The British Monarchy

Bill Walker said:
I get homesick for England, especially when the weather is nice. But I'm really happy not to be there for the next 10 or so days.
Cancelling the EPL is wrong in so many ways. A monumentally stupid decision.
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In the last 24 hours I have watched about ten minutes of live TV about the Queen. I have been out for a meal to the pub with family and the conversation has only briefly ventured onto the subject, and only one person I have met on my twice daily walks with the dog has raised the topic (he mentioned he was a freemason so understandable that he was a bit upset, perhaps) but I managed to steer the conversation to another topic. I have seen TWO half-mast flags.

It really isn’t difficult to avoid it all.

The decision to postpone the first round of games in a sport’s competition after the death of a monarch is a mark of respect from the sporting authority and is tradition. Tradition is something we do well and while I secretly wanted the games to go ahead, I fully understand it, but “monumentally stupid” it certainly isn’t, most people seem to agree with it.
 
Decided to put this in here rather than the QEII thread because I'm not looking to wind people up and that thread's getting a bit heated.

This is a genuine question...why are we seeing people on the TV crying and getting very emotional about it? What is it they are actually crying about?

I've cried when close family members have died, I've cried at other pivotal moments in my life but these were all deeply personal events. But this is the head of state who was 96 years old. Though she has been in the background of my entire life I have no personal connection to her and I can see no element of tragedy. I can have sympathy for any family in mourning, even one a have little in common with, but i wouldn't feel personally upset in these circumstances.

I realise with some people it's just performative, but equally they've interviewed people who have said they are surprised how upset it has made them.

Are people using the Queen as a proxy to mourn other loved ones/aspects of their lives? I think that was what happened with Diana, a large number of people in a fairly emotionally repressed nation just became hysterical in some sort of cathartic way but I thought that was a one off and we'd moved on?

Is it that some people who maybe don't have immediate family create an emotional bond with people like the Queen in a way I just don't understand? Are people mourning something else really, like the passing of a way of life she represented? Is it simply the TV cameras have sought out a tiny proportion of upset people and misrepresented the emotional mood of the nation?

I'm not a royalist so does that mean I can't understand that an emotional bond can exist really between a monarch and a subject? Am I just having an empathy bypass?

I personally don't know anyone who has been moved to cry or even get particularly upset but I'm a bit in my own bubble at the moment.

So I'm a bit perplexed and would like to understand directly or indirectly what is going on. I realise bluemoon isn't always the most non judgemental space to get answers, but I can live in hope :-)
 
The perfect opportunity to end it all and become a democratic republic and bring this country into the modern world.

Let's all be honest the modern royalty serve no real purpose, they dress up and wave to one and all on 'Special Occasions"
 
threespires said:
Decided to put this in here rather than the QEII thread because I'm not looking to wind people up and that thread's getting a bit heated.

This is a genuine question...why are we seeing people on the TV crying and getting very emotional about it? What is it they are actually crying about?

I've cried when close family members have died, I've cried at other pivotal moments in my life but these were all deeply personal events. But this is the head of state who was 96 years old. Though she has been in the background of my entire life I have no personal connection to her and I can see no element of tragedy. I can have sympathy for any family in mourning, even one a have little in common with, but i wouldn't feel personally upset in these circumstances.

I realise with some people it's just performative, but equally they've interviewed people who have said they are surprised how upset it has made them.

Are people using the Queen as a proxy to mourn other loved ones/aspects of their lives? I think that was what happened with Diana, a large number of people in a fairly emotionally repressed nation just became hysterical in some sort of cathartic way but I thought that was a one off and we'd moved on?

Is it that some people who maybe don't have immediate family create an emotional bond with people like the Queen in a way I just don't understand? Are people mourning something else really, like the passing of a way of life she represented? Is it simply the TV cameras have sought out a tiny proportion of upset people and misrepresented the emotional mood of the nation?

I'm not a royalist so does that mean I can't understand that an emotional bond can exist really between a monarch and a subject? Am I just having an empathy bypass?

