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Queen Elizabeth II has died

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961–970 of 1001 posts

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#961

It's weird, I've never considered myself a "royalist" but this news has affected me quite strongly. I just burst into tears unexpectedly on hearing this news and I don't quite understand why I feel so very sad. I guess I have grown up and lived my whole life (as a Brit) seeing and hearing the Queen, singing "God save the Queen" etc, and this news made me suddenly feel very old, very nostalgic, with the sense that all…

The words 'God save the King' in the national anthem are going to feel very alien for a while I think, I feel a genuine sense of loss with the Queen's death. I think it comes from a place of national identity in general rather than royalism specifically, royalist or republican it can't be denied that Queen Elizabeth played a significant role in how the UK sees itself and to an extent how the rest of the world sees us…

Now would be a great time to change the national anthem to something without God or royalty in it.

There is no place in modern society for a family who got all their wealth from wars and stealing it. Only to parade it around infront of millions of people in poverty.

Lets get rid of them. Start by turning the palaces into social housing.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#962
Braindead comments which add nothing to the discussion are allowed if they are bland, pro-monarchy messages. Anything critical of the queen will need to be carefully supported or it will be flagged.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#963

I gotta admit that it is a bit weird to see british royalty being so heavily privileged that they even get special moderation treatment here on HN to protect them (?) from any negativity, or rather stop negativity about them. I'm not keen on the idea of using this submission to flame the Queen, I obviously agree with the general rule of avoiding flamebait, what I mean is that other HN submissions on the deaths of peo…

For us who don't feel for the monarchy or think it has minimal impact or significance on our lives, the next couple of weeks (or months) is going to be grueling as we have to stay quiet, bite our tongues and bare the over-the-top ness of this situation to not offend others. I was disappointed in this moderation warning. The ex-prime minister of the UK who led us through a pandemic where hundreds of thousands died has…

I agree that it will be a trying few weeks. Although I think these kind of situation can give voice to existing pain in peoples lives. And the losses of covid may be expressed as grief for the Queen. It is easier for some people to feel those kind of emotions when the object is less personal and less complicated. The emotions flow precisely because she had minimal impact or significance on our lives. If it really was personal people would want to keep their emotions more private. But the collective nature of the loss lifts the veil and the sadness becomes public. And of course the media and VIPs will milk it for all its worth.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#964

It's weird, I've never considered myself a "royalist" but this news has affected me quite strongly. I just burst into tears unexpectedly on hearing this news and I don't quite understand why I feel so very sad. I guess I have grown up and lived my whole life (as a Brit) seeing and hearing the Queen, singing "God save the Queen" etc, and this news made me suddenly feel very old, very nostalgic, with the sense that all…

"God save the Queen" is a beautiful song and anthem. I know it wouldn't be kosher, given that it uses the same underlying music, but "My country 'tis of thee" would be ten times better the US anthem than the "Star-Spangled Banner". It'd be a stretch, but we could just say its metaphoric. :-) Musically, I think even "Dixie" is much better than SSB. My condolences the the country of GB and the world for this loss.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#966

I gotta admit that it is a bit weird to see british royalty being so heavily privileged that they even get special moderation treatment here on HN to protect them (?) from any negativity, or rather stop negativity about them. I'm not keen on the idea of using this submission to flame the Queen, I obviously agree with the general rule of avoiding flamebait, what I mean is that other HN submissions on the deaths of peo…

For us who don't feel for the monarchy or think it has minimal impact or significance on our lives, the next couple of weeks (or months) is going to be grueling as we have to stay quiet, bite our tongues and bare the over-the-top ness of this situation to not offend others. I was disappointed in this moderation warning. The ex-prime minister of the UK who led us through a pandemic where hundreds of thousands died has…

Really? Nearly everyone I know is somewhat against the monarchy and think it should be abolished, but my parents are very pro-monarchy. The only thing my dad said was, "Did you hear the news? Very sad", and I said, "Yeah, very sad" and that was it.

Is it really hard to have a bit of empathy for people who are sad that someone they loved/admired/respected has died?

