Community Chat

[Puppy Lips]

I have been to the UK three times. While pub food can be tasty, it gets old after awhile. I remember one trip I was craving a piece of fruit, not something I normally crave.

[gertrudecloset]

All I care to know is the harm they have done to many, many ethnic groups around the world.  They do nothing to benefit people today, either.  I'm not enthralled with an institution that is special treatment based on birth right. 

Finally, if it were not for Great Britain, UK (whatever) and the monarchy we would not have taxes.  They instituted the "poor taxes" and that's how the began to get rich.

[JaneMarple]

I've been on twitter on and off all day and one of the topics trending is the coronation among other British family craziness. Many of the posts are from The UK.

1. The Archbishop has been asked by the King to speak to Harry and Meghan to           attend because he is very close to the couple.

2. William and Kate showing up empty handed to a foodbank, took photos then left

3. British citizens are getting very angry at the costs of the coronation especially        when heating and food are so costly.

[ValuSkr]

Maybe Charles should scale things back. And forget about Harry and Meghan; they don't need to be there; everyone knows it would just be a show.

As Shakespeare said, "uneasy is the head that wears a crown."  If he didn't know it before, Charles is learning it now.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Puppy Lips wrote:

@occasionalrain 

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@occasionalrain wrote:

@Puppy Lips 

The British citizens pay less than a dollar/pound a year to support the Monarchy. I have never seen any Royals cutting ribbons. I have local and state officials in the US cutting ribbons. Are you aware that we even pay for our US Senators and Congressmen's haircuts?

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@occasionalrain That is an outdated figure.  I googled it and did the math.  The point is that the royal family has vast wealth that they have done nothing of significance to deserve.  They are either an accident of birth or charm a member to marry into the family.  Then they follow the rules and play the game to keep the royal family going.  I am sure they work hard and I am sure it is not easy at times.  But are they really doing any good considering all the wealth they have?  Couldn't all the money they spend on those extravagent events be better spent elsewhere?  Give those millions to a charity. 

We elect our Senators and Congressmen in this country and hope that they do good for their state.  And when they don't, they hopefully get voted out.

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@Puppy Lips 

Well stated ... and I'm surprised how many people don't understand that.  The top people are merely accidents of birth and had to do nothing to earn their positions. 

Charles could be a complete idiot ... and he'd still be king, even if it was very clear he's not the best possible choice.

[Mersha]

Kings, queens, coronations, palaces, tiaras, and anything "royal" seems so antiquated and out of touch in today's world.

[ValuSkr]

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@Mersha wrote:

Kings, queens, coronations, palaces, tiaras, and anything "royal" seems so antiquated and out of touch in today's world.

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Yes, it does.  But the RF are good for the tourism industry, not to mention the tabloid industry.  You might say they are good sports to play along, rather than walking away completely (as some have done).

[Isobel Archer]

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@Stelladorable wrote:

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@Northray wrote:

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@occasionalrain wrote:

To the victor's, go the spoils. It could be said that we stole America from the British, and from the Native Americans and pilfered natural resources.

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Who is WE?  It was British citizens that settled in America TO GET AWAY FROM THE BRITISH MONARCHY, CLASS system.  Independent citizens of British nationality were escaping the British system, basically their richer, royal brothers and sisters!  But because the British monarchy was used to basically colonizing whatever land they felt like ( to be fair this was the way of all Europeans, consider the Spanish Conqistordors and their invasion of the central Americas) they decided to follow these pioneers and set up shop here too.  And then they decided they were in charge here as well.  And they were not the victors because the new Americans beat their butts and kicked them out.

As for the Indians, some tribes were friendly but most were not.  They were tribal, war centered, like Vikings, fighting for the right to be the top tribe - they warred amongst themselves for this very land.  So they were not a cohesive peoples that ruled this land and had set up a government, no.  So the coming of Europeans just added to an already chaotic situation.

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This is a completely western idea of how societies should be run. The first settlers here stumbled upon a people who had lived and thrived here for millenia, with no help from western ideas of what "civilized" means.

The Europeans and Scandanavians brought the chaos as they sought to conquer lands belonging to others.

There are many excellent books about how this was done and how natives were systematically pushed into smaller and smaller enclaves until culture, language, religion and finally the people themselves were gone or irrelevant.

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Did I miss where she said we came here to "civilize" the native people?

What she did say was that the Indians also fought each other for land.  It wasn't all peace and love before the colonizers came.  And again, as noted the English weren't the only colonizers.  In fact, the Spanish were the first to bring slaves to what later became the U.S. in the 1500's.

And in assigning blame for "taking land" - how many current countries  never fought over land?  Could you enlighten us with that information?

[Isobel Archer]

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@JaneMarple wrote:

I've been on twitter on and off all day and one of the topics trending is the coronation among other British family craziness. Many of the posts are from The UK.

1. The Archbishop has been asked by the King to speak to Harry and Meghan to           attend because he is very close to the couple.

2. William and Kate showing up empty handed to a foodbank, took photos then left

3. British citizens are getting very angry at the costs of the coronation especially        when heating and food are so costly.

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Twitter - now that's where to get factual information for sure.

[gertrudecloset]

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@JaneMarple wrote:

I've been on twitter on and off all day and one of the topics trending is the coronation among other British family craziness. Many of the posts are from The UK.

1. The Archbishop has been asked by the King to speak to Harry and Meghan to           attend because he is very close to the couple.

2. William and Kate showing up empty handed to a foodbank, took photos then left

3. British citizens are getting very angry at the costs of the coronation especially        when heating and food are so costly.

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@JaneMarplethe in-fighting between Camila and Katherine is also what I'm hearing.  One thinks the other doesn't deserve they title they have.

Finally, King Charles has decided not to give William's daughter the title of Dutchess and instead will give a Duke title to the other brother Edward.