On May 1, 1517 in the reign of Henry VIII, — Evil May Day — riots broke out in London in response to an influx of immigrant workers. Sir Thomas More, who was sheriff of London went out into the streets to try and quell the riots.
80 years later this became a centre-piece of the play "Sir Thomas More". More exhorted the rioters to imagine themselves standing in the shoes of the immigrants they're attacking.
The speech is known as The Stranger's Case and was written by Shakespeare. Here is the speech in modern English.
The speech is known as The Stranger's Case and was written by Shakespeare. Here is the speech in modern English.
The Stranger's Case
So, imagine you’ve got your way. The people you want gone have been forced out, and all that shouting and violence has drowned out the law.
Now picture them leaving: frightened families, carrying their children and whatever belongings they can manage, making the long journey to the ports. Meanwhile, you’re acting as if wanting something badly enough gives you the right to rule, as if force matters more than authority and your opinion matters more than justice.
But what would you really have achieved? You’d have shown that bullying works, that violence can defeat the law, and that anyone strong enough can take control. And once that becomes the rule, none of you is safe. Sooner or later, other violent people will use exactly the same excuses against you. Society would turn into everyone attacking everyone else.
Now imagine the king shows mercy and, instead of imposing a harsher punishment, simply sends you out of the country. Where would you go? What nation, knowing what you’d done, would agree to take you in? France? Flanders? Germany? Spain? Portugal? Wherever you went, you would be the outsiders.
And how would you feel if the people there treated you with the same cruelty you’re showing now? What if they turned violent, refused to let you live among them, threatened your life and drove you away as if you were less than human—as if you had no right to safety, shelter or even a place in the world?
What would you think then? That is exactly what strangers and refugees face when they are met with hatred. And that is why the way you are treating them is so deeply inhumane.
Now picture them leaving: frightened families, carrying their children and whatever belongings they can manage, making the long journey to the ports. Meanwhile, you’re acting as if wanting something badly enough gives you the right to rule, as if force matters more than authority and your opinion matters more than justice.
But what would you really have achieved? You’d have shown that bullying works, that violence can defeat the law, and that anyone strong enough can take control. And once that becomes the rule, none of you is safe. Sooner or later, other violent people will use exactly the same excuses against you. Society would turn into everyone attacking everyone else.
Now imagine the king shows mercy and, instead of imposing a harsher punishment, simply sends you out of the country. Where would you go? What nation, knowing what you’d done, would agree to take you in? France? Flanders? Germany? Spain? Portugal? Wherever you went, you would be the outsiders.
And how would you feel if the people there treated you with the same cruelty you’re showing now? What if they turned violent, refused to let you live among them, threatened your life and drove you away as if you were less than human—as if you had no right to safety, shelter or even a place in the world?
What would you think then? That is exactly what strangers and refugees face when they are met with hatred. And that is why the way you are treating them is so deeply inhumane.
Ian McKellen giving The Stranger's Case Speech on the US Late Show
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