I personally don't know anyone who has been moved to cry or even get particularly upset but I'm a bit in my own bubble at the moment.

So I'm a bit perplexed and would like to understand directly or indirectly what is going on. I realise bluemoon isn't always the most non judgemental space to get answers, but I can live in hope :-)
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Totally agree and have never understood tears and emotions over people that have had no impact on your lives or you have never met.

I remember when Diana died, at the time I ran my own fairly large retail business , I intended to open during the funeral, I gave all my staff the day off on pay, but I was forced to close by several death threats and the like, simply incredible from a "free country".
 
threespires said:
Decided to put this in here rather than the QEII thread because I'm not looking to wind people up and that thread's getting a bit heated.

This is a genuine question...why are we seeing people on the TV crying and getting very emotional about it? What is it they are actually crying about?

I've cried when close family members have died, I've cried at other pivotal moments in my life but these were all deeply personal events. But this is the head of state who was 96 years old. Though she has been in the background of my entire life I have no personal connection to her and I can see no element of tragedy. I can have sympathy for any family in mourning, even one a have little in common with, but i wouldn't feel personally upset in these circumstances.

I realise with some people it's just performative, but equally they've interviewed people who have said they are surprised how upset it has made them.

Are people using the Queen as a proxy to mourn other loved ones/aspects of their lives? I think that was what happened with Diana, a large number of people in a fairly emotionally repressed nation just became hysterical in some sort of cathartic way but I thought that was a one off and we'd moved on?

Is it that some people who maybe don't have immediate family create an emotional bond with people like the Queen in a way I just don't understand? Are people mourning something else really, like the passing of a way of life she represented? Is it simply the TV cameras have sought out a tiny proportion of upset people and misrepresented the emotional mood of the nation?

I'm not a royalist so does that mean I can't understand that an emotional bond can exist really between a monarch and a subject? Am I just having an empathy bypass?

I personally don't know anyone who has been moved to cry or even get particularly upset but I'm a bit in my own bubble at the moment.

So I'm a bit perplexed and would like to understand directly or indirectly what is going on. I realise bluemoon isn't always the most non judgemental space to get answers, but I can live in hope :-)
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There was a bloke on TV before and he said she was like everyone's second mum. I mean come on. Some woman you see on TV, maybe 6 times a year. You could easily say the same about some soap star or movie star, in fact more so, as you see some of these on telly everyday and are more likely to bump into them down the pub.
I really don't understand some people.
 
oldius said:
Unfortunately, our history, like the history of all of the great seafaring nations, is one of colonisation, pillaging, enslavement and the grabbing of wealth. It is a fact.
Attention on the monarchy will bring supporters and enemies to the fore.
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I doubt there’s a set of people anywhere in the world that can trace their history back and show they haven’t invaded and pillaged another set of people at some point in time.
 
Mr Ed (The Stables) said:
According to Forbes, the House of Windsor is estimated to contribute £19 billion ($28 billion) to Britain's economy pre-pandemic.

Also the Royal Contribution to UK finances goes far beyond tourism. The fact is that multi-billion pound deals are done every year on the back of royal visits around the world.

I'm a royalist but I understand they are not perfect but what do we replace them with a President? No thank you is what I say to that.

The Queen is dead long live the King.
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Why do you need to replace them with anything?
 
Citizen of Legoland said:
In the last 24 hours I have watched about ten minutes of live TV about the Queen. I have been out for a meal to the pub with family and the conversation has only briefly ventured onto the subject, and only one person I have met on my twice daily walks with the dog has raised the topic (he mentioned he was a freemason so understandable that he was a bit upset, perhaps) but I managed to steer the conversation to another topic. I have seen TWO half-mast flags.

It really isn’t difficult to avoid it all.

