tissues are available to purchase in travel handy packs so you can keep them on you and use them when needed. Which appears to be often. Lyn, Sheffield

Constant delays are ruining London’s bus services

The number of times bus drivers ‘have been told to wait at this bus stop’ is getting out of hand. I boarded a London bus this week and the driver was asked to wait twice within three stops of one another. How on earth can you provide an efficient service when this practice happens? Mike Morfey, Streatham Vale.

Letting kids play ball again will only make noise worse

‘No ball games’ signs should be banned to get kids off their phones, according to the Raising The Nation Play Commission.

This would just lead to more noise and antisocial behaviour for us pensioners.

I have lived with football noise for more than 30 years and I am mentally ill from it. I just have to put up with the noise. Nobody helps me because ‘it’s just children playing’. John Marshall, Essex

Are you a robot?

Are these robot tests fit for purpose anymore? Surely a robot can pass them (Credits: Getty Images)

Conley (MetroTalk, Thu) asked whether anyone else was sick of their computer asking if they were a robot. That’s just what a robot would say to try and blend in. Simon, Dewsbury

Robots could probably pass those Captchas better than us

These ‘robot tests’ aren’t even fit for purpose anymore.

One common Captcha challenges people to ‘identify all the squares containing traffic lights’ but, given that AI is now supposedly able to drive cars, I’d be pretty darn disappointed if a robot didn’t pass that every time. Julian Self, Wolverton

Assisted dying is about dignity not despair, says reader

A reader argues that anyone who disagrees with assisted dying doesn’t agree with retaining the human dignity of the terminally ill (Credits: Getty Images)

Dr Sunil Raheja’s remarks in opposition to assisted dying (MetroTalk, Wed) don’t bear close scrutiny.

He says, ‘We don’t allow suicide in other situations, so why here?’ This may surprise him but many people commit suicide through their own free will – they don’t get permission to do it!

We don’t penalise or criminalise these unfortunates after the deed is attempted, as they did in the Dark Ages.

Secondly, how can Dr Raheja assume that most people’s suffering ‘can be eased with good palliative care’?

The fact that one is dependent on ‘good palliative care’ is surely an indicator that one’s life is coming to an end, and that must be emotionally and morally distressing at the very least.

And just surviving for the sake of it isn’t much of an incentive, especially if one is prone in bed connected to a morphine drip or similar 24/7. The assisted dying bill is a positive, progressive move.

I would argue that anyone who disagrees with this doesn’t seem to believe in the concept of retaining human dignity or restoring our independence or self-control.

And restricting our liberties and our own choice on how we end up is not only a curtailment of human rights, but will also lead to needless suffering. I would not respect any doctor who supports such restrictions. William Barklam, Erith

Could legalising suicide be a slippery slope?

Dr Raheja hits the nail on the head when he says that legalising assisted suicide ‘sends the wrong message – that some lives aren’t worth living’.

It would take not only the medical profession but UK society in general back to the Dark Ages and beyond.

Experience in other countries has shown that dying by the approved method is not always quick or comfortable or painless, so why is it considered an acceptable alternative to good palliative care?

And what is the difference between helping someone to die and killing someone? The distinction will eventually become blurred in people’s minds and it will open the floodgates – once one kind of killing is deemed acceptable, other kinds start to appear less heinous.

There is already too much killing going on – what with teenage knife crime, arson attacks and vehicular violence.

We need to send a message, especially to our young people – that killing is not OK, whoever you are, which will not be achieved by saying that nobody is allowed to kill unless they are a doctor.
Eileen Ford, Jarrow

Would you like some fish with your plastic?

This fish is so full of micro-plastics,
I can’t tell it from the knife and fork. Nick, North London