I REALISE your columnist Mike Bentley is paid to be controversial. However, I found some of his views in the Saturday Sound Off column offensive (July 9).

Referring to the African situation as the "white man's burden", I wondered how skin colour had any relevance to some of the horrors taking place in Africa. Not all African governments are corrupt dictators.

I would point out that some of the aid recipients from the tsunami have dubious reputations when it comes to human rights or corruption.

We, in the so-called developed world, have the medicines, the infrastructures and resources to try to help Africa with some of the terrible problems it suffers. As human beings, ignoring this tragedy is not an option.

If a group of multi-millionaire rock stars attempt to raise the profile of Africa then good for them. If they sell a few extra albums, so what? If a flagging career is revived, so what? If you don't like the message, then don't listen.

The African problems are very complex and not easily solved. As a species, the human race is often not very nice and certainly flawed but at the very least we are trying to do something, not because it's a "burden", but because we can.

The cynicism of Mike Bentley's piece is too easy and thankfully a lot of us are not prepared to look the other way.

As for the Live 8 concert, I enjoyed some of it, although some of the acts had no idea how to handle a stadium audience. Coldplay were left dead in the water having to follow U2, Annie Lennox wiped out every other female act including Madonna, Robbie Williams had the crowd eating out of his hand and the ageing Who just blew every other wannabe rock band away.

Charlie Stone,

Millfield Road,

York.

Updated: 09:34 Wednesday, July 13, 2005