A few weeks ago I mentioned a US brewer that was contributing a portion of their sales to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Now Reuters is reporting that a small British brewer is doing much the same thing but this bit of good will comes with a bit of controversy.
First let’s talk about the good will. In Colchester, north of London, there is a pub called The Fox and Fiddler. The town is also the base for Britain’s elite Parachute Regiment. The regiment is scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan in April and the pub’s landlord, Jeff Wright thought that a nod to the troops and their service would be a good thing. So he specially commissioned a beer and named it “Every Man an Emperor.” The unlikely name for a beer comes from a speech made in 1944 by Field Marshall Montgomery. The phrase had become the unofficial motto of the regiment. Besides naming the beer in honor of the troops, Wright will donate 30 pence of each pint sold to a charity of the regiment’s choosing.
That all sounds like a very nice and very British way to send off the troops, right? Enter the controversy. See that word “emperor” is related to empire, a word that could bring up some uncomfortable memories of Britain’s and Afghanistan’s shared history. Also, beer is being used in conjunction with military actions being carried out in a society that frowns on alcoholic beverages of any sort.
But is this really a controversy? The whole thing is happening in Britain. It doesn’t appear that any of the beer will be sent to Afghanistan with the troops so nothing with the offending word nor the offending booze will wind up in the faces of the Afghanis. Nothing in the article points to any actual Afghan citizens being upset over the situation. Is the writer just trying to create news where none exists or worse stir up a controversy where none previously existed?
To me this whole thing seems rather innocent and fully well-intentioned. There are enough real problems in the world; do we really need to invent more?
First let’s talk about the good will. In Colchester, north of London, there is a pub called The Fox and Fiddler. The town is also the base for Britain’s elite Parachute Regiment. The regiment is scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan in April and the pub’s landlord, Jeff Wright thought that a nod to the troops and their service would be a good thing. So he specially commissioned a beer and named it “Every Man an Emperor.” The unlikely name for a beer comes from a speech made in 1944 by Field Marshall Montgomery. The phrase had become the unofficial motto of the regiment. Besides naming the beer in honor of the troops, Wright will donate 30 pence of each pint sold to a charity of the regiment’s choosing.
That all sounds like a very nice and very British way to send off the troops, right? Enter the controversy. See that word “emperor” is related to empire, a word that could bring up some uncomfortable memories of Britain’s and Afghanistan’s shared history. Also, beer is being used in conjunction with military actions being carried out in a society that frowns on alcoholic beverages of any sort.
But is this really a controversy? The whole thing is happening in Britain. It doesn’t appear that any of the beer will be sent to Afghanistan with the troops so nothing with the offending word nor the offending booze will wind up in the faces of the Afghanis. Nothing in the article points to any actual Afghan citizens being upset over the situation. Is the writer just trying to create news where none exists or worse stir up a controversy where none previously existed?
To me this whole thing seems rather innocent and fully well-intentioned. There are enough real problems in the world; do we really need to invent more?
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