 | | | 
25.04.2011, 20:50
|  | Forum Legend | | Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Roundn'about Basel
Posts: 7,231
Groaned at 105 Times in 95 Posts
Thanked 9,934 Times in 4,178 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | ...By the way, I recognize that the US media is obsessed with celebrity gossip crap as well, but I also think that is silly. However, everyone believes that this is silly even if they are interested. | | | | | So a royal wedding with celebs in attendance is not of interest to the US media... The irony of your question with the above observation is somewhat staggering... | Quote: | |  | | | ...For the british themselves, I'm sure many of the tax payers will tell us what they think about it. | | | | | Actually, I'd be willing to bet that as a percentage, there are very few "UK tax payers" here on EF to give an opinion
... but for the record, tax payers are paying for transportation and security, while the rest is being paid for by the family (although reports I read did not indicate which family...). That said, tax payers and small companies will, in effect, be footing the bill for an additional bank holiday.
However, to echo the OP's original points, though, I do find the spin-offs somewhat sickening, e.g. the coat of arms, the " meet the Middleton's" tv show (which I only just narrowly avoided the other night)
__________________
Never let right or wrong get in the way of a good opinion
| 
25.04.2011, 21:04
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: |  | | | Funny, you seemed to care enough to start a thread about it.  | | | | | I think Americans are offended or surprised Obama is not invited. You can definitely sense it on the news or the press even if the subject is not directly addressed.
| 
25.04.2011, 21:05
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | I think Americans are offended or surprised Obama is not invited. | | | | | Obama who? | 
25.04.2011, 21:10
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | Barry Obama. | | | | | Oh, Derek's brother!
I don't think they invite those kinds of people to such events. One doesn't want to bring down the tone...
| 
25.04.2011, 21:12
| Forum Legend | | Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Zurich
Posts: 13,873
Groaned at 1,324 Times in 887 Posts
Thanked 20,740 Times in 7,950 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | As a United States citizen, I couldn't possibly care any less about the royal wedding. However, since I only have 1 English language television station and it is some form of CNN with a bunch of British announcers, I am forced to watch all sorts of news about the silly wedding and the silly royal family who doesn't have any importance at all to the world. Can someone please explain to me why you care about the royal family and royal wedding? It seems so so meaningless in every way yet seems to be dominating the media (even on US news websites).
By the way, I recognize that the US media is obsessed with celebrity gossip crap as well, but I also think that is silly. However, everyone believes that this is silly even if they are interested. | | | | | The British Royal family have no relevance or importance in this world? It's easy to forget that it's only a tad over a hundred years ago, a blink of the eye in historical terms, that their ilk was still a big influence and power in Britain (and indeed the world), at the height of it's colonial power, while you guys were still busy massacring the Native Indian population of America. Queen Victoria, you may have heard of her?
The Royal Family may now be ceremonial in nature, but they still (imo) symbolise much of what is (or was, depending how you look at it) great about Britain, and are an integral part of our culture and heritage in a nation that was ruled absolutely by monarchs for the vast majority of its history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch...United_Kingdom
However, coming from a land where you've only had a cultural identity for a mere couple of centuries or so, and where some believe the world was created on the day the United States of America was born, I guess your lack of appreciation for the rest of the worlds history can be forgiven.
Either way, i'd rather celebrate the wedding of a true institution that is a real and identifiable part of our culture and heritage, than hear about the latest wedding of some meaningless movie stars like Tom Cruise and Katy Holmes, who probably got just as much coverage yet weren't even remotely as deserving of it.
Last edited by Chuff; 25.04.2011 at 21:31.
Reason: Spilling & grommor
| 
25.04.2011, 21:21
|  | Forum Legend | | Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somewhere special far away
Posts: 4,322
Groaned at 69 Times in 51 Posts
Thanked 7,190 Times in 2,662 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? ............... | 
25.04.2011, 21:31
|  | Forum Veteran | | Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: UK (formerly Zurich)
Posts: 2,098
Groaned at 22 Times in 21 Posts
Thanked 2,315 Times in 1,179 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | ............... | | | | | Copy that! | 
25.04.2011, 21:50
| Junior Member | | Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Zurich
Posts: 50
Groaned at 12 Times in 4 Posts
Thanked 12 Times in 8 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care?
Thanks everyone for weighing in on the subject. Of course, I was looking to rile some people up. Looks like I did. Maybe some of the below statements will rile a few more maybe not. I still just think all the wedding hubbub is funny, so I appreciate you letting me know why you care at all.
@TiMow: sports and ridiculous government spending on frivolities have nothing to do with each other. Plus, the British can’t talk about silly sports.
@Mikey: the British revolutionized the art of paparazzi, so I don’t understand your comment.
@FrankZappa: I can’t speak for everyone in the US, but I don’t think that anyone I’ve ever met in the US wishes they were in the Commonwealth. Most people don’t even know what that really is other than a sports league and a silly reason to put the queen’s face on Canadian money.
@smackerjack: | Quote: | |  | | | No country does a wedding like the British royals - every horse will have tack that has been shone,every uniformed person will be perfect and it will all go like clockwork. London is looking fab this week.
Yes,so many people are not really interested but as the news tends to be gloomy on most fronts it is nice to forget that and have an excuse to focus on happy news and have a day of getting together with friends and have your own day of celebration - and most of all
- Everyone loves a wedding -don't they? | | | | | that last bit is a pretty good reason to care. There is a lot of crap going on in the world. I guess why not watch a silly wedding.
@Sky: I just don’t think that it is history that matters at all anymore and
@Meisie: I knew it was a little girl’s princess fantasy. I’m glad you’re honest. That’s cool.
