Prince Harry - AIBU?

[barniee]

Prince Harry saying "we can all do better" has really irked me- aibu?! He has every want and need satisfied while the majority of us and trying to do right by the environment whilst making ends meet. He is becoming very sanctimonious!

Like it or not, if people like Harry and Meghan are able to change behaviours of enough people, then there is a net positive result

While I agree in principle, I'm not convinced this is going to happen; more likely IMO is that people will be so alienated by the hypocrisy that the message gets lost

We already have some very skilled presenters of the same message - David Attenborough usually gets mentioned - and no doubt they do more flying than most of us as part of the job. But at least some have the credibility which years of commitment to/experience in the subject brings, rather than snatching at some fad because it's the fashionable thing to do

Again, much of this isn't so much about the message as who's delivering it and how they're doing it

Yes, odd.

It would open up the conversation that these threats go to M&H not to K&W, yet too many people are resisting the fact that MM is targeted for her race.

yet too many people are resisting the fact that MM is targeted for her race.

Can we stop bringing this into the equation. The colour of her skin has nothing to do with this thread. People are rightly annoyed at and discussing the hypocrisy being shown by Harry and Meghan. They are discussing this issue because they are being hypocrites not because she is not white.

William and Kate will do exactly the same yet no one will care

Well to start with I don't see William and Kate launching eco-friendly tourist stuff. They also aren't as preachy as Harry & Meghan - it's the hypocrisy that gets me.

Then there probably is something reasonable to be said about William's safety as future king and his son George if they want to fly privately - leaving aside the point about they did go to Edinburgh on FlyBe.

But Harry & Meghan are really nobodies - he's far removed now from the line to the throne. Meghan is a two bit actress. Neither of them are qualified to lecture any of us on the environment. They have no more safety need to use a private jet than any celebrity.

If you want to lecturer to other people, you need to walk the walk.

I'm also really fed up with everyone banging on about how its racist. No it isn't. I dislike Meghan Markle because of her behaviour. If you are signing up to being a member of the Royal Family, you are accepting a public duty and public service. It's totally different from being a celebrity. Kate Middleton understands this.

The paradigm example is her baby shower. Why (when you have all that money) would you host a (very high profile & very expensive) baby shower in the USA. It's rather vile to be seeking gifts in that situation. If she really wanted to do that, she could have done it quietly and privately in someone's home. Instead she picks a central New York hotel and virtually has a red carpet walk of celebs going in and out. It's unpleasantly ostentatious and is totally avoidable celebrity look at me behaviour.

The whole Royal Family need to go once the Queen has died. She is a paeon of public service.

But puzzle isn't it that younger people need to take over from the likes of DA and spread the word. As you say AD and his team do not swim to these venues either .
From the reaction of some pp, the only pp that can actually talk to us about the environment are the small tribes living the jungles in the Amazon, Africa, Asia etc.since they are the only ones who really would not be hypocrites.

It would open up the conversation that these threats go to M&H not to K&W, yet too many people are resisting the fact that MM is targeted for her race.

That's a good point. And would have made for an interesting discussion.

And it's refeshing to read somebody saying that Meghan may be targetted for her race, rather than posting something like: "Hmmm... funny that people suddenly don't like Harry since he married Meghan . Why could that be?".

And I'm sure some of the anti-Meghan bias is racist (one would hope that's the case less here on MN than in some of the media, for example).

I posted a while back saying that the "dog whistle" use of "uppity" isn't even "dog whistle": it's often blatant racism.

I've never had much brief for Harry and the royals and that hasn't changed since he married a bi-racial woman.

And I can't be the only poster here who is tired of having under the radar "you must be a racist if you criticise M&H" comments which are often, tediously, prefaced by the word "Funny...".

From the reaction of some pp, the only pp that can actually talk to us about the environment are the small tribes living the jungles in the Amazon, Africa, Asia etc.since they are the only ones who really would not be hypocrites.

Don't be daft. It depends what you are saying.

If you are encouraging people to use less plastic and you do that yourself = not hypocrite.

If you are widescale lecturing on the environment & carbon footprint but swanning around on private jets (6 times in a v short period) = total hypocrite.

One trip may be a misfortune, 6 is way beyond carelessness.

I think if you've decided environmentalism and reduction of carbon footprints is something that you've chosen to actively promote you really should be trying to follow the ideal a bit more, especially when you are so much in the public eye and know you are scrutinised.
I'm not sure but I know other members of the total family do fly on commercial flights so they cant be such a risk to them. I'm not sure family protection is such a genuine excuse bearing this in mind.
i agree we can all do more to help and I have made huge changes myself, but they are not enough and I could make further improvements, everyone can. Dropping private jets is a huge improvement he could start by making. After so much interest I wonder if any changes will happen?

isn't it that younger people need to take over from the likes of DA and spread the word

For anyone who believes in the cause I'd say this is unarguable, but I've rarely met a younger person who's remotely bothered about what Harry (or any of the RF) have to say. In fact no matter how "woke" he tries to be, many of them have to pause to remember who he even is

And on an allied note, I believe this is how the monarchy will one day end … not because of some "let's chops their heads off" revolution, but because the majority simply won't see a point in them any more

Head, how can it not have anything to do with this thread, when the racists threats are a big part of the excuse why H is saying he is protecting his family, and therefore limiting the risk whenever he can.

Tell, I'm afraid too many people think like you. It's not preaching when it comes from W&K (you even mention qualifications on there?).

