What exactly is "the Sussex Squad"?

[Prydddan]

I don't know whether this is too controversial a topic for such a thread to be allowed to stand. But I post in good faith on a topic I believe has a lot of social and political relevance.

Does the "Sussex Squad" actually exist? If so, how do you join? If not, do people ever identify as belonging to it?

If it exists, was it hijacked by SarahData and Bouzy or was it their creation? And, if so, to what extent?

Thanks in advance.

Just to thank you all for your informative posts, the shared links and information. I've got a better idea now of how the SS started out (with good intentions) and how it evolved into the kind of operation that could script and control debates and do personal and political harm for ideological reasons.

I still have no idea why some people with clout, who could be doing better things with their lives and talents, are so invested in ideologizing what started off really as a Team Aniston - Team Jolie-type spat.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw those posting patterns - content and strategy - and that I wasn't going down my own personal COVID-times conspiracy theory rabbit hole.

These are the sort of people who believe in conspiracy theories. That W&C were about to divorce/DV/death of cousin's husband/paternity of Hanbury child etc.
The utter nonsense spouted about the "British Media" being controlled by the RF, and other tinfoil hat rubbish.
Also basic ignorance about the Constitutional Monarchy and the role of Parliament. Open a book! I had to give a link to someone to explain why King Charles doesn't make laws.
Seriously 🙄

The utter nonsense spouted about the "British Media" being controlled by the RF, and other tinfoil hat rubbish.

All the ridiculous stuff about the 'BM' being subservient to the royals made me think that most of these posters are not British or are very young. Perhaps both.

Printing scandalous stories about various members of the royal family has always been a staple of the 'BM'. Sometimes it's done quite openly, at other times more indirectly, as with all the 'concern' over Kate's absence. It didn't start with Meghan and it won't end with her.

I thought this one person must've been American because of the ignorance of the UK system eg misunderstanding red boxes, what Councillors of State do etc.
If some of these people are British, the ignorance is alarming!

It didn't start with Meghan and it won't end with her.

That ⬆️

I think there are a lot of people involved in this particular conversation (all over the internet, not just here) who aren’t British and have misunderstood quite a bit some of the cultural context in discussions around the royal family. Which wouldn’t be a problem if they then didn’t double down when corrected.

The worst thing about this whole situation is that they drove the Rise Hanbury rumour into the mainstream and now that poor woman and her family are going to have to sue to try to claw back her reputation. They did that out of spite and jealousy. Pathetic.

That's an "interesting" article, @Turtlerussell and people who write this kind of thing actually remind me of some of the wilder personal claims of H&M and their "achievements".
Extraordinary level of ignorance. No idea where to begin! Basically all fantasy.

You'd think they'd do just a bit of research. Obviously not. Don't let wrong information get in the way of what you want to say!

But they idealise people who prize "their" truth, and who openly claim that false memories are as valid as real ones.

I think that's the danger, @Prydddan . The attempted destruction of objective truth.
You can't have "my truth" or "his truth".
It's not just silly and self absorbed, it's actually damaging to debate.

I am fascinated about what drives these forelock tugging poster kissing Meghan and Harry screeching squad fans. Looking through their websites and their podcasts, they talk about the gruesome twosome as though they’re the second coming

Oh yes, the accusations of forelock tugging and grovelling if you out yourself as in any way supportive of the monarchy but that somehow isn't the same if you're a Sussex supporter.

Months ago I asked a regular poster who described themselves as republican why they were such a supporter of a member of an institution that that poster wanted abolished. Not being goady, I was genuinely interested (and still am) in how someone squared that circle to their own mental satisfaction. They acknowledged the dissonance and that it was a good question.

Stll waiting for the reply. 🤔

This was precisely my personal experience. I was constantly indulging in mental gymnastics to avoid thinking negatively of Meghan and Harry in various situations. (For example: “I know they said X but I’m going to assume what they really meant was Y, and Y is okay”).

I did that for quite a while, and often defended their actions. But having to do it consistently, over and over again - eventually I realised what I was doing. That I was having to reframe loads and loads of things that were happening in order to justify them to myself. And it wasn’t just once or twice. And often it meant I had to assume the worst of other people too, despite having no reason to believe they were lying/racist/jealous etc.

Once I realised that was what I had been doing, I couldn’t do it any more.

That article is hilarious, TurtleRussell. This passage particularly stood out:

They’ll clutch their pearls at the thought of Mrs West’s oiled bottom, but in reality, they wish they had even a shred of that level of organic press attention, popularity and fandom as other celebs do.
No one drops a new single like BTS.
No one drops a surprise album like Beyonce.
Nothing goes viral like a new Netflix documentary.
No one (love it or hate it) get’s people talking like Kim.
For the record, I’m not comparing these people in-terms of talent (lol, of course not) I’m comparing them because of their REACH. The reach is GLOBAL. They are not just limited to British shores.

The writer completely fails to understand that the Royals are not celebrities. They are famous because of the roles they are born into. And yes, their reach is enormous - the global coverage of QEII’s funeral and Charles’ coronation shows that to be true. But they are using it primarily to promote UK PLC, or their individual projects, mostly aimed at bettering the lives and experiences of others, not themselves as individuals. Not something Harry and Meghan seemed to get.

Part of the reason I started this thread was to try to understand how posters would interprete a particular thing - for example, the when-we-got-married lie - to show H&M in a good light. Then the next thing would drop - for example, M never said the RF was racist - and there they are, contorting words and concepts to explain away the inconvenience. There seemed to be no re-evaluation or learning on the part of those posters.

And I found myself wondering - what would be the line H&M would have to cross, for them to allow that, oooh they shoildn't have said/done that.

If there is an on-script Sussex Squad, that makes sense of this phenomenon.

Unfounded accusations of racism and misogyny, however ridiculous, worked to silence many online which was clearly the only intent. It’s sick and devalues the true fight against racism, the true fight against misogyny, to use those words as weapons.

SussexSquad tactics have been given daylight now, though. It won’t work any longer.

This a group that believes the ends justify the means. So a woman claiming she lost her job because she was harassed by royal fans can raise $10K. When the truth is she posted about wanting to kill people for getting in her way on escalators. And her employer was a science and arts center serving children, that has escalators.Bouzy promoted this scam fundraiser to the squad and many donated. He had to know the truth.

These are manipulative, bullying, narcissistic liars.

There seemed to be no re-evaluation or learning on the part of those posters.

Yes, there is a real sense that the mileage is always re-set to zero, and we only ever consider events individually. No significance is given whatsoever to what is, by now, a course of conduct stretching over several years.

That blog is absolutely hilarious, @Serenster. The equating of the RF with Hollywood celebs and how we all remember what the Kardashians were doing on a specific date but not what the royals were doing so the Ks are just more relevant, amirite?

Bet the Ks aren't still posturing and pouting when they're 96, though.

I was just thinking that they're comparing two wholly different things anyway, and how sad it is that the date of that is actually a reference point in their lives that's worthy of using as a benchmark for anything else. As you say, it's very revealing about their thinking (for want of a better word).

And I'd put money on the fact that when KK finally leaves us, presidents won't be queueing up to pay tribute and international architectural icons won't be either darkened or have her face on them. THAT'S global reach. Not having your arse oiled (why exactly? no, on second thoughts, don't bother).

And I found myself wondering - what would be the line H&M would have to cross, for them to allow that, oooh they shoildn't have said/done that.

I think that’s what a lot of us have been wondering. I am coming to the conclusion that there actually may not be a line. It’s why some (inc myself) are now drawing parallels to a cult.