‘Special status?’ said my husband. ‘You mean like executioners, butchers and undertakers in Japan?’
I hadn’t suggested that, but had been thinking aloud about the phrase which, according to David Cameron, now describes Britain’s position in Europe: special status.
My husband once went to Japan, which, he thinks, makes him an expert. He learnt about the ancient monkey performances given by people called Burakumin, a sort of untouchable. Apart from performing with monkeys, which was banned in the 20th century, they have been associated with unclean trades such as those he mentioned.
Special, as I have remarked before, is slippery. The special relationship between Britain and America has at times been highly valued. In 1986, as Charles Moore notes in the latest volume of his biography, Margaret Thatcher insisted: ‘Special means unique, unique to Britain and the United States.’
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