A nursery closing is odd, but again, their choice. Talking about bereavement sounds very healthy to me, whatever the excuse for it.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#967

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel the same. I think it’s because it really represents the end of an era. The 20th and early 21st century ushered in unprecedented improvements to quality of life in Britain but it has felt of late that that has peaked and the country is facing a serious decline: Brexit, the increasingly visible effects of climate change, the aftermath of covid, the possible break up of the union, rising costs of living, recessio…

An upvote for you (if I could). I'm American but have lived in the UK for near 20 years. My great-whatever grandfather signed the Declaration of Independence so I'm hardly a royalist... So WTF am I doing living in the UK??? (the NHS etc...) My general sense is that of respect for the Queen as a symbol. She did it right and wasn't a useless numpty like ... oh... all of the rest of them. Primarily nothing but B list ce…

Odds heavily against Scottish independence in the next 20 years.

Bookmakers price a referendum before 2025 at about 10% probability. I think that's too big a number - I'd say 10% chance by 2030.

Let's suppose it happens in 2025, though. At that point, the UK and EU will still be at loggerheads over the border with NI meaning the SNP's central premise - that Scotland should be able to rejoin the EU - will look more and more like a dangerous and economically calamitous poison pill. Even pro-independence financial analysts will warn of a deep recession with house prices falling off a cliff. That'll make independence about as popular as mouldy bread.

In addition, the EU will be quite feckless and tone deaf to what that SNP promise of independence is centred on, and during any campaign will confirm confidently that yes, Scotland could rejoin the EU, all it'll take is adoption of the Euro (non-negotiable), and a complete adoption of all protocols and laws that the UK - including Scotland - will have mostly dismantled by that point (for better or worse). The timeline will be a decade or more, and the estimated costs will be in the billions, but the EU think it's still value. Meanwhile Scottish voters will wonder if a generation of being out of the UK _and_ the EU is worth the candle.

The idea that against that backdrop the SNP think their argument for independence is stronger, not weaker, is strange.

I think you'll also see a slight shift in polls in coming days and weeks because of the death of the Queen. Operation Unicorn is designed in a small way to allow Scottish unionists to show what the United Kingdom is all about. Sentimentality has been proven time, and time again, to be incredibly powerful in changing people's minds quite irrationally.

Coupled with Charles' political will - as you note, towards radical environmentalism and architectural protectionism that aligns neatly with a decent proportion of the Scottish populace - you might find Sturgeon and the SNP looks more and more marginal as time goes by.

The Queen oversaw a decline in Empire and a rise in the British believing in - and committing to - a people's right to self-determination. And so it will be in Scotland, just as it has been for so many countries that have gained independence from British rule in the last 75 years. But the backdrop right now is firmly that the SNP is about to slide, independence will become less popular to many, and Scotland will either be part of the renaissance we are all hoping for, or is coming down with the rest of us.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#969
post #762

I gotta admit that it is a bit weird to see british royalty being so heavily privileged that they even get special moderation treatment here on HN to protect them (?) from any negativity, or rather stop negativity about them. I'm not keen on the idea of using this submission to flame the Queen, I obviously agree with the general rule of avoiding flamebait, what I mean is that other HN submissions on the deaths of peo…

It wasn't really special moderation treatment, though I understand why it looks like that way now. It was because, when the thread was getting going, it flooded with crap comments (e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32769222 , https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32769043 ). I decided to come down hard on those to try to ward off a shitshow. It would have been the same in any thread that was filling up that wa…

I feel that you might have a dataset of sufficient size to fine tune a language model to help you with the task.

It can serve as a rough detector which alerts you of posts which might violate the guidelines and also rank them from those that are very likely to violate one (which you can get through quickly, without wasting much cognitive energy) and ones which require more judgement.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#970

I really feel that Charles should at least consider passing on the Crown to his son William. William and Kate are immensely popular. It would be a good thing for Great Britain, British people as well as for the Royal Family. Charles and Camilla are the opposite in terms of respect and popularity to William and Kate, as far as I understand. If Charles does that, he would write himself into the annals of British histor…

It’s almost as though there could be a better system, one where ability could be judged and debated and voted on.

Democracies are equally as likely, if not more, to put horrendously unqualified and highly dislikable people into power. And I'm not just talking about the most recent president emeritus. Political debates in the US rarely have anything to do with reason, and popularity is both fickle and a poor measure of what is best for the nation.

At least royals receive lifetimes of training for how to be a public figure and head of state.

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