Rushing in where Angels fear to tread (and shouldn't he know?)

[major_clanger]

Dear Dr Williams,

What were you thinking?

One of the bedrocks of the UK's legal system is the concept of the Rule of Law. What this means - and it is often misunderstood - is that the same legal rights and responsibilities apply to everybody, irrespective of race, sex, social position or creed. We are all meant to be equal in the eyes of the law; it is bad enough that in practice this all too often gets forgotten or disregarded, but it is a monstrous proposition that any segment of society should, as a matter of principle, be exempt from it.

"Dr Rowan Williams said the UK had to "face up to the fact" some citizens do not relate to the British legal system."

EDIT - Except that it seems that in fact he didn't, as noted in comments.

Yes, there are quite a few citizens who don't relate to the legal system. We do not, as a rule, take this as justification for excusing them from being bound by it. More to the point, I can hardly conceive of an act more likely to foster prejudice and fuel scurrilous tabloid journalism than to single out a religious or ethnic community for such special treatment. At a stroke, the Archbishop of Canterbury has done more to inflame anti-Islamic feeling than anyone else in Westminster - and that's saying something.

The sooner we disestablish the Church of England, and get the Lords Spiritual as far away from HM Government as possible, the better.

EDIT - As noted in comments, the BBC appear to have significantly misquoted their own interview. If this is the case (and it depends how accurate the quoted transcript is) then my remarks about grossly inflammatory behaviour would be better aimed at them.

Nonetheless, I'm still a staunch disestablishmentarian.

Comments

[timill]

I think I'd rather not relate to the tax system...

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I must admit I like legionseagle's description of the aforementioned primate:

a fart-brained, wassock-featured muppet (or even, for that matter, a big monkey)

Look, if Turkey can manage without sharia, so can we. Pillock.

[bellinghwoman.livejournal.com]

Well said, sir!

[non-trivial.livejournal.com]

Dr Williams is, by all accounts, a brilliant theologian, a very clever chap, and an all round good egg. Why then do I wish all too frequently that he'd just been left to live his life as an Oxford don?

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Rowan Williams will support members of the Church of Blue Condition who are being persecuted for their beliefs - such as "Paying tax is an affront to the Great God Hunter S Thompson"?

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

Saw your opening line and thought: OMG, what have I done now?

But it's the other druid (yes he is) Dr Williams, so that's all right.

I don't always relate to the rule of law, being prone (like, I suspect, most of us) to entertaining thoughts of murdering the occasional irritating person. However, I still recognise, however reluctantly, that I am subject to it, and agree to being so.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Whoops! Sorry for causing alarm...

[cuboid-ursinoid.livejournal.com]

I've known a number of people who quite seriously didn't "relate to the British legal system". I don't think that the fact that they were thieving little shits should excuse them from the relationship, quite the opposite. As far as I know none of them were Muslims either.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

The same topic came up here, there's a link to a transcription of the interview and it's a lot more sensible in context. I'm horrified at how the BBC news article has manipulated his quotes.

[frandowdsofa.livejournal.com]

Forget the interview, the actual lecture is here: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/1575 and it's fascinating.