I never ceased to be amazed at the fascination in the US with the British royal family, deeply engrossed over the minutiae of their lives. The normal pettiness, backbiting, and other dysfunctionalities that always exist in large extended multi-generational families suddenly become newsworthy if it involves any member of that family.
The latest is some fuss over the naming of a baby, if you can believe it.
What next? That there is disagreement over what brand of disposable diapers they want to use?
Give it a rest, media.
Sheesh.
The media puts out whatever they think will increase sales/ratings. The Royals stuff is mostly harmless, if annoying. But the same motivations can actually be harmful.
There is no doubt in my mind that people have died because of the media’s handling of the whole AstraZeneca blood clot malarkey (I’m specifically thinking of the CBC, which is supposed to be a reputable news source). Yes, side effects are newsworthy and should be reported, but the continuous, breathless emphasis on the few deaths, followed by ‘news’ about the public’s growing doubts (gosh, where did they get those?), without any context, has been criminal IMO.
I don’t recall a single story in a major outlet about comparing the risk to that associated with other commonly used drugs. Maybe pointing out that Viagra has ten times the risk would have helped.
If there was an olympic event for not giving a shit about things, I am pretty sure I could lead the US No Fucks Given squad to victory, if the topic was “the royals.”
Even the Thai royals are more interesting, and they’re such corrupt loons they’d impress the Saxe Coburg Gotha-wumble-mumble oh so British royals, who know a thing or two about looting.
Marcus @2: The captain of the squad wouldn’t even have read beyond the title of the OP, let alone posted about the total lack of fucks given.
On a related note, a racist buffoon with a history of inappropriate comments was finally fired for her racist remarks about this new kid. The racist was forced to apologize back in March (and gave a not-pology) after another vile comment.
Why do scum like them keep getting extra chances? If you ever reach the point of saying “this is your last chance”, fire them instead of giving it.
A short while back, came in to work, and a coworker told me Prince Phillip(?) died. I said: “oh. who’s that?”
Coworker told me he was married to the Queen of England. I didn’t even realize the Queen of England was married…
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I, too, could not give a rat’s caboose about the royals. People whose claim to fame is being born? Whatever happened to meritocracy, equal opportunity, etc.?
Being born into royalty is not their fault.
(Also, talking about ignoring them is not ignoring them)
@Intransitive, 4:
“Why do scum like them keep getting extra chances?”
To paraphrase the best gag from forgotten sitcom “Hot Metal” : assholes sell newspapers, and fortunately for the Barclay twins they also buy them.
Shorter version : money.
I must say that, however over-excited the American press gets about royals, the British press is even more so.
I resent that people who are merely notorious for no reason are even forced into my consciousness at all. Like the Kardashians: I resent that they were made to take up any space in my brain just from me reading the news, in which that name occured so often in headlines that I finally remembered it.
I once was having dinner in England, and another guest, who had been a British naval officer and so must have been out at sea a lot, asked me “What is McDonald’s?” I hardly cared to tell him. Anyone so fortunate as to have their unconsciousness extend so far should keep it that way.
“Give it a rest, media.”
I wouldn’t mind if you gave the good example (pardon me my Dunglish) yourself. I’ve read the header and this very sentence only. As the Dutch media aren’t any better regarding the family Van Oranje Nassau this is something I’ve been practicising for decades.
I lived in Germany and Italy for several years after I graduated*, and one of the things that puzzled me about the popular press and TV programmes in both countries was their obsession with the utterly mediocre and crashingly dull Saxe-Coburg-Brown-Windsors. It was my 27th birthday and my younger sister had come to spend the summer with me in Turin. We thought we’d go out for a meal and a drink to celebrate -- but it was 29/7/1981 and every TV in every bar was tuned to the Royal Wedding. We thought we could ignore the whole wretched affair, but we’d forgotten that as soon as anybody heard us speaking to each other, they would realise we were English and would assume we were utterly delighted by the Chas and Di Show. In common with around a third of our fellow Brits, we really couldn’t care less, and I’d already learned enough Italian to say “spiacenti, ma siamo repubblicani. Ci ne fregiamo.” In the end we fled to the park to escape the dissapointed faces.
*something young people will now find it very hard to do, thanks to the fruitcakes, imbeciles, fascists, and crooks who caused Brexit. May they rot.
There’s only one thing funnier and simultaneously more depressing than people obsessing over the British royal family, and that’s the people queuing up to performatively express their lack of interest. We get it -- you’re better than the plebs.