Watching Trooping of the Colour - AIBU to feel proud or is it an anachronistic, expensive waste of money?

[Isdinnerreadyyet]

Been watching Trooping of the Colour. I just love the bands, the precision of the marching, the horses - all of it TBH. We do it better than anyone else IMO. Also good for tourism as many tourists come to the UK for the pageantry, palaces etc.

AIBU to feel proud?

Or is it an anachronistic, expensive waste of money?

I understood what you said, but it doesn't chime with my own experience.

I don't associate the perceived achievements of others as something I should take pride from. I might take pleasure in a parent's pride in their own achievement, but I wouldn't take pride in it, myself. And I certainly don't perceive that anything I would feel for a theoretical construct like a nation state is anything like how I feel towards a parent.

So I get it intellectually, but don't get it/feel it/share it.

And I still wasn't lying about it.

And it's only through accident of birth that we're born where we are. I have no sense of patriotic pride in being British, though I accept that some people do. I'll stand politely for the national anthem in order to conform, but I have no pride in ostentatious wastes of money such as this.

I always see right wingers as the underdogs and the nastiness coming from the left. I'll keep a look out for exceptions, I'm sure there are some, but the purity spiral is a left wing phenomenon

We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one then.

Trust me, I’m way too left wing for any current political party to suit me. What I am is multifaceted.

I don't see how pageantry pulls us together. I don't need to be reminded that I'm British because I just happened to be born here.

Actually, right wingers tend to be quite keen on what they see as purity.

Omg! I won the award for the most stupid and ignorant comment on MN !!!!!!!
Thank you everyone who voted.
I can't believe it 🤗
I'm honoured.
Truly honoured.

They are incredibly skilled and well trained. That’s not the same as talent. Not better-not worse. Just different.

I'd have been rather embarrassed to post that vitriol, but you do you.

OK, fair enough. Thank you for taking the time to get that across. For many these things serve as an affirmation of their cultural identity and heritage. I imagine you're quite supportive when people of other ethnicities celebrate their cultural identities and heritage, but recoil somewhat when the English do - I might be wrong, do you have any thoughts on this?

The nation state is a theoretical construct, if you hated it that much you would be keen to do away with the NHS, which rather depends heavily on the existence of a nation state and the obligations we have to pay taxes

I enjoy watching it, and I admire the training and skill, but I don’t understand the pride. In the same way I’m very pleased that I’m British, but I’m not proud to be. I’m only proud of things that I have been involved in achieving-not that just happened to me.

Haha you might be right. I lived there for a few years and it was a lovely experience. The first day I arrived in Paris it was mother’s day and they give free roses everywhere you go. So as I got off the plane the airline handed out free roses, as I left the airport the airport was handing out free roses, and when I went to accommodation the hotel gave free roses, and later I met a friend for supper and the restaurant gave free roses! I think that really swayed me 😍

If the Royal Family wants to stage this sort of celebration, they should at the very least fund it themselves.

I wouldn't even mind having a Royal family if it were more pared back, like some European monarchies.

Same. And she’s so prejudiced against “the left” that she tells a self proclaimed socialist who’s also a monarchist that they’re mistaken, they’re not on the left at all. Now that does take some arrogance. 😂

Not as impressive as Russia either. And at least they had the right idea re what to do with royalty

@MyDelma So shooting and bayoneting a family was the right thing to do?
What method of execution would you recommend for the British Royal family?
Firing squad? Guillotine? Or maybe a slower death by torture?
Would you execute the older generation first for their children to witness, or would you execute the children first in front of their parents?

And according to eye-witness accounts the four young daughters of the Tsar were sexually humilated and assaulted before being killed, too. Is that what you think is so great?

How can you say something so flippant and vicious, MyDelma? Take a moment to think about it - and try to be a human being.

And according to eye-witness accounts the four young daughters of the Tsar were sexually humilated and assaulted before being killed, too. Is that what you think is so great.

One of the things about an anonymous forum is it enables people to give their real views. I think there genuinely are people like @MyDelma who would take pleasure in killing members of the royal family or maybe politicians/ celebrities who he/she disliked.

In my long working life I've come across many, many hard left-wingers and they've been by far the most miserable, angry, unpleasant, vengeful, cruel, sadistic (as exemplifed above by MyDelma) and spiteful people. Also mighty hypocritical!

Just my experience, but I now avoid them like the plague.

No one does this quite like we do. Proud to be British.

The musicians I know who were in the guards regiments and trained at the Royal School of Military Music (Kneller Hall) would surprise you, then. They were very talented and incidentally, all three were working class.

Having tried and failed at music and riding horses, I can tell you that talent IS definitely involved.

Why disparage these serving soldiers and be so mean-spirited about an event which they set a lot of store by, and which is a showcase for their amazing dedication?

What is wrong with people?

You have to ask what’s wrong with people after that spiteful diatribe you posted a few minutes ago?

It is like looking under a stone sometimes - and that's not a great analogy because I love all animals, including invertebrates!!😀

But I've worked with people like MyDelma - and yes, they chill my blood. They seem to lose their humanity. I wonder if MyDelma knows about Mao's Cultural Revolution, or Pol Pot's Killing Fields? This kind of thing could happen again and even here with people like that around.

Which one?

What is wrong with people is that we object to the whole point of this shebang....celebrating the birthday of a random , privileged, talentless waster.

Not even his real birthday.
His pretend one.