Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Prince Philip has died

royal.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

541–550 of 553 posts

Re: Prince Philip has died

#541

Post by andrepd »

Accacin wrote: post #276
andrepd wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Excuse me? Generational inheritance is the basis of the entire monarchy. It's how they justify their position and privileges. Invoke generational privileges when it suits them and cry about generational guilt when it does not??

But he's not just talking about the Royal Family. How far do I go back before I don't feel guilty anymore? Should the Italians feel guilty for the Roman Empire slaughtering native Britons? For me there's little point making people feel shame for what country they happened to be born in - we do not get to choose. However it's important that we do not forget what caused these awful atrocities and make sure that we neve…

The GP comment was about the royal family.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#542

Post by TrevorJ »

F1Qy94GJ55 wrote: post #502
spectramax wrote: post #498

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of things your grandpa did in 1930s was probably deeply sexist. Are you going to also look at your granpa with vengeful attitude? Society evolves. Forgive the wrong doings of the past, and move forward. Look ahead.

Wow, multiple personal attacks in this thread, all for disagreeing, for saying "...I see him as a wealthy old man from a very influential family who should have done better", speaking about the colonial past in his lifetime". Ugh! Some things never change.

If you think someone disagreeing with you is a personal attack then I don't know what to tell you. You tried to dunk on a recently dead guy, which is generally considered bad form, and got called out for it.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#543

Post by Veen »

teachrdan wrote: post #504
callamdelaney wrote: post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dan, the wealth of the monarchy is widely known; it owns billions in assets - graciously it donated the proceeds of these assets to directly to the treasury. They are literally net contributors on the basis of this alone.

I have to smile at this comment. The monarchy "owns billions in assets - graciously it donated the proceeds of these assets..." Where exactly do you think these assets came from? The monarchy's wealth came from the people and resources of the Commonwealth. The individuals who constitute the monarchy did nothing more than get born to the right people to inherit and control this wealth. > They are literally net contrib…

> Where exactly do you think these assets came from?

Where did your assets come from? If you own land, you bought it from someone. They bought it from someone. Go far enough back in history, and you'll find the beginning of that chain starts with someone being fucked over violently. Generally, we put it down to "time immemorial" and leave it at that. But if you want to give up your assets to those they were stolen from, go right ahead.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#544

Post by [deleted] »

ben_w wrote: post #490
teachrdan wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> cant spend their wealth like billioaires What would they spend it on? Fancy houses? Private transport around the world? Lavish vacations? They get all of those things for free already. I suppose it wouldn't do for Prince Charles to buy a 200' yacht. But other than that, I'm not sure how much he, or any other royal, is suffering for not being able to spend their wealth like the rest of the 0.1%.

Once you get over about $10 million per family member, you can have essentially any house, holiday, or private transport you desire. Spending like billionaires means political power or privately funded moonshot projects.

[deleted]

Re: Prince Philip has died

#545

Post by dave333 »

teachrdan wrote: post #456
callamdelaney wrote: post #447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of those comments are / were vitriolic. Basically attacking Prince Philip because of status rather than any legitimate criticism of him as a person. I'd guess this is why - it's not facebook.

Broadly speaking, the HN readership supports entrepreneurship, novel ideas and transparency; as a result, it tends to be critical of inherited wealth, entrenched institutions and arbitrary and opaque power. The royal family in England embodies all of the latter.[0] Of course there are exceptions! Most people are empathetic and few openly celebrate the death of a 99-year-old. But I think it's fair to say that a large…

On the other hand the Duke of Edinburghs Award Scheme could be considered an early prototype of YCombinator.

https://www.dofe.org/

Re: Prince Philip has died

#546

Post by Fazel94 »

Milner08 wrote: post #414
F1Qy94GJ55 wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Spending his life serving the country. Rest in Peace. The man was almost 100 years old, almost 30 when India and many other countries got independence from British after a long multi-decade struggle, with many many innocent dead. Frankly I see him as a wealthy old man from a very influential family who should have done better. Am I wrong that this was my first though after seeing this comment? Am I supposed to feel…

I think you can feel sorry for them as people, while also being unhappy with their actions over the years and their position of power. To me the reaction in the UK (for example all BBC radio stations are broadcasting the same crap news about him all day) has been way more over the top than I expected, but I can see the impact he has had on UK diplomacy over the years but it still seems highly out of proportion.

It is in answer to "spend his life to serve the country" part, thus a totally called for clarification.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#547

Post by Fazel94 »

spectramax wrote: post #503
F1Qy94GJ55 wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, multiple personal attacks in this thread, all for disagreeing, for saying "...I see him as a wealthy old man from a very influential family who should have done better", speaking about the colonial past in his lifetime". Ugh! Some things never change.

I didn’t mean any personal animosity. Most men in 1930s were sexist and it was accepted in the society. Even, Switzerland allowed women to vote 1980’s . The point is to let go of the decades old past.

Most men in 1943 didn't took part in govs taking the food in such a scale that cause a famine with 2 million dead. So I would give them a pass. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_India#Bengal_famine_...

Re: Prince Philip has died

#548

Post by callamdelaney »

Symbiote wrote: post #532
callamdelaney wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My point is not that she didn’t get it through being a part of the aristocracy; my point is that the royal family is a net contributor. 2019/2020 contributions to the treasury were £345,000,000[0] In the same year the monarchy were paid roughly £90m [1]. Last I checked it didn’t matter how one acquired something as long as one owns it. It’s really irrelevant how they came into that land. [0] https://www.thecrownestat…

The land, buildings, seabed etc should belong to the UK, similar to the land owned by the Forestry Commission or MoD. The sovereign does not own it, but takes part of the profit from it to fund the royal family, and gives the rest to the treasury. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Estate has a good background.

I think it's a potentially slippery slope to run around deciding who should own what; isn't it?

Re: Prince Philip has died

#549

Post by gadders »

smcl wrote: post #497
gadders wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the urge to blurt it out to be controversial that is what I find childish.

The original commenter is an Indian who would have more reason than most to despise the Royal family and, frankly, the UK in general. Yet they showed genuine compassion and goodwill towards Philip. This was surprising and I thought it interesting to share that as a Brit I have nearly no feelings at all (other than my general dislike of the monarchy). This is a forum, we interact and share our opinions through these c…

Trying to be edgy by talking ill of the dead isn't either.
Post reply on HN