(no subject)

[shadowkat]

Before I try to sleep again. Doing a lot of hacking so putting it off.

1) I've no clue what is happening with British Royal Family at the moment.
Nor care. Except that Twitter keeps talking about mishaps of their publicity campaign, and that Kate appears to be missing in action. The difficulty with the internet is you can't avoid news you don't care about.

2.) As a result of brain fog...I've forgotten what I was going to say...

Comments

[brittdreams]

Honestly, I've gotten sucked into the whole Where is Kate thing because it's absolutely wild that 1) they thought that photoshop job would work on the freaking internet, and 2) that they released that bizarre "explanation" tweet that explained even less, and 3) that they then tried to provide proof of life via a photo that doesn't even show her face. And then that rabbit hole leads to the William's affairs rabbit hole and I wish I knew none of this but also really explains some of the vitriol Megan Markle received (because it was frequently timed to coincide with when the British press were going to drop an affair story).

[shadowkat]

Thanks - this at least explains it. The Tweets are kind of confusing? One said Kate was missing. Another William had affairs. And another that Kate left William over the affairs. Or he'd killed her and absconded with her body? IDK?

Now, I understand why - their attempts to fool the British Tabloid Press blew up in their face. Did they learn nothing during the Diana/Charles and Prince Andrew scandals? Elizabeth's group was better at this sort of thing than they appear to be?

After listening to "Spare" - I got the feeling that they were raised to basically vie for and/or avoid often simultaneously the British Tabloid Press's attention? Harry describes his father competing with his brother for the press's attention, and his father ordering his brother & Kate to do something else, so Camilla & the father will get the front page treatment. Harry's brother also fought with Harry over what charities they did - because of the press coverage.
Then the Crown - showed Diana and Charles fighting over the press's attention, and warred with each other through the press. I swear the British Press and the Royal Family have an unhealthy codependent relationship.

Megan Markle probably thought she could handle it better than Diana did, because she was a television actress and dealt with Hollywood. But the Hollywood Press has nothing on the British Press. The British Press has been at it longer, and is highly enabled the British reading public. Also the British Royal Family is toxic in part because of its dependency on the press.

Tina Brown discusses it briefly in her Vanity Fair Diaries - she was able to take over Vanity Fair in the 80s, because of her coverage of the British Royals in Tattler in the 1970s and 80s.

[brittdreams]

Well, Kate is missing. She hasn't been seen publicly since before Christmas. Eventually they were forced to say she had abdominal surgery and that she wouldn't make a public appearance until Easter at the earliest. But even with that, they haven't released any photos of her that haven't either been massively photoshopped (the Mother's Day photo) or have been grainy side profile photos taken by "paparazzi" while she's inside a moving vehicle. Questions abound about why they didn't say anything about her having surgery (meanwhile the British press asserted that Meghan was evil for not letting them in the delivery room), nor have they provided any additional context. And oh, they dropped that news just after the whole, the King has cancer came out. And William's affairs apparently date back their entire marriage just don't get coverage because of that weird relationship between the press and the royal family.

I haven't read Spare so can't comment there. But I do get the sense from Twitter that Harry is much more done with the press and all that bullshit than William is.

[shadowkat]

I haven't read Spare so can't comment there. But I do get the sense from Twitter that Harry is much more done with the press and all that bullshit than William is.

The audio book is worth a listen - since he reads it himself and he's rather good at it. But it was ghost written - he did not write it himself, he hired someone to write it with him.

But yes, that was the impression I got from the book - that Harry hated the British Press and held them responsible for his mother's death (they pretty much were - The Crown kind of emphasizes that as well), the difficulties he's had in his life, and everything else. He rips them to pieces in his book. And he goes into detail on how his brother and father vie for their attention. His brother clearly caters to him - which is partly the reason for their split.

It is very whiny book though.

Interesting that William followed in his grandfather's footsteps with the affairs, along with his mother's. To be fair to Charles? He only had an on-going affair with Camilla. Actually I think Diana would have been happier, along with the rest of the royals, if Charles had affairs with lots of women but kept them discreet as opposed to just Camilla. Charles is the most monogamous of the bunch in that respect.

