Is anyone surprised by this?

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

One of my favorite movies is A Knight’s Tale, with Heath Ledger, Alan Tudyk, Paul Bettany, and many others. It’s a fantastic movie that, while infused with a lot more modernity than would exist in medieval times, actually presents the framework of the medieval tournament rather accurately by doing so.

The key bit about the movie that those who don’t know the film is that Heath Ledger stars as William Thatcher, a peasant who pretends to be a knight so he can compete, all to make a living for himself and his friends.

See, tournaments were only open for those of knightly status or greater. Just not princes, which is a whole other story.

As a result, young William lies to gain access to something that was denied. While it’s presented as a good thing in the movie, we need to remember that this sort of thing actually happens. If people want something denied to them by status, they’re not above pretending to have that status, regardless of what it is.

We’ve all seen the “influencers” who buy followers or subscribers, who pay for comments, all to create an illusion that they’re popular. This is one of the ways people do the William Thatcher today.

But when it comes to special privileges for, say, asylum in the UK for certain groups, is anyone surprised that someone would lie about that?

A shadow industry of law firms and advisers is charging thousands of pounds to help migrants pretend to be gay in order to stay in the UK, the BBC has found.

In the first part of a major undercover investigation, we reveal how migrants whose visas are due to run out are being given fake cover stories and instructed in how to obtain fabricated evidence, including supporting letters, photographs and medical reports.

They then apply for asylum claiming to be gay and in fear for their lives if they return to Pakistan or Bangladesh.

In response to our findings, the Home Office said: “Anyone found trying to exploit the system will face the full force of the law, including removal from the UK.”

The UK’s asylum process offers protection to people who can’t return to their home countries because they would be in danger, for example in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh where gay sex is illegal.

But the BBC News investigation reveals the process is being systematically exploited by legal advisers extracting fees from migrants who want to stay in the country.

Are you shocked by this?

When being gay is advantageous, none of these people are above pretending to be gay. Especially when dealing with Muslim asylum-seekers, since lying to infidels is perfectly acceptable in far too many instances.

“Just say you’re gay and they’ll let you stay,” is simple.

Yeah, the Home Office says it’ll hammer anyone caught doing so, but do you think they’re going to actually look? Hell no. That would be racist.

See, I get the concept here, and it’s founded in a certain degree of well-meaning stupidity. I get that actual gay people in countries like Iran are under threat of death if they’re caught. Being gay is a good way to take the real express elevator down, if you catch my meaning. I get it.

And it’s wrong.

But on the same token, Muhammad said: “War is deceit.” It’s fine to lie to your enemies, and every Islamic terrorist on the planet figures they’re at war with the West, including the UK.

No one does any checking or vetting on this, which means it’s advantageous to lie about your status. William Thatcher just made up an identity from faraway Gelderland—Ulrich von Lichtenstein, however, was a real knight and fought in tournaments, as an FYI—and no one checked. He got Geoffrey Chaucer, his herald, to forge documents showing he was who he said he was.

But now, all that anyone needs to do is say they’re gay and they get a pass into the UK.

Kind of like how mediocre male athletes can suddenly say they’re women and get to compete against the ladies, knowing full well they’ll beat almost all of them on any given day.

So yeah, of course, they’re going to have someone tell them to lie. That’s assuming they couldn’t think of it on their own, which I’m sure they can. Once they know that there’s an easier pathway for them, some of them will jump at the chance, particularly if they’re up to no good.

Much like the dudes who claim to be women to get sent to women’s prisons, then turn around and rape their fellow inmates.

They might look like they’re unconnected, but they most definitely are two sides of the same coin. People lie. We know they lie. We’ve all seen it, and they’ll lie over stupid stuff like how many followers they have on Instagram. Why would you think they wouldn’t lie for things that are far more nefarious?

When special status is given to a particular group, one of the dangers will always be that someone will lie so they’ll be taken for a member of that group. It’s the most obvious thing in the world. That’s why we don’t just tell people they’re good to drive. We actually issue them physical documentation to prove they’re good to drive. We issued concealed carry permits so people couldn’t lie and say they got one and get a pass from the cops. When permits went away, it hit everyone, not just those who had permits.

I’m not saying that some people don’t warrant consideration in some circumstances that others don’t. For example, battered women should be allowed in battered women’s shelters, while those who aren’t abused don’t need admission. There are times it makes sense.

But between the whole thing of transwomen trying to get into women-only spaces and “asylum-seekers” being willing or instructed to lie about their sexual orientation, I’d hope we can all see the problem with unquestioned special status.

Unfortunately, the people who need their eyes opened are the ones who will work so hard to keep them shut.

William Thatcher lied to compete in tournaments. At the end of the day, the only one hurt was his rival’s ego.

These people lie, and there’s a lot more harm being dished out because of it.

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