Harry v NGN 2

[mainecooncatonahottinroof]

I don't think we're done talking - and I never start threads!

As you were!

I try and avoid the RF threads when they get really unpleasant but I do think that there have been several decent Republican posters who have been driven away by the sheer volume of condescending and rather sneary posts directed at them, for doing nothing but expressing a different opinion to the majority

I welcome genuine republican posters I always look out for @CathyorClaire and @Puzzledandpissedoff posts and enjoy the debate, however what I do not appreciate is the sheer amount of faux republican posters who gather on here en masse, generally at a particular time of day to intimidate with their race baiting and insults to long time posters, always claiming not to be a fan of the Duke and Duchess, it’s tiresome and transparent, fortunately they can be spotted a mile off with their stock phrases and can safely be ignored. Any genuine republican posting is always welcome as it makes for an interesting debate.

Well I don’t want to start any more unpleasantness but I am a genuine Republican and I really haven’t felt welcome at times.

Race-baiting and insults are never acceptable I agree.

What do you mean by race baiting?

It’s BigWillyLittleTodger ‘s term JoyousGreyOrca

I assumed she meant constantly accusing Royalists of disliking Meghan for racist reasons.

Personally, I think there has been a lot of racism towards Meghan in the press, sometimes overt, other times subtle, but definitely there sadly.

And there have been definite instances of it on these threads too imho; particularly over the issue of their children. There were some consciously and unconsciously racist remarks back when their dc were born.

To be clear I think “baiting” or “goading” eg repeatedly attacking another poster over one point is unpleasant and unnecessary. Better to make a point once clearly and forcefully and move on.

The problem arises when some posters deny that Meghan has suffered any racism at all, or that her future child being characterised as a a chimpanzee was a “random bit of stupidity” as I read on one of these threads the other day ; and that provokes an understandable backlash as it’s a very hurtful subject.

I’m also happy enough to see republican posters on here, though less keen if they get personally nasty about individuals. I do think the concept of the monarchy is peculiar and while I enjoy the royal history and gossip and clothes and tiaras and generally think they do their job well, it’s pretty normal to debate an alternative!

I’m a constitutional monarchist not a royalist. I could be persuaded to a republic if it was properly thought out but after Brexit I’m very wary of change & would at the moment prefer to keep the status quo.

One solution I suppose would be to have a Republican board, but as royalists and Republicans would presumably be posting on both; maybe it’s not that great an idea 😀

I only mention this bc the question has been directed at me in the past as to why, as a Republican, was I was posting on the.RF board in the first place?

But there isn’t really anywhere else to go to post about the subject other than the politics board, and that’s a bit tangential.

Totally respect that and agree so much about hasty, ill thought out change, for change’s sake, without proper consideration of heritage and history and without a properly considered blue print for the future.

I also think a lot of republicans mistake a constitutional monarchist as a royalist. They are not the same! Wanting to keep the status quo does in no way make me a royalist.

Edit: cross posted 😂

I read somewhere that it would take more than a decade to unravel and move away from a monarchy.
No political party would have the stomach for it, so I just think it won't happen. That doesn't mean to say there can't be changes, badly needed I feel

I agree. I too would not class myself as a “royalist”, but I enjoy all the ceremony and quite like having a royal family. However, if some sort of viable alternative was proposed and voted upon, I would be quite happy to accept that. We do, after all, live in a democracy.

I too enjoy debating with the republican posters that have been mention by a pp. The problem as I see it is that a lot of posters who pop up on this board and begin their posts with “I am a republican” are nothing of the sort. They are fans of the Sussexes who use the “republican” tag as a means of bashing other members of the Royal family who they see as the “enemy” of their favourites, for some bizarre reason

I’ve had the same question, and been chased off threads in the past! The pattern with being hounded usually is that if you post early on a thread, you’re accepted as part of the discussion and can help set the tone that it’s a wider debate, but if you arrive “late” there’s sometimes something of a hounding. I suspect because once a thread devolves into the usual mud-slinging from both sides, anyone “new” on the thread is suspect.

This is an interesting discussion (probably more interesting than rehashing Harry vs NGN any further!)! Particularly the tone of “republicans are welcome”, which rather suggests this isn’t The Royal Family board but rather the Pro Royal Family board, where republicans may come as guests. Really, it’s a neutral board title and it’s equally valid to say “royalists and constitutional monarchists are welcome here, of course”.

The closest board analogy I can think of is the dogs board, which is called The Doghouse – a jokey title that makes clear it’s for the pro-dog crowd and not the board for complaining about poo – and the Litter Tray, for cats. The titles make it clear (to me) that they’re pro boards; both even have a little thing at the top to say “join our community of cat lovers” and “find help and advice on our dog forum”.

The Royal Family is a neutral topic title – a republic board would presumably be Off With Their Heads!; I’ll leave it to the royalists and constitutional monarchists to nominate what their boards would be – and there’s nothing I can see at the top to say “This one’s for fans of The Firm”.

