Live data from Hacker News

Queen Elizabeth II has died

bbc.com

861–870 of 1001 posts

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#861
post #751

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fellow Brit here. I share this sentiment. I've never had strong views for or against the royal family but always felt genuine respect towards the Queen herself. She always appeared to be a morally strong character who tried to do the right thing. I always expected this would feel like a very strange moment when it finally arrived. I wasn't wrong.

I'm am American, but with a substantial Commonwealth connection. I am vigorously, vocally, unapologetically antiroyal. (I'm going to take this to an absurd extreme to make point, not to be incendiary.) I despise the whole cosplay, exploitative embrace of what is effectively an echo of dictatorship. But... Elizabeth was a remarkable person, filled with evident curiosity and willingness to connect with people despite b…

It’s a cult and she is a cult leader. But the the thing is, you cannot entirely remove the need humans have for cults, religions, nationalism and their corresponding figureheads. You cannot entirely remove the need for unity via shared rituals and traditions, how ever inane.

So we have two options, pick good cults and cult leaders or live with bad ones. The Royal Family at the moment asks nothing from the devout. Literally, you don’t have to pray, believe ideologies, support politics, almost nothing. Just show up for the weddings, respect the titles and play along with the ceremony.

That’s the best version of religion we can get.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#862

Born in April, 1926, it's crazy how much the world has changed in her lifetime. May she rest in peace.

Arguably the largest change in humanity in a ~100 year span? Especially if we go back to 1922. Mass communication, mass travel, etc. were all non existent. Like the first radio stations had just started broadcasting when she was born, now we're all discussing her passing on a communications network that connects the entire globe. Possibly some of us while on flights from one side of the world to the other.

On the margin, we're comparing 2022 to 1922, 2021-2022 to 1921-1922, &c. There's little question that this span overlaps substantially, probably 80+%, with the 100-year spam of greatest change in humanity, but I think there's a strong argument that, pretty say, 1914-2014 > 1922-2022 (which amounts to that the changes of 1914-1922 were more substantial than those of 2014-2022). Where exactly the optimum is, of course, hard to say, though I do think the 2000s have been on the whole exciting enough that that the next serious cutoffs would be around 1905 or 1903, and not likely in between.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#863

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…

Dude, I'm American and even more anti-monarchy. Hell, I'm anti-president, anti-congress, everything. But I feel the exactly same as you do, and it's not even my damn country to boot. But, we all know why, or at least it seems to me...a lifetime of dedicated service, consistent and steady service to UK and the world both. Calm, cool. Loyal to country, husband, the whole shooting match. There's a LOT to admire about th…

Dat double rainbow …

Gotta agree, what the fuck lol

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#865
post #708

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…

I also don't know why I feel that, but I wonder if it's not for a more selfish reason. As in: "I'm getting old and the things I knew disappear"

No one gets out alive.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#867

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…

meanwhile, Irish Twitter and TikTok have been absolutely ablaze with celebration...

The hashtag #IrishTwitter that artificially gets pumped up by Twitter's recommendation algorithm does not equal Irish Twitter, and it certainly does not equal Ireland.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#868

I realise she has just died and it's unbecoming to do anything but laud the person, but this is just moral obsequiousness. She claims fealty by right of blood, reigned as the crown of an extraordinarily cruel empire, and frequently interceded in the democratic government of Britain to protect her private interests.

She and her family is responsible for a lot of atrocities around the world. Yet a lot of people here are eulogizing as if she was a saint who taught art of living to the people. To me this is a demonstration of power of conditioning and media management.

No post body was provided.
Post reply on HN