God save the Queen (and let’s kill all the lawyers)
(How about shutting the fuck up for once…?)
God knows I’m not a monarchist. I’m Dutch, so I know what it is to have a royal family around. Our lot are mostly well-behaved but the whole system is, of course, quite ludicrous.
The only reason why I wouldn’t trade in our monarchy for a republic is that I would dread the idea of yet more bloody elections, added to the already overcrowded roster. Whatever you want to say about the various kings and queens old Europe has on offer, at least they don’t go in for photo ops at Euro Disney with their pop star spouses, in order to endear them to the voting public.
Anyway, as I said, while I’m not schlepping around guillotines, I’m not a great fan of the monarchy, so I even surprised myself a bit when I wanted to roar a heart-felt ‘God save the Queen’ upon reading the following bit of nonsense:
“An honour established by the Queen has been declared unlawful after Muslims and Hindus complained that its Christian name and cross insignia were offensive. The Privy Council in London has ruled that the Trinity decoration is unconstitutional because it discriminates against non-Christians. Five British law lords said that the creation of the honour breached the right to equality and the right to freedom of conscience and belief.”
I am too polite to tell these Muslims and Hindus where they can stick those kindly offered but obviously offending decorations.
Okay, I’m not.
I’m even willing to don a large glove and insert them myself.
You know what though? Ah, where to start…?
Okay, first of all, nobody is forcing anyone to accept any honorary bauble or mention the queen chooses to bestow on them. You can simply, preferably politely, refuse. The Queen won’t mind. Hell, she probably won’t give a good Goddamn either way.
Furthermore, Great Britain does have a state religion. Granted, the Church of England is the Bud Light of religions. Not very demonstrative – and not good for anything much, perhaps but it’s still the Faith of the Land and the Queen is its official head.
So, yes, when the Queen does hand out honours, it is, partly, in the role as leader of a Christian church. That has nothing to do with ‘breaching the right to equality and the right to freedom of conscience and belief’, whatever a few senile law lords say: It’s simply a (somewhat silly) part of the fabric of the state.
Blame Henry Vlll for leaving the Roman Catholic Church, because he wanted to fuck Ann Boleyn legally but don’t turn this into yet another pathetic politically correct crusade. God knows we’ve got enough of those going on already.
Talking of the Roman Catholic Church – and a Polish priest who’s on a crusade of his own, or, if you like, has put himself in a rather unusual missionary position…:
“A Polish priest has raised eyebrows with the publication of sex manual that advises couples to have a ’saucy and fantasy packed’ love life. In ‘Sex as you don’t know it: For married couples who love God, which has been described in Poland as a “Catholic Kama Sutra”, Father Ksawery Knotz goes against the traditional attitudes of the church towards sex. The Franciscan friar has few qualms about going into graphic detail about how married couples can spice up their sex lives.”
So, to those who are offended by and ruled unfavourably on the Trinity honour, I can merely offer the advise to read Father Ksawery Knotz’s new DIY handbook – or, in other words, go fuck themselves.
(Problems with the Cross? Just bend over and think of England…)
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May 17th, 2009 at 22:09
It does seem boggling that the Privy Council (so called because they handle all the shit) could come up with such a blind ruling…
But then I read the story, and it turns out not to apply to the UK at all, but to Trinidad & Tobago, which is trying to combine a modern written constitution with an appeal system based on lingering British sovereignty. Complications are to be expected.
May 17th, 2009 at 22:22
Well, it’s still a very weird story. I agree that the thing is still ‘lawful’ in the UK - though you wonder how long, since I can already see the Muslim Council of Britain salivating, just thinking of the headlines they’ll get when they try to do the same for “their” constituents.
Still, it’s an honour that the Queen cares to bestow, so I’d still say she should have the right to give whatever she bloody well wants to and call it by any name she finds appropriate. Then, if people don’t like this gesture, they can simply refuse.
To make such a lot of hateful noise about something someone gives you is more than a bit churlish,
J.