The best discussions on this thread are when opposing views are aired thoughtfully. It’s stimulating and challenging to read a different perspective - the more the merrier.

I'm a constitutional monarchist as well.

I suppose the name of the board could indicate it's a place for royalists to say how fabulous the family is, but I think there are very few people here who are completely uncritical fans of anyone related to the King. I enjoy the discussions and have found the best way to deal with threads that descend into insult is to just ignore those specific posts.

I'm not going to tell anyone what they can and can't post. I'm not going to respond either. It's frustrating when an interesting discussion is sent off the rails but that's social media.

I think the majority of posters are constitutional monarchists, not royalists.

If someone comes on and posts "the RF are just wonderful, their kids are beautiful and everything is perfect", that is a royalist to me. Purely positive posts don't work and end up in a massive bun fight.

It's comment like this: They are fans of the Sussexes who use the “republican” tag as a means of bashing other members of the Royal family who they see as the “enemy” of their favourites, for some bizarre reason

How do you know unless they have said so themselves? You don't know your assuming yet present it as a fact and this is the problem.

Just because someone doesn't come on with the same view as you doesn't mean they are a fan or a supporter. Just like the people who make these comments wouldnt like to be called a hater.

Its laughable to say bashing other Royals when there are people of comments from people who use William and Catherine to bash the Sussexs. Let's face it some use the Wales to bash the Sussexs and vice versa.

Particularly the tone of “republicans are welcome”, which rather suggests this isn’t The Royal Family board but rather the Pro Royal Family board

The only reason I said republicans are welcome is because a previous poster claimed they were not, I was making the point this board is not a closed shop so I don’t really appreciate your claim of gatekeeping.

Do we have to use the term “bashing”? What sort of language is that?

No, I didn’t say that everyone who comes on here with a different view is a supporter. I said that there are posters who come on here claiming to be republicans and then proceed to denigrate members of the royal family whilst being fulsome in their praise of the Sussexes. I am well aware that there those who support other members of the RF and use them to denigrate the Sussexes. I wasn’t taking about that though. Those who do that don’t arrive what the tagline “I am a republican”. It seems ridiculous to me to claim to be a republican and think that the Sussexes with their titles and pompous “office of” are shining examples of republicanism Please try and do posters the courtesy of actually reading what they say and attempting to understand before jumping in to make accusations

This board is like any other on here and I don't see why some people seem to think they are " chased off" because of other posters. Do they want an echo chamber? Are they not able to put forward their point in a reasonable manner? Why do they think they are special in some way ?
On just about every MN thread whether it is relationships or style you get the posters with the seemingly controversial answers. That's SM these days.
If people want a protected space then go to somewhere else online where they can set up a little sub and only allow the friendly people they like in. They can talk to each others of the same mind to their heart's delight and diss people from MN on it. Then there is no need to call out that they are being bullied or there are racist comments in an attempt to back up their posts. If you can't take the heat then stay out of the kitchen.

I suppose the name of the board could indicate it's a place for royalists to say how fabulous the family is, but I think there are very few people here who are completely uncritical fans of anyone related to the King.

Posters have asked that before - i.e. if you are fans of the Royal family why aren’t there lots of threads discussing every public appearance?

And sometimes there are, but they tend to get very little engagement, because most of the posters here don’t fall into the category of “uncritical fans of the Royal family”. I have also posted before that if you are interested in that kind of chat, I presume you’d find a discussion board which had more like-minded people, as I can’t imagine being told you’re a forelock-tugger, or similar, every time you express a view is really the vibe you are after.

Personally I think it’s a good thing that we can have such in-depths and robust discussion of the role, tradition funding and benefits/disadvantages of the UK’s constitutional model. It’s a sign of a healthy society surely that people are engaged, and opinions vary?

Personally, I’m here for the debate, and not the drama.

Debate not drama, love that.

It gets a little messy sometimes because when you have a family/ monarchy individuals are going to be part of it. For example discussing whether Harry should have automatic IPP status as the son of the King is a valid debate on the use of limited resources. It doesn't need to become about his personality.

I'm not a royalist but I am interested in how it works( or doesn't depending on your view) I'm also nosy and like to get an insight to their lives

I've been on here for a while and on MN for years but regularly name change. In all that time I have never witnessed so many accusations of " ganging up" than on this board. A number of people having a similar view doesn't mean you are being " chased off"

In the last couple of days we have had inflammatory language such as bully, chased off, racists, for the slow ones up the back and a very ambiguous comment re Kate's cancer ( although still no explanation) .

If people truly want debate and no drama then I would suggest language like the above really isn't helpful

I did read properly. You said who are fans of the sussexs so how do you know they are fans? Just because they say something positive about the Sussexs? Again there are plenty of posts where people praise the Wales at the behest of the Sussexs noone goes around calling them fans of the Wales.

Why do we need to label people and put them on boxes anyway. Why not just read the comment the person posted and the point they make without being well your a Sussex fan. Otherwise let's just carry.om and if all you do is criticise certain royals we'll your hater then...oh wait you don't like that label...funny ... the double standards