The decision to postpone the first round of games in a sport’s competition after the death of a monarch is a mark of respect from the sporting authority and is tradition. Tradition is something we do well and while I secretly wanted the games to go ahead, I fully understand it, but “monumentally stupid” it certainly isn’t, most people seem to agree with it.
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Just checked and after the king died football carried on. The five nations rugby was cancelled thou !
 
threespires said:
Decided to put this in here rather than the QEII thread because I'm not looking to wind people up and that thread's getting a bit heated.

This is a genuine question...why are we seeing people on the TV crying and getting very emotional about it? What is it they are actually crying about?

I've cried when close family members have died, I've cried at other pivotal moments in my life but these were all deeply personal events. But this is the head of state who was 96 years old. Though she has been in the background of my entire life I have no personal connection to her and I can see no element of tragedy. I can have sympathy for any family in mourning, even one a have little in common with, but i wouldn't feel personally upset in these circumstances.

I realise with some people it's just performative, but equally they've interviewed people who have said they are surprised how upset it has made them.

Are people using the Queen as a proxy to mourn other loved ones/aspects of their lives? I think that was what happened with Diana, a large number of people in a fairly emotionally repressed nation just became hysterical in some sort of cathartic way but I thought that was a one off and we'd moved on?

Is it that some people who maybe don't have immediate family create an emotional bond with people like the Queen in a way I just don't understand? Are people mourning something else really, like the passing of a way of life she represented? Is it simply the TV cameras have sought out a tiny proportion of upset people and misrepresented the emotional mood of the nation?

I'm not a royalist so does that mean I can't understand that an emotional bond can exist really between a monarch and a subject? Am I just having an empathy bypass?

I personally don't know anyone who has been moved to cry or even get particularly upset but I'm a bit in my own bubble at the moment.

So I'm a bit perplexed and would like to understand directly or indirectly what is going on. I realise bluemoon isn't always the most non judgemental space to get answers, but I can live in hope :-)
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No it’s not lacking empathy at all to find yourself just not really caring, you can’t click your emotions on at will, you didn’t know her or have any emotional attachment to her
I’ve been thinking this myself yesterday seeing the scenes going on in different places
I’ve never cried at the death of a famous person or even had it affect me in any way apart from shock I suppose
Colin Bell was probably the one where I carried on thinking about it for a few days and that had a lot to do with knowing it would be affecting my dad, he was his idol, they were born in the same year, he did his injury on the day my sister was born and my dads at an age where this could really have him thinking about his own mortality, so the closer to home it is the more it’s going to affect you and you don’t really get further from home than the Queen
I can see videos of children who are sick in hospital playing and smiling and I can’t watch them as I know it will really get me down and I get annoyed with myself for constantly thinking about it and I get the same seeing an animal cowering in fear from cruelty and again I just have to block it out
but famous people I don’t know dying just doesn’t hit me hard enough to make me feel anything really
 
I don't think this is the time to discuss royalism/republicanism so I won't go there. Tempting though it is.

Some people are emotionally attached to the Queen/royal family. I don't understand why, but it's a fact that they are. I think you either 'get' it or you don't. No use denying something that is real.

It's no different, in essence, to those who get emotionally attached to modern footballers, billionaires who have nothing in common with us and the great majority of whom don't give a shit about us, and would move to another club tomorrow if the wedge was big enough. It's just how some people are wired.
 
Keeper! said:
The perfect opportunity to end it all and become a democratic republic and bring this country into the modern world.

Let's all be honest the modern royalty serve no real purpose, they dress up and wave to one and all on 'Special Occasions"
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They do serve a purpose it’s a daft point in fairness. I’m not a royalist particularly but they don’t bother me either. Why is it a perfect opportunity? Because you say so. Let some party put it in their manifesto and see where it gets them.
 
threespires said:
Decided to put this in here rather than the QEII thread because I'm not looking to wind people up and that thread's getting a bit heated.

This is a genuine question...why are we seeing people on the TV crying and getting very emotional about it? What is it they are actually crying about?

