We’ll never be royals.
But why is everyone sooooo disrespectful? All she did was colonize and vibe #yasqueen. It’s giving peasant. Lol ew.
Hey everyone you like and appreciate my work please share, comment, and like. **Also SA TW for the 5:55 mark on the recording.**
It’s been super cringe watching people cry over their landlord, but all this Queen talk is far from over. The international dialogue about the impact of colonization and the role the Monarchy has played in the subjugation of millions all over the world is heating up.
Personally I don’t believe monarchies are a valid form of government, but the real conversation here isn’t about “respect” or “legacy” its about binary thinking. So let’s talk about it.
I was recently stuck in a tiktok thread that didn’t seem to end, the issue was that no one could see past their own binary thinking to actually get wtf I was talking about. If you didn’t know a man recently discovered color photos of the Rape of Nanking, which was a horrific mass murder carried out by the Japanese on the Chinese civilians during WWII. This is an incredible discovery that has museums, governments and private collectors in a tizzy trying to get their hands on it. The conversation was about which museum should get it, and someone suggested the National WWII Museum in NOLA. My response was that I was super disappointed with the way the US portrayed their involvement in the war as well as how they framed everything that happened. Long story short, as someone who studied holocaust history and philospohy and as a weirdo WWII fangirl since middle school I immediately knew they left things out and framed it to make the US look like heroes.
I’m sure you’re thinking, yeah but weren’t they? The answer is more complicated than that. This isn’t about good guys and bad guys, this isn’t a fucking Marvel movie. It’s about actually examining wtf happened as a way to learn from it not as a way to pat ourselves on the back. Like yeah bro we saved them so good *fist bump.* So how pray tell does this connect back to the monarchy and Queen Elizabeth's death? WELL, here is the thing— we must ALWAYS look at history, and “legacies” by proxy, as a very deliberate and specific outlook on a series of events that happened in tandem for millions of people all over the world. History is not one story, it’s plural, it’s several things being true at the same time.
American WWII history conveniently leaves out that Hitler used the American blueprint used to murder Natives to systematically murder 6 million Jews, political dissidents, disabled, and queer people in concentration camps. They leave out the fact that American soldiers raped and killed civillian women all over the world. They leave out that the US DELIBERATELY waited to join the war until Europe had already destroyed itself and Hitler was already losing, very heroic. So how do the violent transgressions of the military and the underlying exploitation of economic issues and international relations add to the idea that we were spreading democracy and freedom? — Well, they don’t. And if these were the facts presented as a part of our history the US wouldn’t have the same look, in fact they’d have to answer for them. So they leave them out and then tell us that it’s not true or unamerican to bring it up.
Same for the British Monarchy, which violently spread like a disease all over the world. Did you know that the Spanish and the French hated Great Britain so much that they helped Americans fight against them in the Revolutionary war?—on American soil? Great Britain was expansive, stealing territories, stealing ports, and stealing goods— so much so that several countries combined forces against the common enemy. But people will say “well that was such a long time ago” ok let’s look at modern times, British colonialism ushered in Aphartide in South Africa, stoked the Irish famine (3 million died, half of how many died in the holocaust), thwarted Kenyan independence killing thousands, and can we talk about India? What didn’t they do to India? It’s also come out that the Queen secretly lobbied Scottish ministers for climate law exemption. I could go on and on and on. The atrocities done by the British crown know no bounds and are never ending. And don’t even get me started on all the weirdo pedophile shit and the whole Princess Diana, Meghan Markle thing.
History is a master narrative that serves as the official story a government tells about itself, so we have to think, what are the functions of these stories? And here is where the binary thinking sets in. Ideas of “good” v. “evil” are by default how we have been conditioned to view everything—Looking at things as good and evil takes the human factor and responsibility out of it. Evil just is, evil is an opposing function to God, which has come to represent all that is “good.” When in reality this just ain't it. You can’t tell me that people just do things like genocide and take over Europe without motive, just cuz they were evil.
Trigger warning SA:
Hypothetical SAT Question: Imagine if Captain America went overseas and raped a 20 women on his way to defend the city under attack from the “evil” North Koreans. He killed 3 of women he raped, executed all of his opponents, but still saved the city and a hospital full of babies. He accidentally destroyed most of the homes and businesses. Tens of thousands of children have been orphaned. He promises to bring American companies like Amazon that will now come in and give people jobs and now he’s declared himself the King. Freedom for everyone! Is he good or evil?*
*trick question! We should be asking why he invaded by looking into North Korean accounts of the invasion. We should see why he chose those women and opponents and why he killed the ones he did. We should ask about who benefits from the destabilization of the economy and overall North Korean infrastructure. We should ask what will be done for the orphans and if Captain America will be recognized as their legitimate leader. See what we miss when we oversimplify? Never forget that George W’s entire reason behind the invasion of Iraq was “well they’re jealous of our freedom.” Girl… no they weren’t. They hated that “world trade” meant economic domination and bullying —why do you think they chose those specific buildings? You can read Osama Bin Ladin’s Letter to America here and let me just say you will be shook to your core.
We should also not forget the Queen’s role is to be the "Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England.” So if that means the Queen is “good” and appointed by God then obviously everything she does is in God’s plan and is in service of God’s will, right? This explains a little further why the brits be so mad, cuz how dare we oppose their supreme ruler? How dare we point out all the horrible things she and her family sanctioned? You’re going against God and good —and all those people who died, they must have been “bad,” “evil,” and “unholy.” See how that works? Same goes for the US with their Manifest Destiny, “City on the Hill” ideology that claims “this (the way the US is structured) is God’s work and God’s will” no matter how hard they claim church and state are separate. Going against the government then becomes going against God and now you’re evil too for even thinking it. This is all very Fox News.
If you need me to tell you that it’s never been about “ruling” or “serving” or “God” you haven't been paying attention. This is always about controlling resources, this is always about money and who gets it. Great Britain was a backwater, provincial island that needed to steal and enslave for 200 years to amass riches before they could even really trade or compete with the Mughal Empire of India, The Oyó Empire of Yorubaland, and the Ming Dynasty of China. Before the 16th century they were not even making a blip on the global economy, they had nothing to actually trade. Seriously though, what do we get from England? What are they known for? I’m assuming this is why they still have 54 commonwealths. If you want to know what being a commonwealth is like look no further than Puerto Rico, it essentially leaves them open to being a tax haven and a pseudo colony to extract from, all while making sure that their leaders are friendly to American “trade.” So ask yourself—If what’s “good” is not actually good, and what is “evil” is actually just opposing facts and ideologies, what’s the truth? And how do we begin to pull back the curtain and examine history with new eyes?
Don’t forget to share, comment and like! I want to hear your thoughts what do you think about all these conversations about the Monarchy? Should we still have them in 2022? Did you read the letter? See ya next week!
Yes, this is why I always resisted the notion of good and evil, especially within historical contexts, because it encourages us to over-simplify, instead of digging deeper into uncomfortable places. Since you studied the Holocaust, you might've read "Eichmann in Jerusalem," which explored the role bureaucracy played in perpetrating the most heinous of atrocities, how the system compartmentalized people, making it easier for individuals to shunt responsibility and claim ignorance. That doesn't exonerate administrators within the German War Machine, of course, but it does make things much more complicated.
Regarding the Queen and the British monarchy, apart from the fact that it's a completely outdated, unjust form of "government," I just never understood the fascination. I guess it's kind of like celebrity obsessions, but I don't really get that either.