And MM did not arrange her own baby shower by the way, this is well reported. Infact I would say she has acted the same way as KM since she got married. The press is just more interested in her. There is no Look at me, because she goes to engagements she is supposed to go to, same as KM.

Talk about making up stuff..............
Now you increase the number to of flights to 6

Dropping private jets is a huge improvement he could start by making. After so much interest I wonder if any changes will happen?

You've got to be joking; the entitlement's too entrenched for that, and there's always the palace to rely on, who as so often will simply refuse to say how he's travelled

FWIW I get that security may prevent them mentioning this before the journey, but it's hard to see any reason for refusing to say afterwards - apart from the obvious one

Talk about making up stuff..............
Now you increase the number to of flights to 6

What are you talking about? Not made up - widely reported:

FULL OF HOT HEIR Prince Harry used private jets for 6 out of 10 flights since marrying Meghan Markle despite his claim he flies commercial 99% of the time

www.thesun.co.uk/news/9860166/prince-harry-private-jets-meghan/

the racists threats are a big part of the excuse why H is saying he is protecting his family, and therefore limiting the risk whenever he can.

Except the racist threats are not the reason they are using private jets because otherwise logically Harry would fly commercial when Meghan was not with him which doesn't happen.

Yes I'm sure there are threats made against her based on her race but to believe that's the only reason he and Meghan choose to fly in private jets is naïve.

Well, I have to admit Head, you got me there, as I am not aware of Harry taking private jets alone since he made that speech about the environment. But I'm sure you have a link on that?

I am not aware of Harry taking private jets alone since he made that speech about the environment.

Its not occurred since he made the speech yesterday but he certainly flew to Sicily for the google summit alone via private jet not too long ago.

If he was so passionate about the environment, he would have made a point to telecommute (get on Skype or whatever) and tell people that they need to change their expectations when it comes to the workplace for the greater good. Working from home should be made an imperative, and people need to get over this juvenile sense that they need to see everyone "face to face". It reminds me of when people used to refuse to online shop, but now Amazon is the world's largest retailer! People's perceptions can change and it has to. He should focus on that, rather than being Mr. Self-Important on a private jet. His hypocrisy does more damage to the environment in more ways than one. He is going to annoy the public to such a point where some will start littering on purpose and do other similar things to rebel against pompous holier than thou twats.

If papers wanted to run environmental hypocrisy themed hit pieces on David Attenborough they could, but they see no value in giving a kicking to an elderly man with national treasure status.

They do however see value in a massive upsurge in hit pieces on Harry and Meghan, it fits an easy narrative (entitled Hollywood outsider pushes her way into Royal Family etc) and gets people usefully annoyed (and angry people consume more media). They could just as easily choose not to run these stories or take a far more positive angle, just as you can be absolutely sure they are choosing not to run similar hit pieces on others at the moment (including William and Kate).

The fascinating thing is that a lot of people read these and think there has been a change in Harry and Meghan’s behaviour, or that these pieces are revealing a newly uncovered truth! That’s not the case - it’s just a change in editorial approach.

Racism makes up just one element of why there is such a fertile and receptive audience for this new approach. That’s mixed in with lots of other reasons though (anti-Americanism, misogyny, class hatred, general anger around austerity etc).

What’s interesting with the media is often not the stories themselves, but why they are choosing to tell you those stories out of all the ones available to them.

Bluegrass

Whataboutism is not going to save Harry's reputation at this point. No one cares about Attenborough's hypocrisy because he's barely even known when you compare him to H&M.

H&M were always going to be in the media spotlight. Anyone remember Grace Kelly? An American actress and probably one of the most well known royals in the world. Meghan was always going to attract that similar level of attention, regardless of any racial background.

The only thing H&M can do now is either choose another cause, go quiet, or stop being hypocrites. If they continue their hypocritical stance then they will be disliked, that's just a fact of life.

They will be liked or disliked in direct relation to how the media choose to report on their activities.

If the narrative suits - a moment of personal tragedy for example - the tone can change very quickly. Then a succession of glowing stories focusing on their selflessness blah blah blah follows and suddenly you’ll find a good proportion of the country laying down their pitchforks to coo over her beautiful smile, marvel over a touching candid moment with a child or write posts saying that really they do talk a lot of sense about the environment when you stop to think about it...

It’s how the game is played.

Bluegrass

Tbh your post reminds me that the media hasn't always been against Meghan. It is really a recent development that has come from H&M's hypocrisy.

You know when the media was in favour of Meghan? When her family came out of the woodwork to put her down. The media painted Meghan as the victim and her father/sister became the villains. The vast majority of comments supported Meghan from what I remember. People were saying they understood why she wouldn't invite Samantha to the wedding or see her because she kept going to the press to say bad things about her. The way the press portrayed it backfired on the Markle family.

Teenage dd says that the social media she's on is full of jokes about H's hypocrisy. These are modern teenagers, so you can't pull any racist card on them, Bluegrass.

Perhaps we're all being manipulated by the media. Stupid us. And what clever, enlightened people who aren't fooled by the evil press, but think that Harry is Quite Right, and good for him for highlighting climate change, and it's None of Our Business if he doesn't feel it appropriate to follow the advice he's doling out to the masses.

I just think he is poorly advised. He is coming across as sanctimonious and hypocritical.

Yes, he’s right. For instance his wife could wear the same outfit twice.

Also, the latest endeavour cannot be blamed on the media. It came from an Instagram post that H&M approved and is a corporate alliance that is questionable at best, sketchy and for profit at worst.