KEVIN McKenna's article on Saturday in support of Scotland's annual Hatefest, known as the Orange walk, could have easily been given the headline "Sneering liberals must accept the rights of the KKK", had it been written in the United States ("Sneering liberals must accept the rights of the Orange Order", The Herald, July 14).

My father's recollection of their "big day out" was to be thumped on the head with a (purely symbolic) baton, and while lying on the street covered in blood, was referred to as a "Fenian b******" by an onlooker.

Nothing has changed. Their existence in my view is still to perpetuate hatred of Catholics. Mr McKenna's aside regarding sexual abuse in the Catholic church is irrelevant in this context, and belongs in a separate article, rightly so.

Fidelma Cook hit the nail on the head in her article ("Unless you're a Catholic, you cannot imagine how deeply personal this is", Herald Magazine, July 14). There is genuine terror felt by ordinary people when these thugs have their annual parade, as my own children will testify to when our car was attacked by uniformed marchers in Glasgow a few short years ago.

To quote Ms Cook, "ban them".

Kevin Orr,

Wheatley Loan, Bishopbriggs.