“Not My King” – too easy?

He’s not. Charles is an oafish doof. And not my king.

New Haven (my hometown) folk have had issues with kings named Charles. The first Charles – New Haven gave food and shelter to his executioners. We named streets after them. And we named other stuff after them too. I grew up there, without a king, and definitely without a king Chuck.

Three lived in New Haven: Whalley, bottom of the first column, right under his cousin, Oliver Cromwell. His son-in-law Goffe, third in the third column. And a minister, John Dixwell, next to last in the fifth column. They came to New Haven after having made sure that Charles I was nobody’s king.

The monarchy has not really held power since Charles I’s head rolled – but they have remained a symbol for the empire – including colonialism, slavery, exploitation, expropriation, theft of national legacies, imperialism.

Britain’s crimes continue. The lame argument that this is ancient history. When Elizabeth heard that her father had died, in 1952, she was in Kenya:

“During her reign, British soldiers committed widespread atrocities against Kenyans at the height of Mau Mau uprising between 1952 and 1960. Roughly 1.5 million people were forced into concentration camps where they were subjected to torture, rape and other violations.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/12/queen-death-kenya-colonial-rule-mau-mau-uprising

Ireland. Falklands. Junior partners to the US in Iraq, Afghanistan… Britain has troops in over 40 countries today – second only to the United States. And these exercises in neo-colonialism? In the name of the Queen. And now in the name of her son.

The waste of money on useless parasites bothers me. But just a little. The medieval ceremonies – the carriages and ridiculous clothing? The hearkening back to feudal times and lords and ladies (with most people peasants) – not something we should be looking to. Not my king.

What about us, at home?

But that’s easy. It’s easy sitting in the United States to poke fun at Charles the Gallant and his funny hat. What about our own archaic relics? Our symbols of an evil past? Our current antiquated institutions?

Now some will jump right on the Electoral College. And I agree, antiquated. But, if you were one of the people who went there – easy – too easy. Do you want to get rid of it because it is anachronistic and tied to the legacy of slavery? or because it helped Trump win in 2016? Don’t answer.

If we want to get rid of something outdated and backward with a reactionary history, try the states. Why do we have 50 states, with different laws, different education systems, different voting rules, different environmental rules, hell, different traffic rules? Why cross the border into Connecticut and pay different taxes. Or into New Jersey and lose rights around health care. Or into Massachusetts and into a better educational system. These are not separate countries – why should crossing from one to another entail changes like crossing a real border, except for passport?

Sovereign states have led to a war, and are leading the charge against abortion. There’s really no reason for them. They are not as embarrassing as Charles, but close enough.