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7 dead 16 wounded at attack on Dutch queensday.
Felsir:
--- Quote from: shmokes on May 09, 2009, 03:03:43 pm ---So you have somone who travels to the country to watch this stuff and generate goodwill. Why does this person have palaces and 1000 acre estates and fly on private jets and live in the lap of luxury? I mean, the fact that they serve some kind of purpose is no answer to that question. The local postman serves a governmental purpose.
--- End quote ---
Because if the queen lived on Dullstreet 7, 2nd floor, it wouldn't be a credible queen. Same goes for the POTUS to live in the White House- it serves as a place to work but also to live at a standard that 'fits' the job description. Just as people expect a president (or CEO of a large corporation) to have his own entourage, private plane etc, people also expect that from royals.
Besides, if we didn't have a queen/king those palaces are still being payed for by taxes since these are monuments. The Palais du Louvre's maintenance bills are payed for by taxpayers, even the last royal (or emperor) has moved out. So we might as well have people live in these places.
The discussion wether royalty is justified or not is futile. If you grew up in a country without royalty you wouldn't miss them. If you grew up in a country with royalty then it is such a big part of that countries culture that it is not easily dismissed. The king or queen of a country is part of a national identity that often cannot be rationalised.
It is somewhat similar to a discussion I read elsewhere about a proposal to change the American flag, to some it is just a piece of cloth, to others it is a symbol. Royalty is a waste of taxmoney to some, it holds value to others. If the flags function was replaced by another type of flag or if the job of queen/king was replaced by an elected person instead, it would technically make little difference; however in the hearts of people it is not the same.
Personally I feel the dutch queen does a great job, her son would be an excellent king. They are great ambassadors for the Netherlands and show interest in their subjects. People award great value to a visit of the queen, more than a visit by the PM. It is a ceremonial role that would leave a void if the royals would be gone.
patrickl:
--- Quote from: Level42 on May 11, 2009, 03:18:47 am ---
--- Quote from: patrickl on May 10, 2009, 04:50:07 am ---Oddly enough the people who died were all reasonably old. The 46 year old leady who died yesterday was the youngest. The others vary in age between 50 and 71 years old.
--- End quote ---
Not that odd. Firstly it's mostly older people going to these kind of parades on average. Second, they probably have the least chance of surviving something like this because of their age and for the same reason they may have been the one's unable to be quick enough to escape the oncoming car.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, I was thinking that it was that the kids were standing infront, while the car came from behind.
Anyway, I thought the public looked rather more mixed in age than the group of victims. Not sure what the ages were of the people who got injured, but apparently the 3 kids at least all survived being hit.
Level42:
I think Felsir explained it very well. The short speech that the queen gave after the incident, the visiting of Willem-Alexander and Maxima to the people who lost a beloved person in that tragic event......it's all a lot warmer than anything a president can offer. In private, they can have a much different role than a president that has political responsibility.
I'm not a real "fan" of our royality, I wouldn't be standing in a crowd to catch a glimpse of them, but how they responded was impressive IMHO.
They show they are close to the people in the country and the people appreciate it.
The really funny thing is that the queen and her family have a pretty big support amongst people who immigrated here.
Now, leave us alone and let us run our country as we like.
Level42:
Let it be well noted that I did not take any part in any "idiotic rant about America".
Dartful Dodger:
The U.S.A. fought against a monarch that was treating Americans unfairly.
Franch and Russia were ruled by idiots so messed up and cruel that the people in those countries tried to kill off their royal families.
England and Dutchland owe their royal families a great deal, They brought their scattered tribes together to unite those countries and not didn’t take advantage of their people after they created a united country.
They have and should have a great deal of respect and pride for their royal families. Just like we have a great deal of respect and pride for the rebels that fought against the unfair royal families that ruled us.
To further press the importance of their royal families, look at how backwards Russia and Franch are now. They traded an unfair monarch system for an unfair communist/socialist system.
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