Who wants the Crusaders to change their name?

I have been thinking for some time about why the Crusaders should be forced into changing their name. This is virtue signalling of the first order. It looks as if the guys on the horses are gone for good; that is a shame – it was a wonderful sight. Even if you argue (as I do all the time) that the Saracens actually won 2 of the 3 crusades, and therefore Muslims are not likely to be offended, it cuts no ice. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, the whole charade gathers more momentum day by day as everyone tries to out-virtue-signal everyone else.

The one thing that seems to be missing in this whole debate is the voice of Muslims themselves. As far as I can tell, it is not Muslims asking the Crusaders to change their name; it is virtue signalling white people. There are probably a few Crusaders fans that are also Muslims, and the team’s name has been in existence for over 20 years. No. It is virtue signalling white people who have decided that Muslims must be offended by something that has clearly bothered nobody until now, and therefore something must be done about it. Nobody, however, has bothered to ask the Muslims.

Then I came across this post on Facebook that really made me think.

This Muslim man was saying that they do not want the Canterbury Crusaders to change their name, or to stop the knights on horseback at the start of each game.

He says that the Muslims have suffered enough, and that this reaction may cause more hatred towards Muslims.

First of all, I am not going to argue with his view that Muslims, particularly in Christchurch, have suffered enough. That is absolutely true.

Secondly, Christchurch can be a rather parochial place, and while there is no real reason to think that the Muslim community there did not live in relative peace and harmony, it is likely that Cantabrians are not going to like having the name of their beloved rugby team changed by force. He may well be right that this could cause further hatred towards Muslims, at a time when they need the support of the community more than ever.

If the Muslims are not behind this campaign (and I have not heard any suggestion that they might be) then what is the point of it all? If the Muslims are not offended (and why should they be?), then the whole thing is pointless. Crusaders fans will be hacked off for no reason and Muslims may suffer backlash through no fault of their own. The whole thing is mad.

I realise this man (presumably Abdul Dean of Christchurch) cannot speak for the entire Muslim community, but clearly he is not aware of any strong feeling about it among his fellow Muslims. Quite honestly, as they mourn their dead, look after their injured and try to get back to some semblance of normality in their lives, I would have thought that the last thing they would care about is the name of the local rugby team.

I’m sick to death of virtue signallers who want to change things in our world because… well, just because. There is no reason, nor any good motive, for this. I assume it is all about control, but there are other ways of looking at it. Patronising white people are making the change on behalf of Muslims who cannot make these decisions for themselves. The Muslims must be offended, so it must be changed. But nobody asked the Muslims, who do not seem to care at all, except for one thing. They don’t want a backlash as a result.

You know what they say about the law of unintended consequences.  The last thing the Christchurch Muslim community needs is a backlash from the locals who resent the name change, when they never asked for it in the first place. What an absolute debacle. But then, that’s virtue signalling for you.