- Monday 15 October 2012
- My Account
- Logout
- Register
- Login
- News
-
Voices
- Editorials
- Comment
-
writers
- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
- Rebecca Armstrong
- Guy Adams
- Memphis Barker
- Terence Blacker
- Chris Blackhurst
- Archie Bland
- Ian Burrell
- Andrew Buncombe
- Katherine Butler
- Ben Chu
- Patrick Cockburn
- Laura Davis
- Mary Dejevsky
- Grace Dent
- Robert Fisk
- Andrew Grice
- Viv Groskop
- Adrian Hamilton
- Philip Hensher
- Howard Jacobson
- Ellen E Jones
- Owen Jones
- Emily Jupp
- Simon Kelner
- Dominic Lawson
- Donald Macintyre
- IV Drip
- Our Voices
- Debate
- Letters
- Commentators
- Columnists
- Democracy 2015
- Campaigns
- US Elections
- Sport
- Life
- Property
- Arts & Ents
- Travel
- Money
- IndyBest
- Blogs
- Student
Monday 8 October 2012
George Carey, a Nazi slur, and how not to conduct the debate over same-sex marriage in Britain
At a rally against same-sex marriage in Birmingham yesterday, the former Archbishop of Canterbury proved himself to be spectacularly oblivious to irony
At yesterday's mass rally in Birmingham against the extension of marriage to same-sex couples, George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, was asked for his view on opponents of reform being labelled “bigots”. “Let us remember the Jews in Nazi Germany”, he said. “What started against them was when they started to be called names”. Mr Carey added: “And that was the first stage towards that totalitarian state. We have to resist them. We treasure democracy. We treasure our Christian inheritance and we want to debate this in a fair way”.
I’ve never associated Archbishops with a sense of irony, but this was quite something. Mr Carey, if he had bothered to look, would discover that Nick Clegg didn’t personally describe opponents of same-sex marriage as “bigots”. A press release sent out in his name (which he won’t have personally signed off) referred to bigots and was retracted.
And how does Mr Carey respond to this exaggerated charge? By invoking the horrors of Nazism, with his claim that those of us who condemn opponents of same-sex marriage are acting in a way comparable to the Nazis against the Jews in the time of Hitler. And this while saying he wants to debate “in a fair way”!
Naturally this lack of irony is made less pardonable by his being wrong about gay marriage. Civil partnerships were a marvellous social reform but if we deny same-sex couples the right to marry, we need to be able to justify that discrimination. Alas for Mr Carey, there are no good grounds for it. Marriage, which encourages commitment between lovers, will be enriched and strengthened by its extension to same-sex couples, not weakened.
If Mr Carey’s superstitious tendencies prevent him from accepting this, perhaps he could do us another worthwhile social service, by not instinctively invoking the horrors of totalitarianism every time somebody dares to stand up to him. It says much about the debased morality and desperation of this man of God that he should fight off a hollow charge of bigotry by summoning on the word “Nazi”, letting those brutalised and murdered by fascists do some of the imaginative work he can’t be bothered to.
It’s almost become a commonplace to refer to any form of censorship as “Nazi”. And as ever with a Church now plagued by insecurity, we have the spectre of the slippery slope: ‘start throwing “bigot” around, and we’ll end up with gas chambers!’ In fact, the vast majority of people who believe in same-sex marriage argue for it in sober and fair-minded language. Mr Carey’s pretence that we’re on the road to Nazism therefore says more about him than us.
By the way, thousands of you have signed our petition for Equal Partners, the independentvoices.com campaign to legalise same-sex marriage. If you haven’t already, please sign up today. The link is below, in case you’re wondering.
Sign the petition today!
-
Weasel words that politicians use to obscure terrible truths
Patrick Cockburn -
Reddit, Violentacrez, and the biggest troll on the web
-
Editorial: Cut in haste – repent on the West Coast Main Line
-
How Ed Miliband gave David Cameron a road to the centre ground (where elections are won)
John Rentoul -
What hope for our over-fished oceans?
-
'Slut dropping' and 'Pimps and Hoes' - the sexual politics of freshers' week
Laura Bates -
Matthew Norman on Monday: Tony Blair's tormentor comes back to... torment him
Matthew Norman -
The Daily Cartoon
-
BAE Systems, arms traders, and how the sordid greed of some of our rulers knows no bounds
Owen Jones -
Let those who suffered at the hands of Sir Jimmy Savile speak out and be heard. All else is betrayal
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Experience the Heineken Hub
Get free wi-fi and exclusive i content while you enjoy a tasty pint of Heineken at participating pubs.
The biggest winner is the future
As the official network infrastructure supporter for The Games, Cisco is already helping London to achieve a rewarding legacy
Win a trip for two to Adelaide
Win two return flights to the relaxed capital of South Australia, and experience the Outback and Kangaroo Island
Win a classic American road trip
Win a two-week guided trip across three spectacular American states - California, Arizona and Nevada
Win a £200 shopping spree with Triumph
Get the inside scoop from our experts on London Fashion Week and win a £200 shopping spree with Triumph.
A new way of staying abroad
Introducing Airbnb, the revolutionary new service that matches spare rooms and empty houses with eager travellers.
Cisco BIG awards
As the dust settles on a summer of sporting triumphs at London 2012, how widespread will its impact be?
Now showing at the O2
Check out the cool stuff happening under our tent: the hottest gigs, comedy, sport, films, clubs, bars, restaurants and much more.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.