Dear The Right Revd and Right Honourable The Lord Carey of Clifton, FRSA FKC

Dear The Right Revd and Right Honourable The Lord Carey of Clifton, FRSA FKC,

I noticed that you have published your entry into the Oppression Olympics on the front page of today’s Daily Mail. I’ve assessed your entry and unfortunately found it lacking. You will need to try much harder if you want to get on the medals table.

Firstly, “persecuted” groups don’t usually get their ex-leaders screeds published on the front pages, so that might have been a mistake. Also, the repeated references to “Lord” just highlight the automatic membership of parliament that you and your co-persecutees get, so perhaps you should have asked them to strip that out of the article too. Oh, and being a gendered title it also gives away that you’re male. Minus several oppression points.

At least there is no photo in the paper version, because the one in the online version gives away that you’re white. And I don’t think that stick is for walking either, so it appears you’re able-bodied.

Choice of other groups to go after is important too. Attacking the gays probably wasn’t great, perhaps you should have picked a less marginalised group instead? A bit tough I know, because you are a member of the majority religious group in this country.

Finally, I’ll admit to making assumptions here but as you’re married and an archbishop I’m going to hazard a guess that you’re straight. And probably not transgendered, either.

Sorry, what was the basis for your claims of persecution as a middle-class, white, able-bodied, straight, cis-gendered member of the religious majority with an automatic seat in parliament again?

Yours,

Zoe O’Connell

(A bisexual trans woman of uncertain religious beliefs in a same-sex polyamourous relationship whose communities have much to gain from same-sex marriage, but still able-bodied, middle class and white and able to recognise she has a huge amount of privilege)

P.S. Luckily, I don’t think you speak for the majority of Christians. Or even the majority of members of the Anglican church. Pretty sure you’re not speaking for most of the ones I know, anyway.

5 comments

  1. When Christians in the UK/US assert that they feel “persecuted” or marginalised”, all they actually mean is that they feel “like they have no more rights than everybody else, for a change.”

  2. Nicely made points which just highlight how ludicrous the claims are. I wish that clerics would stick to saving the souls of their flock and leave the rest of us alone, or at least stop persecuting us.

    [side note: Hello Padma, long time no see. You are looking well]

  3. One other thing that came to mind. Yhe persecuted group known as the church is exempt from mamy taxes and has been for centuries. If they were truly brought up to true equality then you would really hear some squeals from them

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.