The Crime of Eccentricity

Why can’t society deal with difference? What is wrong with us? We used to be proud of our eccentrics and now we pillory them. We have become an intolerant, insular and xenophobic society, and we are getting worse. The case of Chris Jeffries is but the latest example of how a rampant press can latch on to a suspect, try him and find him guilty by innuendo long before his interview by the police has been concluded. Is it too much to ask the press to act responsibly? We are fortunate in Britain to have a free press, so many other countries would long for similar freedom. But with this freedom comes a duty to report news impartially and responsibly. Is this really too much to ask?