Red Cross Tie Pins

Well, good Saint George of Merry England might not be represented in the prison system of Wakefield, England (click here). You see, that red cross is racist. So no more St. George tie pins.

This actually ends up being a condemnation of the English flag, since that flag is a simple white ensign with a red cross on it (the United Kingdom's flag is a combination of England's cross of St. George, then St. Andrew's cross twice, once for Scotland, and once for Ireland).

From the CNN article:

Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, said Tuesday the red cross was an insensitive reminder of the Crusades.

"A lot of Muslims and Arabs view the Crusades as a bloody episode in our history," he told CNN. "They see those campaigns as Christendom launching a brutal holy war against Islam.

"Muslim or Arab prisoners could take umbrage if staff wore a red cross badge. It's also got associations with the far-right. Prison officers should be seen to be neutral."

If we pretend there's no religion involved, we get something on a level as ridiculous as banning American flag pins from American jails (after all, people who wear American flags are "far-right"!). If we pretend it's all about religion, the it's not "racist."

And what's with "expert" Chris Doyle, quoted above? "It's also got associations with the far-right. Prison officers should be seen to be neutral." Only a total white-bread boy would say something like that. So I googled him. Check out this bio page at his organization's website (total staff, five persons; frequently sought out by the BBC; writes lots of letters to newspapers), that's one white-bread dude.

And as for Saint George, the Red Cross Knight, he killed the dragon centuries ago. It's now time for him to slay the Red Crescent Knight.