Kate and William do not come out well in Spare, however no mention is made of affairs - so Harry clearly didn't know about them. Or they hadn't happened yet?

It's kind of insane that the British Press expects to be allowed to be in the delivery room and to take pictures of Kate's surgery? Dear god. The media needs to be reigned in or given a dose of their own medicine one or the other.

[brittdreams]

I skipped Spare because I've heard that he's whiny and I just can't handle rich white men whining. There's no way Harry doesn't know the affair rumors. The rumors about that date back to 2019... Maybe he just didn't publish them yet because he's saving them for his next "expose"?

AFAIK, they didn't want pictures of Kate's surgery. In fact, the same royal reporters have been defending the lack of any proof of life of Kate saying she should be left alone to recover. It's the disparity that's so jarring imo. Meghan is supposed to let the press in the delivery room but Kate should be left completely alone for months? Can't make it more obvious who you don't like if you're the British press.

[shadowkat]

The British Press is notoriously anti-American and racist. (Keep in mind that a good portion of it is or was formerly owned by Rupert Murdoch and his ilk - all of which are racist. They may claim not to be, but they are - also sexist and homophobic for that matter. ) And they clearly hate Megan. Spare goes into detail on this.

I think Harry probably decided not to be hypocrite - and not to out his brother's private affairs, while railing at the British Press for outing his father's and the rest of his family's in the same breath. That's my guess at least. I doubt he'll write another one - this one kind of got him in a boat load of trouble with Britain and his family. After listening to it - I thought, whoa, talk about burning bridges. I mean he basically rips apart and belittles Britain, and his entire family, along with the Crown in this book. And the British Press. The only ones who kind of gets off unscathed may be his mother, and Aunt Margaret, and possibly Elizabeth and Phillip. He's nicer to his father than expected, but not by much. I thought - damn, Harry, do you want to ever live in Britain or the UK again? Because that's not the way to do it.

I wouldn't recommend you read Spare - it is incredibly whiny. He complains all the way through it. It would annoy you. It annoyed me.

[brittdreams]

Oh I know the British press is notoriously racist (though to be fair that description applies to basically every major press). That said, I doubt Harry ever wants to live in the UK again. If he did, he wouldn't have given up the title and the funding that went with it.

I remember you describing your annoyance with Spare, which fed into my decision not to read it.

[shadowkat]

I don't know - from Spare, it was clear he loved his country and missed it, also his family. I think it's hard to be estranged.

Agreed on every major press outlet falling into that category of racism. The difficulty is our society - and I mean "global" is racist and has always been. And so many of the socio-economic and political systems are based on one race or one group having power over another group. And until that changes...

That said, things are getting marginally better here and there...

[brittdreams]

Estrangement is hard but he has seen firsthand what that would be like given the experiences of his mother...

Things so rarely feel to me like they're getting better, but that might be my own lens on the world.

[shadowkat]

I just remember when they were so much worse? The 1970s and 80s were not the best. I mean, all you have to do is watch some of the old television shows and films from that time period? Also the workplace and schools were more segregated in the 20th Century than they are now. The big difference is we have more access to misinformation now, than we did then? So it seems like things are the same or worse? But there are things happening in our culture that would not have happened back then. Hamilton - would not have been on Broadway in the 1980s or 90s, or before. We'd not have had Black Panther or Get Out in theaters. And we certainly wouldn't have had the number of same-sex couples in commercials. (They wouldn't let them hold hands or kiss in the 20th Century onscreen.) And that's kind of a big deal. Technology and streaming in a way has changed all of that. Also, Gen X, Gen Z and millenials are more "woke" or aware or open minded than the previous ones. So that, gives me hope at least.

[brittdreams]

Ah, maybe it's an age thing since I wasn't watching tv or films in the 70s and 80s, or even most of the 90s for that matter.

