There is a medical condition known as the Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS). One of its symptoms, fortunately rare, is “coprolalia” described as “exclamation of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks” and alternatively as “spontaneous utterance of socially objectionable, obscene or taboo words or phrases”.

Your columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia appears to be suffering from the writer’s equivalent of GTS when she wrote her scurrilous article “True-life drama! The shocking tale of the N and the bull-bar!” (TMIS, 2 September).

The object of her tirade was a Mario Mamo. Mr Mamo may have exaggerated his alarm but nowhere, yes nowhere in his letter did he mention the N word. Daphne Caruana Galizia, on the contrary not only uses the vile epithet in the headline of the article but then goes on to mention it no less than eight times, and uses it, as she says, “deliberately” – and yet she has the gall to accuse Mr Mamo of being driven by racist paranoia!

It may be of interest to your readers that even the word “niggardly” is being dropped in polite conversation in favour of miserly, parsimonious or stingy so as to leave as little room for misinterpretation as possible. And your columnist openly flaunts the N word. So clever!

Sir, your columnist’s use of the N word, and your allowing such an article, does no honour to your newspaper. It is not liberty of speech to use such insulting language. She should be prosecuted for racism.

Stephen Vassallo

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