Thank you so much for Bill Hearld's column "Showman Hitler" (The Press, April 24).

I'm just sick to death of knee jerk reactions to things taken out of context. It's just this kind of overreaction that perpetuates intolerance.

My father and his parents escaped Germany, while the remaining members of his family, except for two cousins, were wiped out in the Holocaust. I certainly have a reason to be sensitive.

When I read Bryan Ferry's remarks it never occurred to me that he was a Nazi sympathiser. I simply didn't see a need to be outraged.

It took a lot of courage to write what Mr Hearld did, and I believe it will go a lot further to help the cause of a healthy dialogue we could all be enjoying, instead of censoring ourselves at every turn.

Jennifer Cohn Marsh, Yardley, Pennsylvania, USA.