No charges have as yet been brought against Robert Allen Stanford so I had better watch what I write. (Though I notice that Le Monde refers to him indirectly as an escroc (crook.) What interests me is how our perception of him changes as soon as he is referred to as Sir Allen instead of Allen Stanford or Mr Stanford. The weight of our accusations is immediately softened, isn’t it? At some subconscious level our verdict is: “a good man led astray”. Ridiculous, but such is the effect of “Sir”!
The same to some extent holds true with Sir Fred Goodwin, but with an important difference. There has been no suggestion of crooked dealings in his case, merely allegations of crass incompetence. On the other hand, in insisting on his pot of gold, i.e. his £650,000 a year pension, he is certainly not behaving as a “Sir” is supposed to behave. Speaking personally that’s what really gets to me. Who is capable of a grand gesture these days? Who is even aware that a grand gesture is called for? Who, in other words, has the sense of honour to follow the example set by John Profumo over 40 years ago?
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