Londonistan, revisited
Posted June 19th, 2009 at 9:49 AM by Jon Ham
Gordon Brown’s foreign minister wants the Red Cross to dump, er, the red cross. He says it is too much like the emblem worn on the tunics of crusaders 1,000 years ago. Some people never forget, do they?:
Labour Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant wants to dump the Red Cross’ well-known logo because it is supposedly linked to the Crusades.
Forget the fact that the logo has been one of the world’s most identifiable symbols for more than 100 years. Bryant is quivering with fear that it may suddenly offend Muslims. And that, of course, simply will not fly in today’s politically correct world.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Chris Bryant is obviously a moron, and should be removed from his post immediately and sent to the Falkland Islands to count sheep.
He can start the count by pointing at himself and saying, “One.”
June 19th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Also (just remembered this), someone should remind Mr. Bryant that in Muslim nations, the Red Cross operates under the name Red Crescent and has a Muslim-centric symbol of a red crescent moon.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
The Crusader Cross was completely different. the Red Cross flag is a negative of the National Flag of Switzerland where the order was formed by a Swiss Doctor horrified by the aftermath of the Battle of Soferino.
June 20th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Plus, the West should not have to apologize for the Crusades in the first place. They began as wars to defend Constantinople from the invading Seljuk Turks, and to ensure access to the Holy Lands that the previous Arab rulers had generally allowed but the newer Turkish Sultans didn’t.
Historical ignorance is prevalent on both sides, and should not be indulged for the sake of politics.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:11 am
True the Turks have controlled Constaninople just slightly longer than the English have been in Virginia. If not for “the Great Game” to deny the Czar a warm water port it would have returned to Christiandom long ago.