A psychologist or sociologist could have a field day with this story. There are more things wrong here than the plot of Plan 9 From Outer Space. Let's start with the root issue: the royal family. Not to bring up that whole history thing, but there was a time in this country when people detested the idea of hereditary nobility. You can argue that it doesn't matter anymore because the nobles don't have any power, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the royal family is famous for literally no real reason.
I'll be the first to admit that America has an extremely unhealthy celebrity culture, but at least American celebrities are known for something. They're actors, or singers, or star in a sex tape. They aren't always good reasons, of course, and being interested in their life isn't exactly what you'd call healthy, but at least there's a reason people do it. Royalty, on the other hand, begins with forceful takeover and continues through heredity. Taking power through force is kind of a dick move (to use understatement), and retaining it just because you were born to certain (usually inbred) parents isn't much better. Granted, there's no power involved anymore, but I'm not sure I see the point in making someone famous due to heredity either, and I certainly don't see the point in keeping nobles around like national zoo animals.
Let's examine that metaphor further. The idea of a famous royal family is sad and pathetic for two reasons. The first of these stems from the fact that people would be even remotely interested in someone else's life literally only because of their bloodline. It's kind of like picking someone up off the street and avidly following their personal life. What's the point? What do get out of it, exactly? If you need to be involved in the life of a complete stranger to that extent, maybe you should examine your own, because you might be missing something.
I also wonder what this is like for the family itself. It's not like they chose to be famous, after all. The people involved in this scenario can't even pick their noses without the Guardian (or whatever the British version of the Enquirer or Bild is) finding out about it. A lot of people called the royal wedding "beautiful." Try being a voyeur in any other regard and see if the fact that whatever you were intruding on was "beautiful" makes it any less creepy. The fact of the matter is that these people, through no choice of their own and from birth in the case of one of them, can't even go through important and very personal life events without the entire world sticking their noses in it. Doesn't sound like a great deal to me. You may be happy about their baby (which is sad enough; get a life), but if I was its parent, all that would be going through my mind is what that poor kid will have to go through in life simply because I was the parent. Tough environment to raise a child in. Good luck to the poor bastard. I'd be surprised if he or she didn't develop a complex of some kind. Pat yourself on the back for that one, society.
So really, the entire structure of the royal family is pretty fucked up. But that's not where this news story ends, because apparently there's a commercial aspect to be had here that adds a whole other layer to the debacle. Apparently some radio show thought it would be amusing to prank the hospital where what's-her-face was admitted for morning sickness. (I'll hold off questioning if that's even an appropriate reason to take up a hospital bed, because as a 22 year old male, I actually have no clue.) Fair enough; it probably was amusing to someone. But still, it's just a tad in poor taste to pester a pregnant woman. And what exactly is going on with the hospital system in Britain that you can call up, just say you're the queen, and talk with a princess? I mean, really? If I call up the White House and pretend to be Obama, I feel like I probably won't have a lot of success getting in touch with his daughters.
So there's that. But it gets better, because the nurse they pranked was so embarrassed that she actually killed herself.
I find this interesting, because, again, really? I will be the first to take back everything I say about this aspect if it comes out that she had some kind of mental issue, because then, obviously, it's not entirely her fault. Assuming she didn't, however, (and the newspaper doesn't say she did) killing yourself? Because you were embarrassed? Even being embarrassed nationally doesn't exactly qualify as a great reason for perpetual oblivion. The idea of either thinking that this sort of thing makes your life bad enough to kill yourself or valuing life so little that you end it because you're embarrassed is not exactly healthy, and speaks to the kind of society we live in, where someone would think that to be an even remotely appropriate response.
Some have blamed the radio hosts, and while that's not exactly fair, I would hope they still feel a little guilty. That being said, the whole thing could have been avoided by not putting so much importance on certain people based on completely arbitrary factors. People would argue that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, and that it doesn't actually have any effect that Britain continues to support this bizarre and antiquated system of hereditary nobility. Ultimately, that's probably the case. However, in this instance, there was a very clear effect, and while the system itself can't actually be held responsible fully, it still played a role.
