Are You Kidding?

In the UK, human rights are not for everyone. At least of justice secretary Chris Grayling and home secetary Theresa May have their way. According to the Guardian, they claimed that a future Tory government plans to scrap the Human Rights Act from 1998, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as law in the UK.

In plain English: If they succeed, UK laws do not need to be in accordance with the human rights anymore. Mr. Grayling said to the Sunday Telegraph:

“We cannot go on with a situation where people who are a threat to our national security, or who come to Britain and commit serious crimes, are able to cite their human rights when they are clearly wholly unconcerned for the human rights of others,”

Yes, Mr. Grayling, we can exactly do that! As a matter of fact, the very heart of human rights is their universality. It doesn’t matter if you are the embodyment of Charles Manson and Osama bin Laden; you’ll have these rights. If they are granted and denied by the authorities at will, they become worthless. Their universality is the foundation of what is called the reign of the law. If not everyone is equal before a court of law, we don’t need a justice system anymore; which would, sidebar, make your job redunant, Mr. Grayling.

Truth is, I believe this is a plan to attract voters from the right edge. Grayling and May sound a lot like the UKIP here. And that’s a scary thought. If foreigners are stripped of their rights, who’s next? People of colour? Gays? People on benefits? The disabled? If the barriers are down, the flood will come. And I don’t want to live in a country, in which basic civil rights depend on the daily moods of the adminstration!