I WAS under the impression that free speech and humour was one of the best traits of Scottish society. It seems I got it wrong. The reaction to the Provost's column regarding the march in Gourock is way over the top.

Humour is the best answer to any bigotry and I thought his column was very funny as it did not take sides.

Of course it did not take long before the usual suspects, ie 'the easily offended', to appear. Some of our councillors were very quick to jump on the bandwagon, which was no surprise as they will not allow the Union Flag to fly over council buildings on certain occasions. I was also surprised by the reaction of the two religious leaders as we never hear or see their views regarding divisive marches like Pride, SNP or Palestine.

It seems that the march went on without any arrests, so any fears that people had were unfounded. I myself am not a member but I believe that if we start banning any marches we are going down the wrong road. If our religious leaders think banning any marches is going to cure anything then they are in the wrong job.

J. R. McKay

Inverclyde