Not that any of this is surprising. The nobility have been (directly) killing those under them for centuries. What's one more death in 2012? Add it to the roster of deaths caused in whole or in part by keeping up a system based on the opposite of logic. There was a revolution fought in this country which, though multifaceted, aimed partly to destroy this unfair system in the American colonies. Unfortunately, anti-monarchical sentiment didn't last very long. For so many Americans then and now, the allure of power, even an empty power that had little to nothing to do with them, was and continues to be too powerful a draw.
Let's examine that metaphor further. The idea of a famous royal family is sad and pathetic for two reasons. The first of these stems from the fact that people would be even remotely interested in someone else's life literally only because of their bloodline. It's kind of like picking someone up off the street and avidly following their personal life. What's the point? What do get out of it, exactly? If you need to be involved in the life of a complete stranger to that extent, maybe you should examine your own, because you might be missing something.
I also wonder what this is like for the family itself. It's not like they chose to be famous, after all. The people involved in this scenario can't even pick their noses without the Guardian (or whatever the British version of the Enquirer or Bild is) finding out about it. A lot of people called the royal wedding "beautiful." Try being a voyeur in any other regard and see if the fact that whatever you were intruding on was "beautiful" makes it any less creepy. The fact of the matter is that these people, through no choice of their own and from birth in the case of one of them, can't even go through important and very personal life events without the entire world sticking their noses in it. Doesn't sound like a great deal to me. You may be happy about their baby (which is sad enough; get a life), but if I was its parent, all that would be going through my mind is what that poor kid will have to go through in life simply because I was the parent. Tough environment to raise a child in. Good luck to the poor bastard. I'd be surprised if he or she didn't develop a complex of some kind. Pat yourself on the back for that one, society.
So really, the entire structure of the royal family is pretty fucked up. But that's not where this news story ends, because apparently there's a commercial aspect to be had here that adds a whole other layer to the debacle. Apparently some radio show thought it would be amusing to prank the hospital where what's-her-face was admitted for morning sickness. (I'll hold off questioning if that's even an appropriate reason to take up a hospital bed, because as a 22 year old male, I actually have no clue.) Fair enough; it probably was amusing to someone. But still, it's just a tad in poor taste to pester a pregnant woman. And what exactly is going on with the hospital system in Britain that you can call up, just say you're the queen, and talk with a princess? I mean, really? If I call up the White House and pretend to be Obama, I feel like I probably won't have a lot of success getting in touch with his daughters.
So there's that. But it gets better, because the nurse they pranked was so embarrassed that she actually killed herself.
I find this interesting, because, again, really? I will be the first to take back everything I say about this aspect if it comes out that she had some kind of mental issue, because then, obviously, it's not entirely her fault. Assuming she didn't, however, (and the newspaper doesn't say she did) killing yourself? Because you were embarrassed? Even being embarrassed nationally doesn't exactly qualify as a great reason for perpetual oblivion. The idea of either thinking that this sort of thing makes your life bad enough to kill yourself or valuing life so little that you end it because you're embarrassed is not exactly healthy, and speaks to the kind of society we live in, where someone would think that to be an even remotely appropriate response.
Some have blamed the radio hosts, and while that's not exactly fair, I would hope they still feel a little guilty. That being said, the whole thing could have been avoided by not putting so much importance on certain people based on completely arbitrary factors. People would argue that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, and that it doesn't actually have any effect that Britain continues to support this bizarre and antiquated system of hereditary nobility. Ultimately, that's probably the case. However, in this instance, there was a very clear effect, and while the system itself can't actually be held responsible fully, it still played a role.
Not that any of this is surprising. The nobility have been (directly) killing those under them for centuries. What's one more death in 2012? Add it to the roster of deaths caused in whole or in part by keeping up a system based on the opposite of logic. There was a revolution fought in this country which, though multifaceted, aimed partly to destroy this unfair system in the American colonies. Unfortunately, anti-monarchical sentiment didn't last very long. For so many Americans then and now, the allure of power, even an empty power that had little to nothing to do with them, was and continues to be too powerful a draw.
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