Monday, 23 November 2009

Check This

It is an excellent idea that all Commonwealth countries should face a "democracy health check" every two years. By no means all of the countries that would pass have the Queen as Head of State. But all the countries with the Queen as Head of State would pass. Some, perhaps, with cleaner bills than others. But even so.

It is always worth repeating that apartheid South Africa abolished the monarchy, and did so specifically as an act of anti-British revenge. What have the Pretoria regime's erstwhile defenders to say about that? What have our own anti-monarchists, whom the comments on right-wing blogs increasingly suggest are the same people?

Or about the monarchy's purported abolition in Rhodesia, which went so far as to remove the Union Flag from its own, something that not even South Africa ever did, although anti-monarchists in Australia wish to emulate Ian Smith in this regard? And in Britain, no doubt.

16 comments:

  1. It is always worth repeating that apartheid South Africa abolished the monarchy, and did so specifically as an act of anti-British revenge."

    Yes, if there's one thing we should always remember about apartheid South Africa, it's the abolition of the monarchy. Say that, and you say everything about that regime that needs to be said.

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  2. Break Dancing Jesus23 November 2009 at 17:06

    More imperialist, fascist drivel. As loathsome as the Apartheid regime was, it operated under the crown before the republic was declared.

    Ergo, the Queen as head of state approved of racism. If she was head of state, she and her predecessors had given placid consent to the Apartheid system. By ditching her, the Queen was freed from being tarnished by the government that operated in her name.

    Not that you worked that one out!

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  3. What a simple soul you are, BDJ.

    The National Party was always committed to abolishing the monarchy, an abolition strongly resisted by Mandela and the ANC. I would say "the Boers' revenge", but you'd have absolutely no idea what it meant.

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  4. Thank goodness for all-women shortlists. We don't get Break Dancing Jesus as he calls himself, and we do get you. Result.

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  5. It's the "imperialist, fascist" bit that I find particularly entertaining, especially in this South African context. Where to begin?

    But then again, why bother? Some people are ineducable. Not the people whom BDJ would have in mind, though. If he knew what "ineducable" meant.

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  6. Mandela is a great friend of the Queen.

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  7. Who gave him the Order of Merit, which is in the monarch's personal gift.

    He is not without his faults, and the ANC has too many to list here, whereas the non-violent, non-racial, non-Marxist, pro-Commonwealth and far more successful opposition to apartheid has been written out of history. But Mandela is not without his good points, either.

    Why was Helen Suzman never known as "Dame Helen" after she was given the DBE? South Africa was certainly in the Commonwealth when she was born, just as the then Irish Free State was when Sir Terry Wogan was born.

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  8. BDJ you stupid, ignorant little man, the Imperialists and the Fascists were on opposite sides in South Africa before, during and after the War. Where South Africa is concerned you can't be both, can't be. You have been overrated for 20 years but your hopeless attempts to best David are finally leading people to see through you.

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  9. Break Dancing Jesus24 November 2009 at 10:36

    You never tire of sock puppeteering you silly little man.

    Your crazy plan to nuke India for changing the names of some of its cities says it all.

    The knee-jerk jack booted voice of imperial fascism indeed.

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  10. Fascinating how BDJ cannot cope with the existence of more than one person in the world who does not automatically acknowledge his genius. I assume that he has not seen the latest fate of his heroes in the BJP.

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  11. Tell me about it, James. Backing him over David was the biggest political mistake some of us ever made. By now David would have been in a strong enough position that we really could have insisted on him as PPC and had no AWS.

    As it is we are going to get some teenage girl from outside who is bound to lose the seat and BDJ venting his inarticulate spleen for evermore blaming David Lindsay this, David Lindsay that, David Lindsay the other.

    BDJ used to be overrated but not anymore I can tell you.

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  12. Don't be silly, James. BDJ has never heard of them.

    On-topic, please.

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  13. " What have our own anti-monarchists, whom the comments on right-wing blogs increasingly suggest are the same people?"

    Well, I don't know about right-wing blogs, but if you're suggesting that my dislike of monarchy somehow aligns me with apartheid SA, then my response lies somewhere between sneering at sixth form debating tactics, admiration for your sheer chutzpah, and relief that at least you haven't accused me of raping black babies. I guess we'll consider that a lesson learnt, eh?

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  14. It simply does ally you with apartheid South Africa (and with Ian Smith's Rhodesia), as the ANC understood at the time of the South African referendum, at which, moreover, the voting age was lowered in order to take advantage of the Afrikaaner birth right compared to that of English-speaking whites. Think on.

    The National Party didn't like the Crown, with its subjects having liberties under it. We all know why not. But why don't you?

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