To think the Commonwealth has had its day?

[antelopevalley]

The Commonwealth is a colonialist institution based on a history of conquest and slavery.

"The origins of the Commonwealth come from Britain's former Empire. Many of the members of the Commonwealth were territories which had historically come under British rule at various times by settlement, conquest or cession. The administration of such colonies evolved in different ways, to reflect the different circumstances of each territory."
www.royal.uk/commonwealth

The Commonwealth Games have never been held in an African country. Although there have been exceptions, most years it is held in Britain, Australia, New Zealand or Canada. Since 1930 it has only been held three times in other countries. Or seven countries if you include youth games and paraplegic games.

The Commonwealth has no clear role; it confers no trade privileges upon its members, does not coordinate their defence or foreign policy, and lacks both the budget and the executive authority to make a practical difference in the world.

It is a colonialist hangover that has no clear role and should be abolished.
AIBU?

Second you with this.

That poster put it much better than I did upthread.

He hired a woman’s womb in order to have children. Then barely mentioned her throughout the ’we are having a baby’ and birth announcements. I don’t like men who use women as commodities and then pretend they don’t exist

Surrogates choose to do it.

Whether you agree with surrogacy or not we can't pretend that woman are forced into it. Many want to do it and seek people looking surrogates.

@itsgettingweird it doesn’t matter if they ‘choose’ it - commercial surrogacy is hiring someone’s womb and risking their life to fulfil the desire of a biological child. And it is often women who do it because they’re desperate money, not for altruistic reasons

Do you think the leaders of the these countries, who experience the Commonwealth and see the benefits themselves know less than you? Do you think these countries are too stupid to know what's best for them. Sounds a bit racist to me. Briton knows better than them.

It really is quite a leap of logic for you to claim that I am ‘a bit racist’ and think that people in other countries are ‘too stupid’. Shame on you. It’s rather sad that you can’t argue in a calm and respectful manner. It exposes the weakness of your argument.

Point to one post of mine where I have claimed to ‘know more than’ citizens of commonwealth nations. Or where I have called them ‘stupid’. Or where I have been ‘a bit racist’. You can’t.

The Commonwealth has no clear role; it confers no trade privileges upon its members, does not coordinate their defence or foreign policy, and lacks both the budget and the executive authority to make a practical difference in the world.
It is a colonialist hangover that has no clear role and should be abolished

This infers pretty clearly that the members have no idea what they are doing and why they are members. OK you didn't mention the citizens, but there's a clear inference the leaders must be idiots.

‘China has invested £685 billion across 42 Commonwealth countries since 2005, according to figures compiled by the American Enterprise Institute’.

Presumably China will have more influence over these countries than the Commonwealth given they’ve invested so hugely.

I never said I agree with it.

I said we can't judge woman who make that choice for themselves or assume that in every case they haven't.

I don't agree with always assuming people have been forced into decisions because they aren't ones I'd make or agree with.

antelopevalley · Today 13:40
"@antelopevalley I agree Commonwealth Citizens can not vote in Britain.
There are no real advantages."

Yes they can. My husband has a Canadian passport and certainly votes. (Not Tory by the way)

The Commonwealth has no clear role; it confers no trade privileges upon its members, does not coordinate their defence or foreign policy, and lacks both the budget and the executive authority to make a practical difference in the world.

In other words, it doesn’t have many of the issues the U.K. had with EU membership and ended up being the arguments for Brexit. In a way I can see it’s a kind of club for fellow independent minded countries.

Ignorant.

I don’t judge the women, I judge the people who rent their wombs

Think of the Commonwealth as a Survivors Club for the old colonies

@ marshamelrose

Where are you getting some of your random information? India and Pakistan became members of the Commonwealth in 1947 at the time of independence and have remained members. They have never left it and rejoined.
What they have always said is that the Queen would never be the Head of State. Between 1947 and 1950 when India became a Republic and the Constitution was formally adopted, we only had the Parliament and the Prime minister, and the President, no Queen.

What about the members who were never part of the British Empire?

If the EU was more like the Commonwealth, we'd still be in it.

Sorry, I don't know why I wrote India, I meant South Africa left and rejoined over 30 years later after apartheid was over. Pakistan, though, left in 1972 over the recognition of Bangladesh, and rejoined in 1989. It's also been suspended a couple of times over democracy issues!

With non-British colonial countries wanting to join. Hence Togo and Gabon, neither of them British colonial countries, joining just a couple of months ago.

He is having a year off diving. He didn’t opt out.

PS I volunteered at the games and the athletes definitely took it very seriously.

The reference to the word “para” means parallel not paraplegic!

No, it doesn't and that's your skewed interpretation based on your own brand of Scottish Nationalism.

Tom Daley was part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony along with several gay pride flag bearers. He didn't compete because he's currently campaigning vis a vis gay rights as it's currently illegal to be gay in 35 out of 54 Commonwealth nations.

It had nothing to do with Tom Daley thinking the Commonwealth Games is irrelevant. Once he's achieved his goal, he plans to do the same with other sporting events globally.

Not every nation in the Commonwealth was a British colony....

Aye, and various politicians got involved citing the Good Friday Agreement too.

The OP is a Scottish Nationalist, so this is just part of their anti-British narrative. Nothing more than that.

They are ex-French colonies. The move is widely seen as a way for them to reduce their reliance on France.

OP are you going to answer what you mean when you say the Commonwealth serve no purpose?