It's the former, and it's his/her schtick. A few months ago he or she dug up a nearly ten-year-old thread about Angela Lansbury getting a damehood to say how terrible it was that she had accepted such a thing when the British empire was evil and imperialist and colonialist and just plain bad. Railing about titles and colonialism is a recurring theme for their lectures.
I am also curious what issue you have with someone being knighted. Is it an honor that you feel was undeserved? Do you feel that all artists are undeserving of one of Britain's highest honors? Are the arts not worth knighting someone? Do you have a problem with all honorary titles, or just Sir and Dame? Are you OK with academic honorary titles? I just have so many questions about the distain you are showing over this.
Honestly, I did not mean to hijack this celebratory thread with my “schtick”... my comment was just an aside aimed at the headline originally cited.
However, since you ask, my problem is only with the title and problematic legacy of this “honor”. Knight of the British Empire. Who would want such a title, much less consider it an honor? Why on earth would Americans demean themselves by bowing down to such silliness?
The great British Jamaican poet Benjamin Zephaniah, who died last month, said “ I get angry when I heard that word, EMPIRE, it reminds me of slavery, it reminds me of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped, and how my forefathers were brutalised”... suffice to say he refused his OBE.
Since the recent coronation obscenity. There has been more awareness, leading to people such as Tony-winner Alan Cumming returning their decorations. Which is why I felt it reasonable to revive the aforementioned Angela Lansbury thread. Perspectives can change with time.
Anyway, back to Elton, of course I feel that artists deserve recognition. I have no problem with that. I’m happy for his EGOT win, and as unimportant as these things are, they are still more impressive than imperialist royal titles.
Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$
Jay Lerner-Z said: "Honestly, I did not mean to hijack this celebratory thread with my “schtick”... my comment was just an aside aimed at the headline originally cited.
However, since you ask, my problem is only with the title and problematic legacy of this “honor”. Knight of the British Empire. Who would want such a title, much less consider it an honor? Why on earth would Americans demean themselves by bowing down to such silliness?
The great British Jamaican poet Benjamin Zephaniah, who died last month, said “ I get angry when I heard that word, EMPIRE, it reminds me of slavery, it reminds me of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped, and how my forefathers were brutalised”... suffice to say he refused his OBE.
Since the recent coronation obscenity. There has been more awareness, leading to people such as Tony-winner Alan Cumming returning their decorations. Which is why I felt it reasonable to revive the aforementioned Angela Lansbury thread. Perspectives can change with time.
Anyway, back to Elton, of course I feel that artists deserve recognition. I have no problem with that. I’m happy for his EGOT win, and as unimportant as these things are, they are still more impressive than imperialist royal titles."
Generally speaking, there’s a fair amount about the Royals that the people of England love and care about that Americans just flat don’t get. By way of playing devils advocate, is there a chance that your viewpoint be related to that mindset? I can only speak for myself, but, there are aspects of the Royals in England that people love and feel strongly about that leave me scratching my head and wondering why. For example, I never understood the appeal/desire of the English public waiting in line to say goodbye to the Queen as she lied in state. But, just because I couldn’t understand the appeal. Yet, seeing those extremely long lines on TV made me think that there’s more to it than I was able to understand.
Jay's mindset is terminally online culture warrior. And I say that as someone who is as liberal as it gets. Best not to feed into it because it's not rational.
True to form, the resident troll/bully turns the discussion away from SIR Elton John so that it focuses almost entirely on him and his nonsense. Typical for those who thrive on attention.
Weird that Jay made a couple of short posts, several people responded with very long hostile posts, but somehow he's the one highjacking the thread. You could just ignore him if you want. Lots of people are hostile to the monarchy these days, by which I don't mean one should be (I don't really care, either way). But I feel like other people made this all about Jay much more than Jay himself did.
Highland Guy said: "True to form, the resident troll/bully turns the discussion away from SIR Elton John so that it focuses almost entirely on him and his nonsense. Typical for those who thrive on attention."
Anyone could have ignored him if they really wanted to.
joevitus said: "Weird that Jay made a couple of short posts, several people responded with very long hostile posts, but somehow he's the one highjacking the thread. You could just ignore him if you want."
Exactly. Jay's approach may be slightly truculent for my taste, but the response is always way out of proportion. To paraphrase a great playwright, he's much more sinned against than sinning.
Jay Lerner-Z said: "Thank you. I didn’t start out truculent. This is what happens when a person endured such visceral hatred over a period of time."
That may not be the perfect adjective, but I just meant that I generally avoid the stress of online confrontation and you don't seem to be afraid of it. For the most part I say good for you.
Also, just to acknowledge the original post: I can think of very few people who are as worthy of an EGOT as Elton John. Every award was well-earned. What took him so long? :)
kdogg36 said: "Also, just to acknowledge the original post: I can think of very few people who are as worthy of an EGOT as Elton John. Every award was well-earned. What took him so long? :)"
Hear, hear! At least John and the recently crowned (sorry for bringing a monarchy back into this) Viola Davis earned their EGOTs for actual creative work rather than relying on a producer-only award to complete their haul.