Comment by braingenious | Hacker News Reader

Comment by braingenious | Hacker News Reader

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> please don't post flamebait, including ranting against monarchy or railing against "the nobility" like it's 1770.

I am kind of curious about what this means exactly. Is any criticism of the monarchy off limits? Is the purpose of this thread for people to air their positive thoughts about this lady?

For example, I find non-British people that are genuinely sad about her passing to be pretty bizarre. It’s a fascinating event to look at how we tend to form parasocial relationships with carefully curated depictions of people.

It’s even more bizarre when we make actual rules to enforce orthodoxy and stifle criticism of parasocial relationships with carefully curated depictions of people.

This insistence on an arbitrary standard of decorum and the compulsion to play out a socially-prescribed bit of theater is pretty odd. Queen Elizabeth was paradoxically both not powerful enough to warrant lumping her in with British failings and at the same time so powerful that we are compelled to speak highly of her.

My post (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32769925) was not for or against monarchy, or about monarchy at all. It was about tedious, low-quality internet comments. I'm against them.

(Edit: that first sentence is really a template instantiation. When I post like this, it's never for or against <T>. It's always just about internet comments. People who are against <T> (or for it) often react like we're for <T> (or against it), but this is an illusion. It could quickly be cured by grokking the template, since at that level all these posts are entirely the same.)

It may not make so much sense now, but this thread was filling with the worst sort of dumb flamebait when it got started. That it isn't so now is because I've spent the last 3 hours refreshing the page and meticulously moderating it. If some of my comments are a little dyspeptic, that's because dealing with tedious comments is tedious, and I sort of pep myself up by letting loose a bit. Not the finest of practices but esprit de corps is also a need.

Your comments in this thread only seem dyspeptic because they’re antiseptic. Thank you for cleaning up the viral vitriol.

Thanks for clarifying!

Thank you.

As always, thanks for keeping HN interesting Dan

Your post begins "All: please don't post flamebait, including ranting against monarchy or railing against 'the nobility' like it's 1770." To then state that this post "was not about monarchy at all" feels like gaslighting. Perhaps you didn't intend to write about monarchy, but in fact you did.

I see what you mean! But note the words flamebait, ranting, and railing. That is what I was asking people not to do, same as always. Thoughtful, non-flamebait comments were not excluded.

I should have said it differently because I gave the impression of being on one side when the truth is that I don't care; and qua moderator, I really don't care.

Hey, I'll respond at a general high-level...

You use words like "odd" and "bizarre" to describe many people's reactions to the QE's passing...

I humbly suggest that it's it is simply that you don't understand a certain perspective here. That's totally fine -- completely fine -- because there's no reason to expect we all could or should share the same perspective on this.

I humbly also suggest that, while there are certainly many criticism that could (and should, probably) be leveled in good reason against monarchies in general, and perhaps this monarchy in particular, today is maybe not the right day to do it.

Today a lady who was very meaningful to many people has passed. Why not let them grieve?

Imagine someone important to you died today. They surely weren't perfect, but is today the day to harp on their negatives? The monarchy has been around for centuries. If your criticisms have any merit, they will still have impact a few days from now.

Anyway, whether you're lucky enough that no one important to you has died (yet) or because you don't have that sensitivity, let me assure you: today isn't the day to pursue your criticisms of those that have passed today. Hang on to it for now andtell everyone about it later. If it's really something worthwhile, it will have legs later, too.

Likely 99% of the people here have zero personal relationship with her. Those that do, are preparing for her funeral, not posting here. It is a worthwhile question to ask why so many people have this feeling for a person they have never met. Now is when most of the eyes are on this issue. Saying it is "too soon" is just trying to delay criticism of the monarchy to when people have lost interest and have moved on to other news.

Very well said, have my upvote.

There are unwritten social contracts in play here - which get weaker with time.

Criticizing the oppression of colonies (under the eyes of the crown) is only allowed - sometime later.

800 comments like “why is monarchy still a thing in 2022?” would be tedious and redundant. Now we have 700 comments of “didn’t really care that much until right now but I just broke down in tears”, which is merely boring.

Heh, this is the most interesting comment/observation to me... Banal positivity in favor of the crown is in, but banal criticism is out..

I saw a few posts from people from former colonies who weren't so fond of her or her family.

Extremely well put. I am from one of the countries that was absolutely slaughtered by the so called great britain, and I have as much desire to share my opinion and views, as the folks who are mourning the loss.

And if you have something to contribute then contribute it. But if it is just to say "boo queen" then don't be surprised if it receives a poor reception.

Don't feel discouraged. You are not alone. There are, unfortunately, millions of people across the globe whose opinion about this heinous war criminal are being silenced so that the 'feel-good' propaganda can propagate.

Those of us who make the effort to understand the truth of world affairs will always be targeted by those who wish to mould the world to their view. Such is the nature of imperialism.

Elizabeth and her empire is STILL TODAY responsible for much, much suffering - at immense scale. This is a truly scary fact for those who live inside the propaganda bubble that protects them from knowing anything about the victims of the empire.

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