Oh, please, stop with the arguments about Brighton's West Pier. An old building has fallen into the sea. It's a historic monument and now it is dying. Let it go.

Whether or not we should have done more, we didn't. The various suggestions came to nothing. It's sad. It is not a tragedy.

Sue Taylor (Letters, January 28) is typical of many correspondents who use flip and unsubstantiated comments to try to bolster their arguments.

She says those who want "something for nothing" such as "new superstores" and "so-called asylum-seekers"' always have funding available and compares both (superstores and asylum-seekers?) to those who have led "decent lives" and this is, in turn, somehow relates to the lax attitude regarding the fate of the West Pier.

I am glad she has had the chance to live her decent life in a country that has not exploited her or threatened her life or livelihood.

If you want to challenge whether the number of asylum-seekers we have is appropriate, fine. If you want to suggest some are misusing the system, fine. There is evidence for both. But not all this country's ills come from outsiders and big business.

Would you rather have money spent on people's lives or a building? Who are you to suggest that your life is somehow more decent and worthwhile to someone else? You have contributed to this country. So have I.

So have many people who were not born here. Please do not insult me by assuming you speak for "the majority of people" in this country. You have your own point of view. Express it and move on. Don't try to cloud the issues by making sweeping statements that you cannot prove.

-Steve Myers, Montpelier Terrace, Brighton