Cooper ^{Reference Cooper1} states ‘we all start from a position determined in part by personal background, and readers will not fully understand comments unless such things are known’, referring to Casey's ^{Reference Casey, Oates, Jones and Cantwell2} commentary on Fergusson et al ^{Reference Fergusson, Horwood and Boden3} and her Catholic faith. This seems to suggest that however sound our reasoning may be, it must be taken with a pinch of salt because one is a Catholic. Perhaps a Black man's arguments against racism would be similarly invalid. No doubt Professor Cooper would not want an upsurge in anti-Catholic bigotry, but his suggestions may not prevent it.