A mayor who refused to judge a pumpkin carving competition at Halloween because it “glorifies Satan”s angels” was found guilty today of breaking laws on equality.
In 2009, Tom Wilson, who was then Mayor of Nuneaton, Warks., received an invitation to judge the competition. But he turned down the offer saying Halloween was a pagan festival and told the Telegraph that, “I do not think it is appropriate to involve young people in this sort of thing and it is not something I want to be associated with.”
Some pagan townspeople complained about the Mayor’s remarks and he appeared this week before the council’s standard sub-committee who found he “failed to treat others with respect” and “behaved in a manner which could have caused the council to breach ”equality enactments”.” He was officially censured by the council and ordered to write a letter of apology in the press.
Mr. Wilson claimed he had been “harshly treated.” He was also found guilty for misuse of the mayoral car and of accepting three months free gym membership.
It’s in murky waters if an official of the state is using religious beliefs as a reason for avoiding public duties, but then again, I don’t think anybody expects somebody to attend an event they fundamentally disagree with. Describing the event as “glorifying Satan”s angels” was perhaps his biggest offence, rather than refusing to attend the event. The comments offended pagans because they infer that pagans are evil, dishonest, destructive, criminal, lowlife scum who wouldn’t have a good, decent, charitable bone in their body. That pagans do not believe in Satan seems to be lost on most people.
When all is said and done, is this another part of political correctness gone mad? Some Christians believe that Halloween is a satanic festival. They can believe what they want, that is their right. Would their be a storm in a teacup if Christians complained a pagan Mayor for telling them they were glorifying The Dark One Bik (I made that up) with their Sunday Mass? Mr. Wilson recognised his comments were somewhat off, saying, “My choice of words may have been misguided, but I am only human and human beings make mistakes and I am formulating my apology.”