World AIDS Day Overkill

On World Aids Day 2010, The Independent let Elton John “edit” the paper. The result was wall-to-wall AIDS coverage. Too much. Way too much. I responded thus:

Sirs,

Sorry, but too much. WAY too much. I know it’s World AIDS day again, and I know Elton John is all loveable and fluffy these days, but do we really need saturation coverage?

The Viewspaper had three interesting articles: Christina Patterson’s football piece and two obituaries. That was it. The main paper didn’t start for me until page 12, and was intermittent after that.

At the best of times, I react very badly to being preached-at, and today’s issue is preaching with a nail-studded baseball bat. It is the first time in a long time that it has taken me less than 10 minutes to read the Independent.

As a gay man, I am very sympathetic to the cause, but it’s 06:28 and I am already sick and tired of World AIDS Day.

Paul Harper

It got published, if heavily edited as: