On that basis, why not give a knighthood to Bin Laden?

One incensed Scots reader has objected to my comparing The Great Toad to an excellent dish – the Haggis – which has unlike the the Toad brought pleasure to millions.

So I will say nothing about haggis.

But The Bloated Toad has decided to confer a knighthood on Teddy Kennedy. This is the man who will chiefly be remembered – if anything – for leaving a young girl to drown at Chappaquiddick and getting away with it.

And also the man who for decades consistently, enthusiastically supported groups whose sole objective was to slaughter as many people as it takes to to change the status quo in Northern Ireland.

Whether the good people there should be allowed to decide their own fate or be driven to decide on the basis of which set of bestial thugs kills most innocents is another matter. And whether the Unionists or the IRA are more obnoxious is also another matter.

But one thing is clear. Accessories to murder should not be honoured. On that basis, why not knight Osama Bin Laden? Or give Adolf Hitler some sort of posthumous recognition?

But then again, when you’ve been party to policies that sent so many – British soldiers and Iraqi civilians – to their deaths on the basis of false evidence and inadequate equipment, I doubt if such considerations count.

About the Author

In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Drayton one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing.

He has worked in 55 countries with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Columbia Business School, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.

Drayton has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig. His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has also run his own businesses in the U.K., Portugal and Malaysia.

He was a main board member of the Ogilvy Group, a founding member of the Superbrands Organisation, one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Caples Organisation in New York and Early To Rise in Florida.

4 Comments

  1. “But then again, when you’ve been party to policies that sent so many – British soldiers and Iraqi civilians – to their deaths on the basis of false evidence and inadequate equipment, I doubt if such considerations count.”

    This is exactly what it’s all about, isn’t it, Drayton.

    It’s like expecting a masochist to stop another masochist because of the pain he’s causing others.

    Not only does he not give a shit, he actually approves.

  2. Teddy Kennedy, coward, drunk, terrorist supporter, philanderer, a college cheat, braggart son of a bootlegger and Nazi sympathiser. Surely that’s enough to get a knighthood from a sleazy bloated megalomaniac with Stalinist tendencies who share the same objectives of destroying the United Kingdom and any remaining vestiges of democracy.

    No chance that Brenda might get a bit careless with the sword is there?

  3. Simon M

    What on earth is that cretin thinking of? Is Brown trying to get on the Bliar USofA gravy train. Kennedy is the worst sort of politician.

    That’s really it, I’ve finally had enough. We need a revolution – Drayton lead the charge!

  4. Chui

    There is no reason to complain.

    Only those who have been knighted should be concerned that they are getting associated with some dubious characters.

    However, questionable knighthoods has been this way for hundreds of years, and 2009 is no different.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *