Reflections, Reflections

The photographs showed the prince wearing a khaki shirt with German insignia and a red, white and black swastika arm-band at a fancy dress party last weekend where the theme was "colony and native", according to The Sun.

In his statement Wednesday night, the prince said he was "very sorry if I have caused offense."

"It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize," he said.

But the prince came under pressure from opposition politicians today to offer a more direct, personal apology. "It would be appropriate if we heard from him in person about how contrite he is," Michael Howard, the leader of the opposition Conservatives.

Comment from Michele:
I read the article on CNN and according to them, Prince Harry issued a statement to apologize if he had offended someone. I am so sick of people apologizing - IF I offended you. Obviously it upset people. Just apologize because you KNOW you offended them.

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Anonymous comment:
I hope he doesn't dress up as a Nazi again, but he should dress up in a fox uniform. That way all the clever Englishmen and -women who criticized him for the political statement made by a Nazi uniform will compliment him for his sensitivity in making a political statement about the whole fox-hunting controversy.

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Harry - from Chase Me Ladies (who else?)
I once went to a fancy dress party dressed as a bear. While this did not reflect my political views –in no way do I approve of bears, and their violent past- I now accept that my behaviour was inappropriate, and I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to victims of bears for my insensitivity.

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Ivor Whopper:
Your actions were highly ill-considered, Harry. Don't you have advisors to stop you from doing this sort of thing?

This will encourage neo-ursine groups everywhere. You must visit the forest in person, and try to look contrite.

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Annie:
It would have been so much less controversial if he had dressed up as the queen.

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Anonymous:
Are they going to declare dressing up as Nazis illegal now?

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Cake:
What a silly brouhaha. ...

about a young man wearing a shirt.... while another man, a Prime Minister, no less, who orchestrated a war that killed more than 100 000 Iraqis and wasted billions of pounds... is allowed to get away with it.

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Incidentally, what nobody bothered to ask was what did the other kids in the "colony and native" party dress up at? Oh, that would have been lovely to know.

[UPDATE:According to the Sun, the fancy dress shop Harry went to had a whole rack of Nazi costumes. Interesting. And is it just in Britain that they have these costumes? UPDATE5]

Also, this is how an article on the above started, "To the delight of Britain's tabloids..." My point. Who are these tabloids to criticize anyone on anything, I mean, is there anything worst in terms of crudeness? And what to say about all the British people who are hysterical with the event, those Brits that still bow to a "Royal" family? Maybe this should be one more clue that royalty is not such a smart concept. UPDATE6: "The British people pay the royal family something like $93 million a year just to be royal. I hope they´re getting their money's worth. At least the royals give them something to talk about."


UPDATE2:Funny article: LONDON: Take one royal duchess who likes her toes sucked by strange, balding men as she lies topless by the pool. Add one Prince of the British realm with a predilection for Nazi workwear, swastika armbands, babes on his lap and a fluid diet of vodka-and-cranberry-juice. Combine and serve up as the 'royal cock-up', the newest, most rivetting installment of the longest-running soap opera of them all. (And how many 20 yr olds who aren´t exactly like that?)

Few other things came to mind: if he had worn an SM sado costume, would anyone even comment there was a problem? Most of the same people that criticize the Nazi costume, and this type of violence, gladly legitimize sexual violence in so many ways.

It´s always the same "I can do aggression if I want, but other people can´t."

Isn´t that exactly what a huge part of socialization does? It dehumanizes people towards many types of violence and its victims, and it highlights only a few other types of violence and victims, as a result of who has enough power in society to pull these strings.

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UPDATE3: If Harry had worn his costume to an SM party (see discussion on this issue), I think the reaction would have been different (less criticism - we can´t repress sexuality, can we?). And if it had been a homo SM party, then 90% of the people who are now claiming outrage would have cheered for how he liberated his closeted self and explored other realms that transgressed these awful Victorian sexual "taboos." How brave! How hipper-than-thou.


UPDATE4: Anna: I've just realised that the number of Nazi costumes being hired and worn is about to rise very sharply, owing to the fact that many people will now think it funny to go to costume parties dressed as 'Prince Harry going to a costume party dressed as a nazi'.

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This is what celebrity culture is for.