Weekend Links: of kings and queens
It’s an extra long weekend for us, kittens, as we took time off to host my in-laws for several days and the UK decided to put a fancy hat on some people and therefore give us an extra summer holiday. I’m famously bad about taking all my legally allowed time off, so I’ve been fully logged out for almost a whole week. And in celebration, the nation decided to throw a massive party!
Or crown a new king. Sure.
We watched the coronation, but for me it was about witnessing a bit of history and a rare example of ancient ceremony on display. The whole thing was medieval - the the strictest sense - and so foreign to any other aspect of government that I have ever experienced. Believe me, America does pomp and pageantry just fine; we are extremely good at it. We even overlap religion and politics in pretty effective ways (not to our benefit, I feel). But we don’t anoint rulers with holy oil, wrap them in cloth of gold, and bedeck them in relics.
For a medievalist, it’s genuinely fascinating and interesting in its own right. But as a foundation of government, it is antiquated in every way. I’ve speculated that when Queen Elizabeth II died it would force a confrontation with the very idea of the value of the monarchy, but now wonder if the coronation will be a more significant factor.
Anyway, let me know what you think in the comments, and let’s get to the links.
Consumerism is a wacky, eternal round.
I am 100% here for this brave new era of bread courses. Just keep the carbs coming.
Imagine chucking your jewelry down the loo. Couldn’t be me.
The article that broke the media internet’s brain for a couple of weeks.
They don’t care about the children, and it’s time to stop taking anti-drag legislation as anything except a veiled attempt at anti-trans legislation, which is only the latest LGBT fight when all the other letters have become more accepted and included. Take it away, Trixie:
There is a debate around the rights and protections of transgendered individuals, and how to correctly include them in various groups and spaces. And then there is “the trans debate” which is a right wing canard and set of tropes which shouldn’t be entertained in any good faith whatsoever. It’s not about children, values, or science. I’ll let Mia explain:
Speaking of queens, the coronation! …Is that a good transition? Anywho, that’s what’s happening in the UK this weekend so here is some appropriately royal content. Where does the monarchy go under Charles III? What is the oldest surviving crown in the UK?
