Metro-Briefe, March 9: “Social media is the real poison apple of the West”

That Ladybird Books hires “sensitive readers” — to flag phrases that might be offensive — continues to piss our own readers off a bit.

They argue that social media is far more dangerous to children’s psyches than fairy tales ever were. Are fairy tales the big bad wolf? Join in.

Additionally, our contributors have also written to protest the planned expansion of the Ulez program in London – saying it will do little to clean the capital’s air.

Read on to see what else is making people angry…

■ Regarding the views on Ladybird that make “sensitive readers” re-examine stories like “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty” (MetroTalk, Wed). Apparently, this is because children don’t grow up with a complex unless they’re blonde or blue-eyed, as fairy-tale characters often are.

Really? I don’t recall reading about children developing psychological trauma from fairy tales in all these years. However, I’ve read and seen a lot regarding social media promoting fat shaming and being dismayed by people who want to be reality TV stars when their posts aren’t liked and want to look flawless.

The western world has turned into a superficial, narcissistic make-believe society. That’s a lot more disturbing than reading about a couple who “fall in love at first sight,” a phrase that may be dropped from the books so kids can learn that looks alone don’t make someone romantic. Gary Holmyard, Wembley Park

■ Fairy tales have already been adapted to society. The stories written by the Brothers Grimm have been altered from the original versions.

To me, these old stories, which were probably changed a million times before the Grimms put pen to paper, can be changed again. The world won’t end if we do that. Carl Bowler, Bolton

■ Ladybug classics were a hit in the 1970s because they were very well written, illustrated, and concise storybooks that children enjoyed. They reflected morals and life in their stories.

You can’t undo the past and “writing back” a children’s book to replace references to people being “blonde” or “blue-eyed” is wrong. Critics should instead write new books and show some authenticity. Amanda, Manchester

■ This is all nonsense. Good or bad, it’s history and you can’t change history. What now – changing old master paintings because their content is no longer acceptable? You can change the future, you can learn from the past, but you cannot change it. Keith, Kent

■ God, these politically correct people make me sick. These ladybug storybooks are out of their time – leave them alone. Great. Only a small part of the population consists of these idiots who obviously have nothing better to do. Fred, South East London

■ I, and I suspect the majority of other people, wish these woke idiots would just go back to sleep. I Robertson, East Sussex

■ Will we get a bright version of Gone with the Wind any time soon? Lizzie, Liverpool

“Mayor Khan’s Ulez program has made little difference to health”

■ Andrew (MetroTalk, Tues) seems to associate London’s Ulez program with clean air. It’s a misconception and I’d like to suggest he visit the current ulez and walk down a main street to see how much of a difference it’s made. Nick, London

■ Is anyone out there old enough to remember when smoking was legal in cinemas? Half of the auditorium was for smokers, the rest for non-smokers. The smoke, of course, did not recognize artificial zones and polluted everyone’s airspace.

Fast forward to today and London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s money-making Ulez expansion plan. Do people really think emissions from places bordering Greater London won’t be swamped? Craziness. Simon, Willesden

■ This clean aviation zone in Ulez is just another way for municipalities to get more money because many of them are desperate for money and almost broke. No money is spent on actually “cleaning” the air – it’s just to fill their coffers. All we do is turn around and pay. Paul, Northolt

■ On Transport for London (MetroTalk, Tue) fare hikes, I think you Londoners have done remarkably well. I would raise your fares quite a bit more to match the price of your amazing infrastructure.

People over 60 also get free travel tickets, unlike the rest of the country which has lousy bus and train systems, particularly in the ‘Upper North’ where we’ve been perpetually neglected and where older travelers have to wait until retirement age to be able to travel freely . We should have fare concessions. John, The Overlooked North

“Being single can mean double trouble for us”

■ Anne (MetroTalk, Wed) praised Tanyel Mustafa for writing in Metro on Monday that she is glad she is single. I couldn’t disagree more how wonderful it is to be alone. Being alone all the time, with no one to talk to about life’s hardships, makes it even more depressing. Being single for a long time without anyone caring is terrible. Single male, Sussex

And also…

■ Scott, from West London (MetroTalk, MI) suggests Boris Johnson’s former mistresses could be nominated for honors along with his family. That will be a lot of people. Jan, Glasgow

■ Maybe Up North’s AH (MetroTalk, Tue) could pay the guards a “celery” to guard his greenhouse full of lettuce. Jane, down south

■ A Marks & Spencer customer sent a photo of daffodils, which can be poisonous, along with spring onions (Metro, Fri). I can go one better – tulips on a large display with a billboard above it that says ‘Eat well’. Let’s hope nobody tries them! Stewart Potticary, Dagenham

■ Regarding the fines for dumping rubbish in cul-de-sacs in Glasgow (Metro, Mi), why not jail? What happened to the toughness against crime? Bring back tougher penalties for these criminals. Fred, Hampshire

■ I’ve loved Metro from the start and I’m very impressed with the new newspaper. Victor Simpson, Rotherham

■ I really like Metro’s new design. I loved reading it on my drive. Can we have some more rush hour crushes, please? Eleanor, Surbiton

■ The new design is nice, but can you remove some of the lines on the puzzle page? The space was useful for making notes. Tom Mathias, via email

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