There’s nothing like a protest march for the abolition of world hunger that works up an appetite. Anglican blogger Baby Blue notes that the Anglican bishops meeting at Lambeth this week did some fine eatin’ following their march through London yesterday:
As someone who has seen her share of protest marches over the years (we have so many in Washington that springtime in DC is affectionately called Protest Season), I am not sure I have ever heard of a street protest against world hunger that that concluded with a march into a lavish banquet at a palace. Why, they even threw in the chandeliers. Who’s idea was that?
An Episcopal bishop [Smith of Arizona] reports:
“We arrived at Lambeth Palace and walked the grounds for a while before hearing a stirring speech from the Prime Minister about world poverty. Then, in an ironic contrast, we were served a very elegant lunch in a huge tent set up on the grounds.”
Here’s how Ruth Gledhill of the London Times describes the luncheon menu that followed the March against poverty:
“The menu was cold lemon and thyme scented breast of chicken with fresh asparagus and porcini mushroom relish, summer bean and coriander, tomato, basil and mozzarella served with hot minted new potatoes. Pudding was dark chocolate and raspberry tart with raspberry ripple ice cream, topped off with coffee and white chocolate raspberries. To wash it down they drank Pino Grigio or Chiraz or cranberry and elderflower fruit punch. The cream marquee was decorated with a dozen chandeliers down the middle.”
Bishop Smith evidently had a hard time washing all this down, but he took one for the team, especially since the primitives bishops from the Global South were really, really hungry:
I would have been happy with a sandwich and a donation to the MDG funds, but apparently there are many from third world countries who look forward to this lavish event.
I’m sure there was much back-slapping and high-fiving by the assembled prelates, what with them having struck such a powerful blow against world hunger and all. At least that’s what Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who evidently knows how much Anglican bishops love bizarre and excessive flattery, told them:
Later at Lambeth Palace, Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the march “the greatest public demonstration of faith” ever to take place in Britain.
“There are millions of people whom you may never meet who owe you a debt of gratitude for the work that you do in upholding the cause of the poor,” he went on to tell the bishops.
“You have sent a simple and a very clear message with rising force–that poverty can be eradicated, that poverty must be eradicated and if we can all work together for change poverty will be eradicated.”
Yesterday’s march, of course, fed not one hungry person, nor did it have any effect whatsoever on Britain’s flagging commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), nor was it even noticed on the streets of London, by whose residents Bishop Smith says it was ignored. But it made all the participants feel very, very good about themselves.
July 25, 2008 at 11:06 am
On 7/22 David Virtue had a post commenting on the debt incurred by the Lambeth Conference. The articel said that the cost was $8.8 million plus travel costs to bring the bishops to England and $2.4 million plus travel expenses for the spouses.
No one really expects anything substantial to come from the conference. Think how much rice could have been bought and given to starving people in the world with the money wasted on this whole fiasco! Marching for world poverty and then lunching on expensive gourmet food is a slap in the face to the hungry.
July 25, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Once again you have given us great insight into the hypocrisy of Western liberalism.
Excellent blog entry.
July 25, 2008 at 9:55 pm
My jaw dropped when I saw the Bishop Smith quote blaming the third world bishops for the excess. I doubt the third world bishops were the ones who organized the banquet. What. The. Heck.
Nobody made him sit there and eat. He could have sat it out and picked up a burger on the way home if he was that embarassed about it.
I found the statement slimy on several different levels.
July 25, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Oh heck, I just realized what this reminded me of.
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
Sure, fella, pass the buck and don’t take responsibility for your own actions.
July 26, 2008 at 8:02 am
“. . . fed not one hungry person. . .”? I’m sure they worked up an appetite during their grueling march, although the big room service breakfast might have given them the stamina to get through such an ordeal!
August 10, 2008 at 6:16 pm
[…] To drink: Pino Grigio or Shiraz, or cranberry and elderflower fruit punch”.. all coming after a protest march for the abolition of world hunger …. (fivefeetoffury, […]