The Royal Wedding

[eFestivals]

Do you never find the quickness you use to call people names at all childish?

Do you never find the quickness you use to throw around derogatory but empty-headed remarks at all childish? Is there any thread I've posted in recently where you've not done that? It's getting to be very very boring.

So to liven things up, I thought I'd do some back. After all, what's good enough for you to others is good enough for others to you.

Now, you can start acting your age, or we can both carry on acting your shoe size. The choice is yours.

[Langdale Wolf]

'Monarchist' here.

(Well, that would be going a bit far. I see they're fairly pointless but personally, I also find them harmless and like the tradition/history/pomp and circumstance).

Not going to argue too much about this, but I for one am looking forward to the Royal Wedding. People down my road have already mentioned a street party which would be great - my lad will be old enough to enjoy it too, next door have a little boy about the same age, there's a young family over the road etc, etc.

The thing is, as 'pointless and vulgar' as this may be to some people, some good can come of it, and I intend to celebrate the day as my folks did in 1981.

If that makes me a moron, fine. You all stay indoors and rant about it on t'interweb but there are some of us who are actually quite excited about the news and having a get together as a result. I think it'll be a nice little knees up.

[eFestivals]

but there are some of us who are actually quite excited about the news

do you get similarly excited with the news that any couple you don't know is about to get married? It must be mega-excitement down your way about 10,000 times every day.

And will you find it all so excirting if your job is the one that's culled to help pay for it?

We're all in this together - unless you're royalty, or Dave Moron's vanity.

[ampersand]

we have street parties sometimes...

we choose when to have them though

Edited November 18, 2010 by ampersand

[Langdale Wolf]

do you get similarly excited with the news that any couple you don't know is about to get married? It must be mega-excitement down your way about 10,000 times every day.

And will you find it all so excirting if your job is the one that's culled to help pay for it?

We're all in this together - unless you're royalty, or Dave Moron's vanity.

[ampersand]

Who should be proud of where they happen to be born, yadda yadda yadda...)

[Cardboard Box City]

Do you never find the quickness you use to throw around derogatory but empty-headed remarks at all childish?

[Rachie]

I'm just shocked that at almost 27 i just found out what the limp bizkit album I bought 10 years ago was really called.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Rachie

[eFestivals]

If you can find anyone on here that finds my comment entirely baseless then I'd be quite happy to apologise.

Ditto.

Give it up. If you keep it up it's only going to go one way.

[feral chile]

I got mega-exited by Wolves winning the Championship 18 months ago. What is logical about that? I've not thought about the Tories etc in all this. Is that me being short-sighted? Well, possibly. I just enjoy a bit of pomp and ceremony that's all.

It's an opportunity for the country to show a bit of patriotism (yes, yes, yes, I know - what is patriotism? Who should be proud of where they happen to be born, yadda yadda yadda...) and I love shit like this. It might be tacky, it sure as hell is unnecessary but that doesn't mean I can't like it.

So I'm going to enjoy it, and leave you all to debate what a gullible fool I am for daring to disagree.

Edited November 22, 2010 by feral chile

[Snufflebutt]

“It could have been no difficult thing in the early and solitary ages of the world, while the chief employment of men was that of ruffians to overrun a country and lay it under contributions. Their power being thus established the chief of the band contrived to lose the name of Robber in that of Monarch; and hence the origin of Monarchy and Kings.”

Thomas Paine Rights of Man

What's patriotic about celebrating the wedding of a representative of that lot?

To be fair I'm totally indifferent to the toyals, though I find it obscene that people look up to them as their betters. it's the 21st century ffs we're all supposed to be equal. They can stay as a quaint tourist attraction as long as the revenue they bring in covers their cost.

But I object to the parasitic relationship between the wealthy and society as a whole at the best of times. And I get really frustrated that people buy into this whole idea that the wealthy actually deserve their privileged position. It's that social myth that enables them to keep their privileged lifestyle.

Bloody anachronistic class system and servile population!

[feral chile]

To me with a lot of these arguments, theres an underlying suggestion that the British situation is far different from others. And its not. Britain is far from the only democracy with a monarchy - 2 of the most liberal countries in the EU have monarchies. (Sweden and Holland)

And the notion that we shouldnt have a monarchy because it costs too much money is stupid - billions are spent on electing heads of state around the world, and the nature of the elections that elect them often means that a fair percentage of the country have never wanted them in office. The Queen is infinately more popular than any elected president is likely to be.

