AC21091968
Royal Highness
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2020
- Messages
- 1,629
- City
- Sydney
- Country
- Australia
Should this go here?
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ortrait-oxford-gavin-williamson-b1862076.html
This does not surprise me. As I've said on another thread recently the monarchy has now become part the culture wars & to mix my metaphors it's not rocket science to work out who's poisoned the well.
It's no longer just the (usually) reasonable discussion about the merits of monarchy vs republic.
I agree with you that the British Monarchy and Royal Family are now part of the cultural world, not just about the head of state constitution debate.
I'm not surprised by this incident of Oxford University students removing the portrait of The Queen from the Middle Common Room of Magdalen College, given that many guest speakers (e.g. Germaine Greer, John McDonnell, Selina Todd) have been no-platformed due to "bigoted, offensive and hurtful views" or even just appearing in a panel with a "controversial figure".
As for King's College London apologising for sending an email with photos of the late Prince Philip, this is the same university that was hiring "safe space marshals" (paid £12 an hour), so that the guest speaker does not perpetrate "safe space breach", as of October 2017. Some students including those from the King's College's Conservative Association and Libertarian Society were strongly oppose to the "safe space marshal" calling it a threat to freedom of speech.
https://thetab.com/uk/kings/2017/10...y-and-national-press-only-found-out-now-17139
https://thetab.com/uk/kings/2017/10...ts-that-could-violate-safe-space-policy-17105
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5013379/Students-bring-12-hour-safe-space-marshals.html
As a person who recently graduated from university and is under the aged of 30, I think these behaviours (getting triggered by photos of Prince Philip and portrait of the Head of State) tarnish the reputation of higher education, graduates and even young people in general. If these students cannot handle portrait/pictures or robust discussion without "safe space", "trigger warning" or "de-platforming", how are they going to interact with people with opposing view in the workplace or just outside university? Or how are they going to survive if they go into government offices/buildings? As mentioned earlier, most people I met in university (with more progressive/left-leaning views) do not behave this way. The student activist who lobbied for these "removal of historical artwork" or "de-platforming speakers" are truely the minority who made the largest noises.