Who would kiss the Queen's hand?

[ralis]

This is clearly off topic and should be moved to the pit.

[Marblehead]

This is clearly off topic and should be moved to the pit.

Clearly and intentionally.

[ralis]

Clearly and intentionally.

 

Also I am tired of hearing about British royalty!

[Karl]

Also I am tired of hearing about British royalty!

 

No one ever tires of hearing, or seeing British Royalty. The weddings, the births, deaths, clothes, visits, ceremonies. There can never be enough prime time viewing, front pages, or magazine articles dedicated to such things.

 

 

[Marblehead]

Also I am tired of hearing about British royalty!

Hehehe.  I pretty much figured that was close to the reason for your post.

[Marblehead]

No one ever tires of hearing, or seeing British Royalty. The weddings, the births, deaths, clothes, visits, ceremonies. There can never be enough prime time viewing, front pages, or magazine articles dedicated to such things.

That's what weirds me out.  You folks actually believe that stuff is important and interesting to keep up with.  That sickness has even invaded the USA.

[thelerner]

This is clearly off topic and should be moved to the pit.

did i miss something?  is hand british slang for something?

what part of her were we suppose to be kissing?

 

i'm sure i'll kiss it where ever it is

she's the queen after all. 

Edited September 17, 2015 by thelerner

[Marblehead]

Some people are braver than are others.

[Nungali]

Man, you Brits are really weird about class.

 

The obvious answer to me seems to be that he shouldn't kiss her hand if he doesn't want to, and that nothing should happen as a result because the Queen is a symbolic figurehead and tourist attraction with no real meaningful place in 21st century politics.

 

 

Then she should wack him with this 

 

[thelerner]

I'll do anything for queen and country. 

Plus didn't she write Bohemian Rhapsody thus she must be pretty cool.

[Nungali]

But that's the point, she has no power, sovereign or otherwise, beyond what she wields as a public figure (in the sense of the ability to alter public opinion and so on, much as an actor or singer might do), and even that she rarely uses in any real fashion (and I suspect if she attempted to, she would be a lot less tolerated than she is now). She's a figurehead in the literal sense of the word - kept in place because she serves as a symbol of national identity and as a tourist attraction.

 

Whatever .... just dont cross into her lane ! 

 

 

[Karl]

That's what weirds me out.  You folks actually believe that stuff is important and interesting to keep up with.  That sickness has even invaded the USA.

 

We pay so much for them that we have to treat them like royalty.:-) got to get our money's worth too. No point in paying for something you don't use. I've suggested we put them on EBay. We sold an old bridge, so maybe we could get a good price for someone who doesn't have a set ?

[Nungali]

Well, sure, they weren't called Germans back then but they were still Germans.

 

 

 

Once a German , always a German  .... even before you are a German  

[Nungali]

That's what weirds me out.  You folks actually believe that stuff is important and interesting to keep up with.  That sickness has even invaded the USA.

 

 

Man ... you should try working in the film industry for that one !     Thats where USA 'royalty' resides ! 

 

It is very humorous ( to us) when they try it over here with Aussies ;  

 

 Self important movie Yank; "You there !  Get my bags ! "

 

Aussie movie grunt;  "You there! .... Go fuck yourself !  "  

 

One time, when they got real sick of it ...

 

"You lot ! Pack up my bags, I have to zip back to the 'States for a week ."

 

" Yeah, all right then, "   ( sprinkles cocaine and explosive  powder inside and smears it all over the outside     ) 

 

So, no kissing the hand here  - unless you are Catholic and the Bishop needs his ring kissed. 

[Marblehead]

 

So, no kissing the hand here  - unless you are Catholic and the Bishop needs his ring kissed. 

Just be careful to not turn around while you are still bending over.

 

 

But yeah, there are many Americans who are very arrogant and it shows badly when they visit other countries.  But in my travels I found that most judge the individual according to the individual and I really never had negativity thrown at me just because I was American.

[Apech]

The way I see it is that the Queen as a constitutional monarch and therefore head of state is not so much the person as 'the Crown' ... in the same sense as all state functions, legislation and so on are formally belonging to the Crown = the state.  So kissing the Queens hand as a politician is not subservience to her as a person but more a way, a protocol for acknowledging that what you do is on behalf of and for the benefit of the nation and not yourself.  Americans swear allegiance to the flag - or swear an oath to 'the people' and in actuality this is not much different.  It's very much if it ain't broken don't fix it approach so ... if everyone is generally happy with having a monarch, who symbolises the state but has no real operational powers then why change? 

Edited September 19, 2015 by Apech

[Marblehead]

Yes, I realize that the monarchy is almost totally symbolic today.  But a strong idea that won't be let go of.

[Apech]

Yes, I realize that the monarchy is almost totally symbolic today.  But a strong idea that won't be let go of.

 

 

If we got rid of the Queen we would still need a head of state - presumably an elected president ... and no matter how hard we might try we would not be able to find someone of the quality of Donald Trump.  Its just a fact

[Marblehead]

 ... and no matter how hard we might try we would not be able to find someone of the quality of Donald Trump.  Its just a fact

Well, we could share him with Y'all.

[Nungali]

If we got rid of the Queen we would still need a head of state - presumably an elected president ... and no matter how hard we might try we would not be able to find someone of the quality of Donald Trump.  Its just a fact

 

We could lend you Clive Palmer 

 

 

 

He has a  dinosaur park  ... is building a full scale size replica of the Titanic .... somhow got vast territories of iron filled dirt, that he cant afford to dig up .... and owes China a lot of money ( or the other way around depending on how the court case turns out ) 

 

 

You can have him for free ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2015 by Nungali

[Apech]

[Silent Answers]

Man, you Brits are really weird about class.

 

The obvious answer to me seems to be that he shouldn't kiss her hand if he doesn't want to, and that nothing should happen as a result because the Queen is a symbolic figurehead and tourist attraction with no real meaningful place in 21st century politics.

 

These are not stupid people that rule over us...as much as they'd like you to think so.

[Karl]

These are not stupid people that rule over us...as much as they'd like you to think so.

 

They have spent a lot of time trying to convince the population that they are. One of the 'art of war' rules I would imagine. Attack where they least expect, use the enemies weakness against them-the establishment is small, but the majority are ignorant whilst thinking themselves clever.

[Jetsun]

The Royals get quite a large sum of money for free from the tax payer every year yet they own most of the prime real estate in London including most of the main shopping areas. Their investment portfolio includes stocks and shares in arms companies including those who arm countries like Saudi Arabia and those which are on international human rights watch lists. Its no wonder they like to convince people that they are not influential. 

[Marblehead]

The Royals get quite a large sum of money for free from the tax payer every year yet they own most of the prime real estate in London including most of the main shopping areas. Their investment portfolio includes stocks and shares in arms companies including those who arm countries like Saudi Arabia and those which are on international human rights watch lists. Its no wonder they like to convince people that they are not influential. 

Same here in the USA.  The human animal is what it is.  (A bunch of greedy MFs.)