Activists Call for 'Offensive' Imagery St Michael Defeating Satan to be Redesigned
The Order of St Michael and St George is bestowed at the pleasure of the British monarch
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A petition calling for British honors depicting the 'offensive' victory of St Michael the Archangel over Satan to be redesigned has been promoted by the leftwing newspaper The Guardian.
The petition argued that imagery is “reminiscent of the recent murder of George Floyd.”
The Order of St Michael and St George is bestowed at the pleasure of the British monarch, which “recognizes service in a foreign country, or in relation to foreign and Commonwealth affairs," typically of a non-military nature, with members holding the rank of Knight Grand Cross (GCMG), Knight Commander (KCMG), or Companion (CMG).
But the order, which is 202-years old, is now under fire.
St Michael “trampling” a darker-skinned Satan is derived from the description of the Archangel’s victory over Satan in the Bible.
“This is a highly offensive image; it is also reminiscent of the recent murder of George Floyd by the white policeman in the same manner presented here in this medal," the petition to redesign the honor reads.
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“We the undersigned are calling for this medal to completely redesigned in a more appropriate way and for an official apology to be given for the offense it has given,” it adds.
But the leftwing Guardian, which recently faced backlash due to historical links to slavery, had no problem with finding liberals who took the demand seriously.
Some quoted the founder-director of the Operation Black Vote campaign, Sir Simon Woolley, saying the “original image may have been of St Michael slaying Satan, but the figure has no horns or tail and is clearly a black man.”
But Sir Simon fails to note the Satan figure does have giant bat wings and the lower body of a gigantic serpent.
A San Francisco mob tore down a statue of Junípero Serra—a saint who founded nine Spanish missions in California and made it his life’s work to serve others.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) June 21, 2020
This isn’t peaceful protesting. It’s senseless destruction, and it must end. pic.twitter.com/ZXVzHce275
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“This is the past that informs the present, and that’s why it symbolizes everything that Black Lives Matter are campaigning for,” Sir Simon continued.
“The challenge is to acknowledge it and own it, but the opportunity is to put it right."
"It is easy to get rid of an image, but I would like root-and-branch restructuring because most of the institutions created by the empire are still there,” he suggested.
“For most black and brown people, there is nothing good about the empire. Most people will see this as an image of George Floyd on a global scale and a symbol of white supremacy.”
The news comes after controversial Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King called for the destruction of statues of Jesus Christ and Christian churches, arguing they were forms of “racist propaganda” and "white supremacy."
