Burning effigies, cursing and throwing shoes at people are all signs of ignorance

Like defacing and burning flags are signs of intellectual bankruptcy. They show a lack of self-expression and an inability to communicate civilly, especially in a place like the UK, where freedom of expression is not restricted.

That’s why I was shocked to learn about what happened over the weekend at St Andrews at the hands of the Conservative students association. They had many ways to express their distaste of the US president and his policies, but burning his effigy shouldn’t in any circumstance have been one of them.

Thankfully since then, Matthew Marshall, the president of the St Andrews Conservative Association has rightly apologized for the offence his association has caused.