Give Me Back My MBE

11 posts / 0 new

Topic locked

Tue, 2007-01-02 09:11

Give Me Back My MBE

Asian boxer Naseem Hamed has been stripped of the MBE he was awarded when he was world featherweight boxing champion. Apparently his conviction and subsequent jail sentence for dangerous driving is deemed unacceptable to whoever it is that makes these decisions.

The Cabinet Office said, 'Honours are for people of good character'.

I guess that makes Jeffrey Archer such a person then, as he still retains his 'Lordship' title inspite of his more calculated offences, resulting in a longer jail term.

I don't suppose for a minute that the fact that he's a white, millionaire, ex-politician, contributor to party funds has anything to do with it?

Tue, 2007-01-02 12:07

Moimo

I think there were calls to strip Archer of his title on the basis of him being a criminal but they'd have also had to strip other hereditory peers of their title. Lord Montague for one, he was unfortunate to find himself in a compromising position with another man when it was still illegal and recieved jail. A better comparison would be all the rock and pop stars who took and still take drugs being awarded them. Not that I care. nobody

Tue, 2007-01-02 18:20

Yan2

It means shit all. It was initiated by a family who spent most of the past few hundred years butchering each other. It's like accepting an MBE from the fucking West family. There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed - Dennett

~It's a maze for rats to try, it's a race for rats to die.~

Tue, 2007-01-02 21:01

mississippi

I agree it means nothing to many people, but in the circles that run this country it means quite a lot. My point was, why the difference in standards?

Tue, 2007-01-02 22:30

Yan2

Depends on whom and where your friends are. Not to mention that Enoch Powell is back off the shelves in the old drawing rooms. :) There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed - Dennett

~It's a maze for rats to try, it's a race for rats to die.~

Wed, 2007-01-03 13:56

pepsoid

My first instinct was to respond with a similar "it's worth bugger all, so who cares?"... but then I thought... is it worth bugger all? Does anyone know of any circumstances in which having an MBE (or similar) can actually get one anywhere (anywhere worthwhile) that not having one wouldn't... erm... get one...? {{{_"P"_}}} ... What is "The Art of Tea"? ... (www.pepsoid.wordpress.com - latest... Can We Ever Really Know the Truth About Anything?)

The All New Pepsoid the Second!

Wed, 2007-01-03 17:41

mississippi

Whether it's worth anything is debatable, the question I asked is , why the double standard? Oddly enough in todays paper there's three letters asking exactly the same question, and they haven't got an answer either.

Thu, 2007-01-04 09:12

pepsoid

That may indeed have been your question, Missi, but who are we to resist the meandering flow of the stream of conversation? {{{_"P"_}}} ... What is "The Art of Tea"? ... (www.pepsoid.wordpress.com - latest... Can We Ever Really Know the Truth About Anything?)

The All New Pepsoid the Second!

Thu, 2007-01-04 09:40

maddan

The double standard relates to two different types of honour, there is some precident, when Lord Kagan was convicted of theft he "lost his knighthood but his peerage could not be forfeited." The labour government did say they were going to ban convicted criminals from serving in the house of lords back when Archer was released, but they never got around to it. Which is a shame. (don't you just love wikipedia) I think Archer is voluntarily abstaining from voting in the Lords at the moment, which may even be evidence of a chink of honour in his character.

Thu, 2007-01-04 11:12

#10

Moimo

The reason they didn't get round to it was they hit a brick wall. As mentioned earlier, if they'd stripped Archer they'd have had to strip Lord Montague who was jailed for being gay, something no longer illegal. nobody

Tue, 2007-01-09 10:41

#11

patmac

I think Lord Archer has lost the Tory Whip, which could have a bearing on his voting ability! My webpage is at: http://www.bookscape.co.uk

My latest killing is:
http://www.bookscape.co.uk/short_stories/human_sacrifice.php

Topic locked