@Carlos R: You seem smart. Your first statement confuses me, but your second statement is very informative and a good observation.
@Richdog: haven’t the British massacred none too few in their day? It seems difficult to judge someone else’s sins to me.
| 
25.04.2011, 21:59
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | Of course, I was looking to rile some people up. | | | | | Really?
Glad you cleared that up for us. | 
25.04.2011, 21:59
|  | Forum Legend | | Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somewhere special far away
Posts: 4,322
Groaned at 69 Times in 51 Posts
Thanked 7,190 Times in 2,662 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care?
Oh but it's never about history.... until it is.
| 
25.04.2011, 22:13
| Forum Veteran | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Vaud
Posts: 2,459
Groaned at 175 Times in 122 Posts
Thanked 4,947 Times in 1,902 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | Thanks everyone for weighing in on the subject. Of course, I was looking to rile some people up. Looks like I did. Maybe some of the below statements will rile a few more maybe not. I still just think all the wedding hubbub is funny, so I appreciate you letting me know why you care at all.
@TiMow: sports and ridiculous government spending on frivolities have nothing to do with each other. Plus, the British can’t talk about silly sports.
@Mikey: the British revolutionized the art of paparazzi, so I don’t understand your comment.
@FrankZappa: I can’t speak for everyone in the US, but I don’t think that anyone I’ve ever met in the US wishes they were in the Commonwealth. Most people don’t even know what that really is other than a sports league and a silly reason to put the queen’s face on Canadian money.
@smackerjack:
that last bit is a pretty good reason to care. There is a lot of crap going on in the world. I guess why not watch a silly wedding.
@Sky: I just don’t think that it is history that matters at all anymore and
@Meisie: I knew it was a little girl’s princess fantasy. I’m glad you’re honest. That’s cool.
@Carlos R: You seem smart. Your first statement confuses me, but your second statement is very informative and a good observation.
@Richdog: haven’t the British massacred none too few in their day? It seems difficult to judge someone else’s sins to me. | | | | | The problem here is people are responding in a way that suggests you understand cultural identity. Of course, being American, this is not the case but it is common for people to argue until they are blue in the face of their fellow American debater not realising that it is not, as you say, any malice or disdain for the Royal Wedding, it is simply that you do not understand it.
To bridge such a wide cultural chasm over the course of a few bulletin board messages is simply impossible - should it be so then in all likelihood American's wouldnt go marching around blowing up countries the most of which the average yank couldn't even pinpoint on a map - so to answer the question directly, why do the British get so wound up about a Royal Wedding when you can see no relevance or point to it at al ? it might be better to think of the Royal Wedding not as a wedding but as a medical procedure and all the British have got fully comprehensive cover (even with pre-existing conditions) and so are Entitled to watch the wedding fully covered and will not be left to die in the marriage street (so to speak) because of a lack of insurance.
| 
25.04.2011, 22:26
| Junior Member | | Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Zurich
Posts: 50
Groaned at 12 Times in 4 Posts
Thanked 12 Times in 8 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care?
@MikeB: I'm totally lost in your sea of condescendingness. I didn't understand a word you said.
| 
25.04.2011, 22:27
| Forum Veteran | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Vaud
Posts: 2,459
Groaned at 175 Times in 122 Posts
Thanked 4,947 Times in 1,902 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | @MikeB: I'm totally lost in your sea of condescendingness. I didn't understand a word you said. | | | | | I think that just about wraps it up then. could someone please close the thread ?
| 
25.04.2011, 23:14
| Junior Member | | Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Zurich
Posts: 50
Groaned at 12 Times in 4 Posts
Thanked 12 Times in 8 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care?
why would someone close the thread?
| 
25.04.2011, 23:17
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | why would someone close the thread? | | | | | Because it's a rather pointless attempt at trollery, started by someone who isn't really interested in the answer, to be answered by people who have no hope of ever explaining it to him.
| 
25.04.2011, 23:23
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care? | Quote: | |  | | | I think that just about wraps it up then. could someone please close the thread ? | | | | | Mikeb,
There is an enormous interest in the US. It is in every single magazine and we are bombarded on TV with reports on the upcoming wedding. Many people have at least some fraction of British ancestry and are therefore interested.
In general, I have not detected any contempt from Americans. British expats in the US are more ambivalent I noticed.
| 
25.04.2011, 23:25
|  | Forum Veteran | | Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 1,207
Groaned at 6 Times in 4 Posts
Thanked 560 Times in 318 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care?
The fortunate thing about living in Switzerland is you can turn off CNN, forget about the wedding and get some swiss german cultural TV when the wedding is on | 
25.04.2011, 23:32
| Junior Member | | Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Zurich
Posts: 50
Groaned at 12 Times in 4 Posts
Thanked 12 Times in 8 Posts
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care?
@AnAustralian: well said. I should turn my tv off more.
| 
26.04.2011, 00:04
| | Re: Royal Wedding....Can someone explain why you care?
There are several reasons why I care, or rather, why I'm quite interested in the event.
What I don't understand is why the OP doesn't understand.
Why would I NOT have some interest in a major constitutional event affecting my nation's history, especially if there's a ton of spectacle attached? And the clincher is that at the heart of this event is a couple of kids getting married.
It seems that the OP is asking the wrong question. His/her exasperation is really with the amount of foreign media coverage it's getting. To reduce his stress levels he should be aiming questions at CNN et al rather than British consumers of the event.
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Thread Tools | | Display Modes | Linear Mode |
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | All times are GMT +2. The time now is 17:52. | |