Sussexes statement about Californian wildfires

[PrettyFlyforaMaiTai]

Meghan and Harry have released a statement in regards to the California wildfire via their Sussex.com website.

It reads:

”In the last few days, wildfires in Southern California have raged through neighborhoods and devastated families, homes, schools, medical care centers, and so much more – affecting tens of thousands from all walks of life.
A state of emergency has been issued.
If you feel compelled to help, here are some resources and ideas:
Support
Organizations such as José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, which has been a longtime partner of The Archewell Foundation, are serving meals to both first responders and victims of the fire.
CAL FIRE and LA Fire Department Foundation and others are working closely to support firefighters who risk their lives, bravely showing up in these high-risk environments to help save homes, families, and communities in need.
Animal Wellness Foundation is continuing to house and care for animals evacuated by the fires while Compton Cowboys is providing emergency transportation services for horses.
Airbnb and 211LA have partnered to provide free, temporary housing for those who have been displaced.

Baby2baby is providing essential supplies including diapers, clothing, hygiene products, and emergency kits to families in need.
All Power Books and many others are staying open for emergency use, offering supplies and water for pickup while working tirelessly to distribute essentials to those affected.

Open your home
If a friend, loved one, or pet has to evacuate and you are able to offer them a safe haven in your home, please do. And be sure to check in with any disabled or elderly neighbors to see if they need help evacuating.
Give back
Some families and people have been left with nothing. Please consider donating clothing, children’s toys & clothing, and other essentials. The American Red Cross is on the ground helping those in need.”

In the US, people are calling it disaster tourism.

But what is the real difference?

One party is representing a government / country as the head of state.

Statements from head of countries are part of official diplomatic discourse.

Published announcements from celebrities - major to minor can be culturally significant sometimes but are mostly entertainment gossip.

From the Office of indicates that the person has an official position and is making a statement on behalf of something larger than themselves

From the Office of (say) Ricky Gervais sounds ridiculous. He is just a guy. He doesn't represent anyone other than himself. Just like Harry and Meghan.

From the Office of the Mayor of New York makes sense because that person has a representative role.

'From the Office of' works when someone holds public office, an official position. It is a way of making it clear they are speaking as the holder of that official position, not in their personal capacity.

It is a different meaning of 'office' than 'a building where people work in clerical occupations'.

It is quite entertaining to see H&M clinging on to their fantasy of still having an official position - having chosen to walk away from the official position they did have. Slightly sad as well, admitting that as private individuals they don't have much to bring.

I'm surprised the king has not already sent a statement.

Their statement didn’t pledge funds or help, it pointed to places people could donate. No one is mixing up a statement from Harry and Meghan with an official UK position.

The pigeon dogwhistling is getting boring – I’ve reported several instances of it and Mumsnet has deleted them. It’s troll-hunting. If you think someone isn’t posting in good faith, report it.

Are people deliberately taking the proverbial with the 'what's the difference' game?

Would they ask the same question about a statement from Joe Biden as opposed to a 'statement' from Kim Kardashian?

The Californian drought is now predicted to last through Jan and Feb and into March, so the fires could well worsen in the medium-term and not 'just' Tues-Weds, with the devastation increasing and the death toll rising month by month.

This would make the postponement of the 'pursuit of joy' lifestyle show pointless, really.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/jan/13/la-fire-wildfire-live-california-palisades-wind-santa-ana-gavin-newsom-latest-usa-updates

This had crossed my mind too. How can anyone be sure that there won’t still
be an issue with wildfires in March? I think, given that the shows focus on a feel good Cali vibe it was probably wise to postpone, but part of me wonders if, given the rumours that M is unhappy with the trailer, it might also be a chance for her to rectify anything she sees as an issue? I doubt it will make much difference to how the series will be received when it finally airs but that might be her plan 🤷‍♀️

typo

They can’t be sure - no-one has a crystal ball for this. So they’ll meet that eventuality when (and if) it arises

I think some people genuinely don’t see the difference.

M was unhappy with the trailer??? Wouldnt she have had in put into it and made any changes???

She's the producer.

I think it's more likely she's unhappy with the public reaction to it.

Yes that is more what I meant

Oh I see I get you. I actually quite liked it, although I can see the similarities to the Marchonesses.

Well the walk around is certainly keeping both H & M in the spotlight.

A Japanese crown princess and her husband live in NYC. They both have jobs. He passed the NYS bar exam and is a licensed lawyer.

They don't show up with film crews or make statements at 5-alarm fires, blizzards, floods, etc. They also take mass transit.

Well good for him and that makes sense if he is a lawyer and not an actor/lifestyle blogger. As has been said before, LA is Meghan's home. Acting is, or was, her trade. It makes perfect sense for H&M to be offering support to the relief effort in their locality among people they know. People are just using any or every piece of news to post negatively about her now and it's getting ridiculous. And you would think that posters on Mumsnet would have more sense than to follow the lead of the Daily Mail and similar frankly.

All kudos to them.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden used to live in Florida with her British husband and their family. She used the name Madeleine O'Neill and lived a typical rich lady life, hanging out with fellow Swede Elin Nordegren and basically keeping to herself. Plenty of other royals live in America and manage to have private lives, without the need to make 'statements' from 'offices' which don't exist.

And actually, the way she went about it was brilliant.

I don't think there's a royal family anywhere as dysfunctional as the Japanese Emporer's. Generations of dysfunction (fascinating, truly, really worth a good read). This young woman decided she wanted out, for reasons which are obvious to anyone with a little knowledge of that world. She also wanted to marry her "commoner" husband (he's not that brilliant, failed the bar exam first time round etc - but whatever, she chose him). So, she negotiated with her family to leave on terms suitable to her and not deleterious to the family or its obligations to the people of Japan. She made a formal exit, with the blessings of her family (she's very close to her sister), bid a dignified and respectful farewell to the people in a small ceremony, and was waved off at the airport. It was, according to the press, extremely difficult for her - but she did it with grace and there's no rancour between her and her family. They apparently remain close, and respectful of each other. I watched the farewell with a lump in my throat as she was just a young woman leaving behind everything she knew - family, friends, country, culture, everything - for New York and this young man. She must have felt the weight of her decision really heavily. Such a strong young woman. Really hope she's happy in her new life.

If the Kardassians had a Foundation supposedly committed to charitable endeavours I wouldn't be surprised to see something coming "From the Office of....." when it was about charitable endeavors. I'm not saying it would be a wise thing to do- just that it would be an OK use of the expression.

But they have a website for the 'Archewell Foundation'.

Why not use that? What need is there for 'The Office of the Duke and Duchess'?

It's so obvious that they are desperate to use their titles and their cute little coat of arms.

I made the mistake of having a look on Twitter at this sort of stuff, and I now have a whole lot of stuff in my feed questioning the origins and care of Meghan's dog.wtf?