Every day, we publish a selection of your emails in our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you, you can email us at yoursay@theconversation.edu.au.
Monday September 8
The bigger issue
“Relying on legislation alone to manage extremism won’t solve the problem and will create others. Even an action as simple as suggesting banning the swastika has challenges. The real concern is the strength of democracies themselves and their institutions which appear to be under general threat across the world, especially in the US but arguably in Europe and Israel too. Australia has advantages – compulsory voting and independent electoral commissions being two very powerful mechanisms. This is a good foundation to protect democracy here. We should not lose sight of the key fact that people will be drawn to extremist groups and their populist agendas when they feel they have a grievance which is not being addressed by those in power.”
Charles Latimer 
Running light
“As an avid runner I was really interested to read your article about weight divisions for endurance events, however, I wanted to share my concerns about some of the content about weight loss. Eating disorders and disordered eating are very common in runners. There’s a misconception that in order to be a faster runner you need to be lighter. This can lead to restrictive eating and under-fuelling, with significant consequences on running performance and general health.”
Catherine Simpson
Tuesday September 9
Religious preppers
“Some religious groups also encourage prepping, even asking their parishioners to move to rural areas and be self-sufficient to prepare for end times when only they will be saved. I have a close family member in a church and she has done exactly this – wanting to be on acres off grid. I’m wondering if there’s another angle you could consider: far right extremism and the link to some of these ‘prepper’ religious groups?”
Name withheld
Don’t try it
“Your article on the world record 29-minute breath hold has to be one of the most dangerous you have ever published. ‘Don’t try this at home,’ you chirp, but of course thousands are likely to do exactly that. Several years ago my own much-loved nephew, an avid free diver, died off the coast of South America after one too many dives, his girlfriend unable to save him and help coming far too late.”
John Peel
K-pop success
“What a refreshing change to see some good news on how well our Aussie artists are doing on the world stage. As a 71-year-old music nut, limiting myself to specific music genres has not featured in my life. Who would think I’d take a liking to K-Pop? Its bright, catchy tempos, lyrics and precision choreography are such a pleasant distraction from the world around me. ‘Are you ready? Cause I’m comin to get ya!’”
Dr Belinda Chaplin
Wednesday September 10
Sugar hit
“The story about reduced sugar consumption, especially among children, is encouraging. However a lingering addictive demand for sweetness sustains the market for artificial sweeteners. Research points to serious health issues. If we are merely substituting one addiction with another, how to keep us aware of that?”
Hilary Ash
Rising crime?
“Is there any research on why violent crime is apparently rising in Victoria? And the solutions? We keep hearing about gang related violence at shopping centres and the government responds by tightening bail laws and banning the sale of machetes. But human behaviour does not happen in a vacuum, what are the factors in our society that are contributing?”
Simone Mason
Ed: We recently did a series on violence and we’re looking into the rise in youth crime in Victoria. Keep an eye on the newsletter later this week.
Tree hollows for wildlife
“Thirty-five years ago, we moved to Austins Ferry, Tasmania. I quickly discovered our local nature reserve, which had several dead trees. These regularly hosted a range of birds, particularly wood swallows, which perched on the branches to swoop upon passing insects. One time I saw an endangered Grey Goshawk awaiting passing prey. Sadly, these trees have all now been illegally felled for firewood. This is a major problem in Tassie, where in winter there are many trailer-loads of firewood being offered for sale at the side of the road.”
Bob Holderness-Roddam, Former Associate, School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania
Thursday September 11
The cost of climate action
“Every time I hear the Business Council of Australia speaking about the costs of taking action on climate change, I ask myself if they are really speaking on behalf of the wider business community, or whether their views are skewed by the big fossil fuel companies who want to delay climate action as long as possible.”
John Upham
Time to innovate?
“Why does Meanjin need to continue to be published on "thick creamy white paper”? It needs to take a leaf out of the book of publications like The Conversation. Let us have a digital Meanjin. Much cheaper and maybe still affordable with or without subscriptions.“
Jan Mitchell, Author
Glad you liked it Ann!
"The gift of sound! I found this article on underwater river sounds fascinating. It gave me so much delight to read how we can listen to rivers and all the creatures living in them. The icing on the cake was actually listening to three river recordings. What a wonderful piece of technology and what a positive piece of writing.”
Ann Ellis
Friday September 12
Senator snafu
“I think Senator Price has made the odd careless or rash statement at times, but I am unable to understand the fuss about her saying (as reported) that Labor governments favoured immigration from India because those people tended to vote Labor. In these columns Michelle Grattan recently reported that a recent survey showed that over eighty percent of Australians of Indian background vote, or had voted, this way. So if that is true, why should Indian people feel hurt by her statement and be considered as deserving of an apology?”
Jan Cooper
Qatar strike
“It appears clear that Netanyahu aims to prevent a ceasefire in Gaza, but I question whether getting rid of Hamas is his only goal. Why aren’t more politicians around the world calling it what it is, calling Trump out for his blatant interference in peace-making in both Gaza and Ukraine, and doing something about the genocide in Gaza.”
Dr Claudia Baldwin
Not off to the shops
“The real question is how long owners will keep bricks and mortar stores open? It’s a high risk for workers’ compensation claims, and high risk for theft. The CCTV of ‘customer’ criminal behaviour is frightening. No employee should be placed in the place of danger. Home delivery looms large.”
Allen Hampton