Edited November 21, 2010 by feral chile

[eFestivals]

Yeah agreed she's popular though I have no idea why, I view her as a parasite, albeit an apparent welcome one. I'm not really interested in what other countries do, I'm more concerned with social prejudice favouring the privileged while scapegoating the needy.

I just don't understand why there's such a public outcry against elected MP's fiddling their expenses/being shamefully greedy and extravagant, while we're happy to financially support non-elected hereditary titles of the already affluent and privileged.

And don't get me started on the bowing and scraping crap. I wouldn't curtsy.

and as a an addendum to this, .....

Dave Moron says there's too many elected politicians, and that there's a desperate need to reduce the number of MPs by 50, from 650 to 600.

Yet at the same time, Dave Moron has appointed more than 50 new Lords (mostluy to increase the hold the tories already have over it) - who all have the right to claim using the same expenses regime, so save almost nothing over MPs - and who have absolutely no democratic accountability.

So Dave Moron is your standard aristo, who believes that the unelected wealthy should rule over us all.

[feral chile]

oops meant to edit an earlier post and clicked on add reply

Edited November 22, 2010 by feral chile

[worm]

“It could have been no difficult thing in the early and solitary ages of the world, while the chief employment of men was that of ruffians to overrun a country and lay it under contributions. Their power being thus established the chief of the band contrived to lose the name of Robber in that of Monarch; and hence the origin of Monarchy and Kings.”

Thomas Paine Rights of Man

[eFestivals]

Thoams Paine is mint. Mind, it is on this philosophy that the US was drawn.

Shame its influence lasted less than 40 years, and was replaced by the sort of stupid nationalism that the people of America had left Europe to escape. Yet unlike Europe, which mostly threw that off in 1918, it's been growing ever since in the USA.

[worm]

Shame its influence lasted less than 40 years, and was replaced by the sort of stupid nationalism that the people of America had left Europe to escape.

[eFestivals]

What, like Nazism and Imperialism.

exactly like that, yes.

Nationalism always translates into "only we know what's best for others", which are the precise motivations of Nazism and Imperialism.

Polls in the USA for the last 60+ years show the same nationalistic motivations of a very similar amount of the population which existed in Europe prior to 1914, but which haven't particularly existed* in Europe since.

(*there's been the occasional regression, such as with Nazism - but that was a revival of Germany's pre-1914 nationalism, as a result of having failed at it in 1914-18)

It's a line of thinking which, while huge in scope, is proven as entirely wrong. Fancy that, eh, the USA being on a path where the ideas behind it are shown as completely at odds with the facts.

[Cardboard Box City]

Nationalism always translates into "only we know what's best for others", which are the precise motivations of Nazism and Imperialism.

[worm]

exactly like that, yes.

Edited November 22, 2010 by worm

[worm]

That's fascism.

[eFestivals]

That's fascism.

Nope, it's not - fascism is merely an extension of nationalism, it's not something separate and distinct.

Nationalism requires the same irrational hatreds and portrayals of other nations or religious groups as wicked &/or hostile, mostly as a way for 'the establishment' to gain support for their retention of the handles of power (and to relate back to this thread, so that monarchs and their cronies [the landed gentry] are not usurped by those that are the majority - the retention of 'what is' requires those in power stir up a threat in the minds of that majority, so that they defer to those that wish to regard themselves as better than that majority).

All (strict) fascism really added to that were laws which concreted in place that scenario, so that the establishment could not be easily displaced by those from 'below'.

[worm]

I'm not sure it really matters whether anyone regards themselves as middle class. Unless by middle class, you are in fact meaning a certain income level?

[worm]

Nope, it's not - fascism is merely an extension of nationalism, it's not something separate and distinct.

[eFestivals]

Ah, your phrasing made it unclear. I see your point now. As in, they went to get away from European nationalism, but came nevertheless adopted it.

Although somewhat true, they didn't instill a monarchy and are free to criticise their government's every action - in fact, they invite it.

Really? What even by others?

The simple fact is that while the USA (like many other democratic nations) invites its population to criticise its govt, the USA alone are the one that can't handle the criticism they invite - they view such criticism as unpatriotic, an attack on the nation.

I'd say it's 'we know how best you can be a non-american other'.

PMSL - how little you understand!