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Million Dollar Freak-Show

Entry 1633, on 2014-03-04 at 15:52:12 (Rating 5, Politics)

The upcoming royal visit to New Zealand has been estimated to cost the taxpayer here a million dollars. The PM thinks it is good value for money because it will give New Zealand greater prominence in international news coverage and will be "good marketing".

In reality a million dollars isn't actually a huge amount compared with how much this government wastes on other projects but I think it is the symbolism of the event which is more problematic.

Basically, we have some worthless parasites with no real connection to New Zealand at all, visiting for no particular reason, and we are supposed to like it. And at the same time health services, education, and other worthwhile project are being cut back because of lack of funding. Is this really supposed to be good value?

Before anyone disputes the connection with New Zealand: yes, I know, that theoretically one day William will be King of New Zealand (but hopefully we will become a republic before that happens) but so what? There is no real monarch of New Zealand because the British royal family is so completely disconnected from the issues we are dealing with here that they might as well live on another planet. Maybe they do, or maybe saying they live in another century might be more accurate.

The royal parasites could easily afford to fund their own holiday in New Zealand and they do pay for parts of it, I believe, but why not pay for it all? Then all the mindless air-head royal fans could run around and say how wonderful the royals are without me having to help pay for that pitiful spectacle.

I find it quite disturbing that people somehow think there is something special about this sad bunch of misfits just because of the family they were born into. What are they thinking? Few people would accept a person being given a privileged position as a right of birth rather than demonstrating any merit. Why do the royals get away with it?

I can see why the PM is so keen on the visit: no doubt it will produce some of that "feel good" factor which encourages people to vote for the existing government at the upcoming election. And as the leader of what is basically a conservative party he has no choice but to go along with it anyway. Plus his party has a history of hand-outs to the rich and powerful, such as to Warner Bros to help persuade them to make movies here. So robbing from the poor to give to the rich is also very much part of his modus operandi.

It's a sad story really, and apparently the royal holiday will include a visit to us here in Dunedin and I'm sure many people will go to see them. After all it's not every day a million dollar freak-show visits town, is it?

Comment 1 (3892) by Jim on 2014-03-04 at 23:04:24:

Wow, I think OJB isn't much of a fan of the royal family then. I wonder what he thinks of the alternatives?

Comment 2 (3893) by OJB on 2014-03-06 at 22:29:06:

I'm not a fan of certain groups or individuals being given privilege, power, and wealth that they don't deserve. There are many examples of this but royalty must be the worst.

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