That said, schools segregation has been increasing for the past couple of decades ("Wikipedia has a quick summary". It's of course tied to housing segregation and redlining, but also the creation of new school districts by breaking off from larger ones. And we'll have to agree to disagree about Hamilton on Broadway being a net positive.

[shadowkat]

It may be? Just going by my own experience?

In the 1970s, it was a given that schools were segregated in places as far North as West Chester, PA. I remember when they were desegregated in 1978, and I was bused an hour or so away to another school. It was the first time I was with Non-White People in school (that's how bad it was), and I loved the Diversity (possibly the best experience I had in elementary was the desegregation). Then when we moved to Johnson County, Kansas in 1981, there were maybe five people of color at my school? I walked separately with two of them - one was Japanese-American, the other Indian-American. (Note Indian, not Native American). I didn't see any others in the school - it was about a school of less than 1000? We pretty much knew everyone. Or saw them. There were no Blacks in the neighborhood or school district at that time. But there are now. They've since redistricted it, and Blacks have moved into the area. I know this because of my brother - who's best friend still lives in the area, and the recent posts about my high school showing people of color speaking out about racism in the school. (There's still blatant racism, but it's marginally better than it was - when we were completely segregated.)

In College? There were maybe twenty-thirty POC in my college class, possibly a little more, I remember wishing for more diversity and how we fought for that. Now, there about 45% of the population. Then? maybe 5-10%? Also the professors? More diverse than it was then. In 1980s, we had maybe two? Now it's roughly half. Which is impressive - if you know what it once was.

Noticed this also with Congress and the Legislature. In the 20th Century, we would never have had a Black President, let alone a Female Vice President, or one who was a POC, with Kamala Harris' background. That would NOT have happened. We couldn't get any Woman VP in the 20th, and each time one ran - we knew the ticket would lose.

Commercials? There were no POC in commercials in the 20th Century, or rarely. No same-sex couples. Trans? They didn't talk about it at all. The media didn't show it. I knew because of friends.

Workplace? I work in a government agency in a liberal progressive state, and not until 2015, did it become widely diverse. Now the ratio in my department is about 50%/50% or 60%/40% Minority to White. In 2007-2010, it was 20%/80%. Same with management. In 2007, it was heavily white, with one Black manager (my boss). In 2020 - it's 50/50. Also predominately more female managers of color. Still toxic, just less racist and less toxic than before.

So, it has gotten marginally better. Nowhere where I want it to be. But still better.

[brittdreams]

I'm not here to dispute your personal experiences but I will say that they are not the same as mine. I was the only Black kid in class or one of 2-3 for my entire childhood. Undergrad and grad school were no different. I am typically one of the only Black women in my workplace, and that's been true everywhere I have worked full-time except McDonald's.

[shadowkat]

Thanks for sharing.

It may be industry, environment, and state related? I mean we aren't living in the same place or working in the same industry? And each one is different?

Because admittedly there's a huge difference between say working in New York City and Rochester, NY. Or working in Boston, and in Mobile, Alabama. Or working for a private college and a huge state university?

This is another thing that I'm not sure it's a good idea to generalize about - because so much is based on where, locality, etc. But I think we all want to? (shrugs) I know, I fell into that trap - in generalizing - and thinking that my experience was broader than I thought. I have a co-worker who was shocked by the racism she encountered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, she grew up in NYC and hadn't really encountered it to that extent. (She's a Black woman). Meanwhile my mother remembers when there were separate fountains for Whites and for Blacks - she grew up in Missouri and has always experienced segregation - she sees it in South Carolina.

It's as if we're all living in different countries - I think sometimes. But we think we're living in the same one.

[iddewes]

I think Kate has a bowel/intestinal thing and she’s embarrassed. That would explain why she needs so long. Most other non emergency abdominal surgeries are done by laparoscopy nowadays, even hysterectomy, and you don’t need as long with those. I think it’s silly that such a big fuss is made. They probably always edit their photos.

[shadowkat]

That's probably it. Although it's boring - and the press likes scandal. It sounds like the Royals attempts to circumvent the press blew up in their faces again. They have a toxic codependent relationship with the press.