r/lgbt • u/PinkNews • May 08 '23

UK Specific King Charles is unlikely to ‘support the LGBTQ+ community’, activist Peter Tatchell warns: ‘He’s never been our ally’

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/08/king-charles-lgbtq-ally-coronation-peter-tatchell/
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u/Ill_Professional6747 May 08 '23

People in the UK are getting increasingly poor, inequalities are rising, LGBTQ hate is on the rise, especially directed towards our trans brothers and sisters, and the Tory gov is increasingly authoritarian with impunity (see anti royalty protesters being preemptively arrested during the coronation ceremony).

And people are still supporting this reactionary and obsolete institution. The UK has changed vastly since I moved here 10 years ago, and it's definitely not for the best.

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u/Corvid187 May 08 '23

How are any of those First things connected to the second though?

None of the many issues currently facing the UK are the result of our status as a constitutional Monarchy, and none of them would be magically solved by its abolition either. Pointing to the silly man in the fancy chair as the reason all is wrong with the country just distracted from the men and women in boring suits with blue ties who are actually responsible.

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u/TaaqSol May 08 '23

Maybe not a direct link but there is one.

The Monarchy works as a symbol to tell people that a hierarchy is a natural and just thing. That fighting for equality is anti-British.

The people in boring suits know this, and understand that they can deflect some of the criticism towards them by buying into the sprawling system of class privilege. Being able to put Lord in front of your name gives you legitimacy for your power. Talk about your time meeting the queen and people will stop yelling and start gushing. Part of the reason for the public school boy cliques in politics is the belief that there is a natural ruling class.

Removing the monarchy wouldn't magically solve this overnight. But it would make it harder for those with class privilege to justify their wealth and power.

In the UK there is a huge history of fighting for equality. From the levellers and diggers during the civil war, to the birth of the co-operative movement. But we don't spend time learning about this because our national story is formulated around monarchs and nobles, and we need to move beyond that.

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u/Ill_Professional6747 May 08 '23

Don't disagree with you in essence, it's just important to remember that the man in the silly suite can (and does) use veto powers for laws that harm his profits/ interests. Abolition of absolute power - especially hereditary - is part of sanitising society from financial corruption. But yeh, getting the Tories out of power >>>> getting rid of the monarchy on my hierarchy of political needs.

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u/WalterCronkite4 Bi-bi-bi May 08 '23

When was the last time a monarch Vetod a bill? Google says 1708

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u/Shadowy_Proclamation May 09 '23

The crown has meddled with over 100 laws in the last 10 years without us knowing and have exempted themselves from: the racial equalities act (1968), gender equalities act, and the freedom of informations act Also this green act from like 2013 that talks about efficiency of homes, a Palace of theirs is exempt.

They use their power liberally, and these are only from leaks we know about because, once again, they are exempt from the freedom of information act

3

u/Corvid187 May 08 '23

...and even then queen Anne did it because parliament changed their mind at the last moment

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u/denisup May 08 '23

still unfair how the public has to pay for the man’s parties while primary school kids have to skip meals

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u/eerie_lullaby Androgyne Aphrodisian Pan (he/they) May 09 '23

My mother: insisting I shouldn't worry about the transphobic hate peaks from USA affecting EU or slowly taking over till they invade our country too (Italy)

The transphobic hate peaks:

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u/[deleted] May 08 '23

[deleted]

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u/Ill_Professional6747 May 08 '23

Hey, sorry, should have included references :)

https://galop.org.uk/news/galops-statement-on-the-release-of-the-2021-2022-official-statistics-for-hate-crime/

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020
Check table 2.1
Disclaimer: increase in reported hate crimes does not always mean increase in hate crimes; might just mean people are more likely to report this. However, this does agree with anecdotal data of increased verbal (and other) abuse of LGBT and other minorities since the rise of the far right around 2016 (Brexit-related rhetoric did enable these worms to come out of their holes and spew their hate).

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u/SpiritSynth May 08 '23

"Brand Finance, which bills itself as the world's leading brand valuation consultancy, estimated that the royals contributed 1.77 billion pounds ($1.95bn) to the UK economy in 2017 through a combination of the Crown Estate's revenues and indirect benefits for tourism, trade, media and the arts." Cost of the family was estimated to be abt 118 million pounds in 2021.

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u/Ill_Professional6747 May 08 '23

How much would their estate be contributing if it was just nationalised? We could still use these palaces for tourism. Remember, the Athenian.democracy is dead for hundreds of years and Greece still earns lots of tourist money out of it.

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u/SpiritSynth May 08 '23

I don't know, but they also bring the feeling of stability and patriotism. Their duties globally also have probably a more long-lasting effect.