A German print showing the 1649 execution of Charles I outside the Banqueting House, Whitehall, London.
…the so-called “English Civil War” of 1649–60 was more truthfully “The English Revolution”, as the Marxist author Christopher Hill has long maintained, being the direct precursor to both the French and Russian Revolutions. That the English killed their king well over one hundred years before the French Revolutionaries did the same is a fact often overlooked because our Commonwealth failed after only twelve years and the English monarchy returned in 1660. The regicide of Charles I having taken place so much earlier than other European regicides, however, scared future English parliaments into passing just enough reforms to appease subsequent generations, thus averting any real justification for total revolution.
Just think about the Queen for a moment. That is what is holding the whole of England back…the subservience on the part of a great majority of the English people to this bitch…I say there’s no hope for them until we have five thousand people out in Trafalgar Square screaming “Bugger the Queen”.
William Burroughs
The institution of royalty in any form is an insult to the human race.
And if you need an explanation of the title of this post, go thou here.
…and they can’t take a joke either.
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/palace-gags-the-chasers-take-on-royal-wedding-20110427-1dwg0.html
That’s ridiculous but then deference and servility have to be the order of the day. Let’s hope it persuades a few more Australians that they need to ditch the monarchy.
With you all the way on this one. Damn them all.
Bitch, please.
Bravo John Coulthard – you have struck precisely the right note here. There is nothing more profound when a collective, while honouring and finessing – even reconciling differences – is determined to govern itself – directly or through representatives. Long Live the Republic.
Well as an American I certainly share the anti-Royal sentiment but you know, at least the Royals provide you with a certain amount of tradition and entertainment value.
All we have are blowhard asshole billionaires like Donald Trump and washed up drug addict actors like Charlie Sheen as a sort of debased regality. A little pomp & circumstance, however absurd, would be a relief.
Want to do a trade?
Hi Stephen. We have enough facile celebrities of our own as well, the magazines shelves here groan with gossip rags and tabloid newspapers reporting their exploits.
It’s perfectly possible to ditch the royals and preserve whatever ceremony people want; France did it, so did our neighbours in Ireland. The fundamental issues for most anti-monarchists are things like our not being citizens in this nation, we’re all subjects of the Crown. Imagine Donald Trump being King; imagine having to address him as “your majesty” and bow or curtsy in his presence, as is compulsory with the royals here; imagine him holding that position until his death. If Trump became US President you could vote him out. A black man became head of state in the US; the UK will never have a black king so what does that tell kids in this country who aren’t white and rich? And so on. These arguments are tired, and its boring to keep reheating them but they’re still pertinent for many people.
When the revolution comes they can be the first up against the wall. Or maybe we could bring back the guillotine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyyLOOvwIts
There’s a regiment of soldiers
Standing looking on
And the queen is bravely shouting,
“What the hell is going on?”