Article demeans those with ME

13th July 2001, 1:00am
I was astounded to read headteacher Pat Sweeney’s column in which he made fun of the illness myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly known as ME.

Mr Sweeney managed to demean a serious piece of research into the extent of the illness among school children and to misinterpret it to suit the argument he was trying to make.

He also appears to have thought it amusing to make a play on the name of the illness.

Any one of these three grounds should surely have alerted those responsible for the article to the fact that it would be offensive to those such as myself who suffer from the disease.

The disease is a difficult one to understand. This misleading article has unfortunately made a proper understanding of it all the more difficult.

Martin Earl

Leslie Road

London n2