I've cried when close family members have died, I've cried at other pivotal moments in my life but these were all deeply personal events. But this is the head of state who was 96 years old. Though she has been in the background of my entire life I have no personal connection to her and I can see no element of tragedy. I can have sympathy for any family in mourning, even one a have little in common with, but i wouldn't feel personally upset in these circumstances.

I realise with some people it's just performative, but equally they've interviewed people who have said they are surprised how upset it has made them.

Are people using the Queen as a proxy to mourn other loved ones/aspects of their lives? I think that was what happened with Diana, a large number of people in a fairly emotionally repressed nation just became hysterical in some sort of cathartic way but I thought that was a one off and we'd moved on?

Is it that some people who maybe don't have immediate family create an emotional bond with people like the Queen in a way I just don't understand? Are people mourning something else really, like the passing of a way of life she represented? Is it simply the TV cameras have sought out a tiny proportion of upset people and misrepresented the emotional mood of the nation?

I'm not a royalist so does that mean I can't understand that an emotional bond can exist really between a monarch and a subject? Am I just having an empathy bypass?

I personally don't know anyone who has been moved to cry or even get particularly upset but I'm a bit in my own bubble at the moment.

So I'm a bit perplexed and would like to understand directly or indirectly what is going on. I realise bluemoon isn't always the most non judgemental space to get answers, but I can live in hope :-)
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I can only speak for myself but I had a few tears because of the life she lived and how dedicated she was to the role.

It’s what she represents and how she carried herself in the role.
 
hilts said:
They do serve a purpose it’s a daft point in fairness. I’m not a royalist particularly but they don’t bother me either. Why is it a perfect opportunity? Because you say so. Let some party put it in their manifesto and see where it gets them.
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They are figureheads nothing more, they actually serve little purpose.

I prefer the model of the Dutch Royal family, they have normal days jobs and just appear for state occasions.
 
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Keeper! said:
They are figureheads nothing more, they actually serve little purpose.

I prefer the model of the Dutch Royal family, they have normal days jobs and just appear for stat occasions.
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Even if you believe they don’t serve a purpose, which is very wrong as she’s been the greatest ambassador in the history of the country, they literally make a profit that goes into the exchequer to be spent by the government.

From a purely economic perspective they’re worth keeping and that’s ignoring everything else.

People want rid of the monarchy for ideological purposes only.
 
BrianW said:
I don't think this is the time to discuss royalism/republicanism so I won't go there. Tempting though it is.

Some people are emotionally attached to the Queen/royal family. I don't understand why, but it's a fact that they are. I think you either 'get' it or you don't. No use denying something that is real.

It's no different, in essence, to those who get emotionally attached to modern footballers, billionaires who have nothing in common with us and the great majority of whom don't give a shit about us, and would move to another club tomorrow if the wedge was big enough. It's just how some people are wired.
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It's wholly different. Those footballers and billionaires you've just mentioned have actually grafted to get to where they are. Actual hard work and dedication. Not just showing your face at public events to cut a ribbon and then wave and smile politely. They didn't have a life of unparalleled luxury thrust upon them purely because they fell out of a particularly birth canal.

The Royal Family are loved by many. That's fine. But many also see them for what they are, the vestiges of bloodthirsty, lawless land grabs and a time when they quite literally shat on their subjects from a great height. Good on those representing those Irish and African groups who aren't conforming to this fawning, sickly bullshit.

I have more respect for ALL of City's players than I do for my new "king". In fact I have more respect for the tea lady. He isn't my king; I fucking detest what he represents and embodies and thus, he's an irrelevance to me.
 
Keeper! said:
They are figureheads nothing more, they actually serve little purpose.

I prefer the model of the Dutch Royal family, they have normal days jobs and just appear for stat occasions.
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No matter how many times you say it it still doesn’t make it so. They do serve a purpose. And frankly the fact the Dutch royal family are different is exactly the reason why 99.99999% of the worlds population wouldn’t know if they were sat next to them.

They are the Rochdale of royal families:-)
 
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