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Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

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Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#361

I've been a bit disconcerted at the level of unmitigated adulation that's been showered on the late queen by the media. I have nothing bad to say about Elizabeth II but I too do my job every day -- without a staff of hundreds to prepare my breakfast -- and I don't think I will be sanctified the day I keel over. It's all so serious and deeply conservative you'd think we are back in the 1950. In the 1970s Monty Python…

Why in the world are you disconcerted? There is nothing surprising about the adulation at all, it's been this way for literally decades. Were all these people who are "shook" and "jarred" in a coma?

Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#362

How much power does the British monarch still have? I'm from America so I didn't learn much in school about British history post-1776, but my understanding is that they never had an event like the French Revolution or American Revolution that suddenly ended their monarchy, just a long series of minor reductions in the royal family's power going back to the Magna Carta. From my own (admittedly uneducated on this topic…

TECHNICALLY, the monarchy has total veto power. Realistically though there'd probably be a revolution if they really used that in anyway that isn't in line with the purely ceremonial expectations for the role. They also have special laws made just for them like not having to pay any inheritance taxes to ensure the monarchy stays rich

But that's just domestically. The real pragmatic power is actually in foreign affairs and is way overlooked. A single visit of a British monarch to a regime would basically grant instant validity of their status. Imagine if King Charles III visited the Taliban. Obviously that specific situation is extremely unlikely, but I'd argue that Queen Elizabeth has played a really seminal role in keep some pretty fucked up regimes in power

Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but the UK is where you can get arrested for making your girlfriend's pug do a Nazi salute as a joke (but somehow Father Ted doing similar Nazi jokes gets a pass)

Citation needed but I suspect you are probably right about the pug. Father Ted is Irish as in Republic of Ireland as in not UKoGB - we share a very, very strange border. Having said that, Father Ted was turned down by RTE for being too Irish and was eventually financed by the BBC! Thankfully it eventually aired because it is absolutely belting.

Everything about your second paragraph is incorrect. Father Ted was never pitched to RTE. The creators had a prior working relationship with Channel 4 so it was pitched to them, not the BBC. It was produced by Hat Trick Productions, a UK based television production company who also make Have I Got News For You. All indoor scenes were filmed in London with outdoor scenes being filmed in different parts of Ireland.

The cast and creators were Irish though.

Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#364
post #242

When some people were posting “fuck the queen” comments on the original “regina mortua est” HN megathread I thought that was pretty poor form. But I don’t have an issue with protestors. It’s a form of public accountability, which should generally be encouraged. It is quite unpalatable mind you, but then so are monarchies.

When has a "palatable" protest ever accomplished anything?

Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#365

The UK media (not just the BBC) continue to profess "amazement" at the speed and efficiency of the transitioning from a dead monarch to a living one. There's been much speaking in awed tones at the pace of the various proclamations, committee meetings, document signings, etc, as if this pace tells us why we should be impressed. Personally I've found it borderline sickening. If there was a curtain that could have slip…

I don't get this, it's not like the king of england has any real power. I know it's a waste of tax money but the US governments wastes tax money all day long too, as do all governments on pork projects and subsidies.

Au contraire.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/09/queens-conse...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/08/queen-...

"Queen’s consent is a procedural rule, internal to the workings of parliament and of unclear origins, which requires the monarch’s consent to be obtained for certain types of legislation – before they can be presented for final approval by either house of parliament."

Also note that the Crown appoints new members to the House of Lords. This includes the supreme court of Great Britain, all members of which trace their seat to a Crown appointment at some past time.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Lords

"Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey advised the King to overwhelm opposition to the bill in the House of Lords by creating about 80 new pro-Reform peers."

Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you just notice you're in a monarchy? Have you never seen parliament open? You missed prorogation with the silly Black Rod nonsense? I'm not sure how you can characterize this as some creeky system that's just showing its face now lol it's built into so much of your government, multiple times a year, including one extremely high profile case (the prorogation) only a few months ago. Honestly, be grateful. I watch…

>If the cost is some silly ceremony that is increasingly irrelevant every year, pay that cost. is it though? The UK isn't the only country that has removed its leader in a no-confidence vote. Republics do it regularly just fine. The relationship to the monarchy you have to explain to me, British people don't receive their moral compass from the crown, although the barrage of Netflix shows on that family may create th…

I haven't watched any Netflix shows, so I really couldn't say. I just watch parliament, unedited, and sometimes BBC coverage. It's a leisure, I'm hardly an academic about it.

That said, I think you've misunderstood my post entirely.

a) If you think this system is just now creaking into life, I frankly don't know how. Again, major news very recently with Black Rod stomping in and various MPs protesting.

b) It's not that big of a deal relatively speaking. The monarchy is very clearly increasingly irrelevant, as it has been for some time. Obviously abolish that shit, but the initial post is a bit dramatic.

c) You should compare parliament to cspan sometime - our illiterate representatives don't even bother to show up.

Obviously the UK has plenty of issues, it's an interesting system to watch. Removing the monarchy might be a good step forward, obviously you should all do that. But it's not some 'creeking' 'deep state' system, it's very front and center, and it's really not your biggest problem by a longshot.

Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#367

For all its faults, I love the US. I can go downtown with a sign that says "Not my president", and I may get some cheers, may get some boos. What I won't get is arrested. This is true no matter who is president. Now, if I were saying this about President Harris, say, when she came to visit Biden's body while it was lying in state, that would be deplorable taste. It would be worse if my sign criticized Biden while his…

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/06/1121322520/a-black-protester-...

Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#368
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suggest you read the whole section.

Are you referring to Synder v Phelps where the Supreme Court held that a distant (1000 ft away) protest didn't qualify for monetary (tort) damages for the deceased's family? Because that case doesn't strike down the state laws preventing protests in close proximity. It just ruled that the private citizen can't get lots of money for emotional distress caused by a protest.

It barred IIED claims specifically because they were targeted at activities protected by the 1st amendment.

Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you just notice you're in a monarchy? Have you never seen parliament open? You missed prorogation with the silly Black Rod nonsense? I'm not sure how you can characterize this as some creeky system that's just showing its face now lol it's built into so much of your government, multiple times a year, including one extremely high profile case (the prorogation) only a few months ago. Honestly, be grateful. I watch…

>If the cost is some silly ceremony that is increasingly irrelevant every year, pay that cost. is it though? The UK isn't the only country that has removed its leader in a no-confidence vote. Republics do it regularly just fine. The relationship to the monarchy you have to explain to me, British people don't receive their moral compass from the crown, although the barrage of Netflix shows on that family may create th…

Hopefully the British people don't receive their moral compass from elected officials either, given the recent occupants of the office of Prime Minister...

Re: Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows

#370

The UK media (not just the BBC) continue to profess "amazement" at the speed and efficiency of the transitioning from a dead monarch to a living one. There's been much speaking in awed tones at the pace of the various proclamations, committee meetings, document signings, etc, as if this pace tells us why we should be impressed. Personally I've found it borderline sickening. If there was a curtain that could have slip…

I'm genuinely interested to know what you think should happen after a monarch passes. This has been the process for over 1000 years and while we have a constitutional monarchy this is what happens. I'm actually not in favour of a monarchy myself but I don't get how people would be surprised at what's currently happening.

There's nothing about having a monarch as the head of state that requires so much ceremony and attention. We could stop putting the king on currency, not have official periods of mourning, relegate news about the royal to the tabloids etc. without making any changes to how the government is structured.
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