We received a small donation at work this week, inside a card. On the front, it had the picture above and said:
The Fund was established to disburse a small sum of money left by the late Michael Young who died in August 2000 shortly after his 100th birthday.
He was not a good man – quite the opposite. He was strongly anti-Semitic, had a deep-rooted distaste for coloured people, who he feared would pollute the white races, propagated a mean-spirited and unforgiving interpretation of Christianity.
He paraded these beliefs under the banner of patriotism, was a founder member of the League of Empire Loyalists and claimed, with pride, that he tipped a bucket of offal over Jomo Kenyatta, at that time President of Kenya, a member of the Commonwealth.
He corresponded with, and supported financially, Lady Birdwood and John Tyndall of the British National Party as well as various fringe religious movements. He wrote a number of poisonous pamphlets.
He was wholly self-centred, had no interest in anything beyond his Bible studies and preparation of his meals, neither read a newspaper nor stirred out of his house for the last 10 years of his life. It is hard to find any redeeming feature in the man.
So, it seemed a nice idea to pass a little of the money he left to some of the individuals and small organisations who try to do some good in the world, and, where possible, to ones he would have disapproved of.
His 'mean-spirited and unforgiving interpretation of Christianity' as well as his political affiliations mean he would have been horrified that any of his money should go to the National Secular Society (www.secularism.org.uk).
On the back, there is an explanation of how the Fund works:
If you like the idea of making small grants to decent people but don't want to set up your own fund, email a request for some of these cards to anthony@evelynwilliams.com. You can use them yourself or ask us to post on your 'grant' if you want to remain anonymous.
What an excellent and classy way to take revenge on a nasty old man. It's almost enough to make you wish there was an afterlife so his ghost could watch and be tormented by what is being done in his name. That would really be hell.
Awesome.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful blogpost describing a wonderful gesture.
ReplyDeletejust classic. what a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThe National Secular Society link 404s. Otherwise, what a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteTry the following:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.secularism.org.uk/
What they do:
"Promoting the separation of Church and State, we campaign both at home and in the EU against the undue influence of religion in public affairs and education. We defend scientific rationalism, freedom of speech and Human Rights, standing for equality for all regardless of religious conviction or non-belief."
This is so wonderful, not for the revenge nature of it, but for the regonition of the possibilty of generational evolution. Clearly we have the chance to be better than the previous generation, and this is a nice example.
ReplyDeleteThat is hysterically funny. Way to go.
ReplyDeleteMost excellent!
ReplyDeleteLovely - I laughed with joy. There are people with imagination out there still. May they keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteGood for them
ReplyDeleteExcellent!
ReplyDeleteI don't know who this "Michael Young" was, but to avoid traducing the reputation of an admirable man you should perhaps clarify that he *wasn't* the well-known Michael Young who founded the Open University and the National Consumer Council,wrote the Labour Party's 1945 manifesto, was latterly a labour peer, and in his late 70s promoted the idea of secular naming ceremonies in place of baptisms. He died in 2002 at the age of 87.
ReplyDeleteI've tried searching every register I can and put a day into hunting more information down on the internet.
ReplyDeleteHate to say it but this sounds like an untruth.
Cute as it is I can find no evidence that this Michael Young ever existed as described.