@Lash,
I wouldn't favor any American president deliberately disrespecting the British monarch, but I am not in the least bothered by one who doesn't follow ridiculous protocol. She's an anachronistic figurehead entitled to no greater respect and deference than any elderly woman her age. Approx 1/4 of the people don't want the monarchy, but I have a feeling that they are the Brits who are most upset by Trump's failure to strictly follow protocol. In any case, all it will take is another run of Royal Brats creating scandals to increase their number.
I get why they enjoy the monarchy, but I don't get why they are willing to pay taxes to support it, particularly when the queen is one of the richest women in the world.
A great many people have a romantic notion of feudalism that is based on knights in shining armor and lovely princesses, but reality informs us that it is a system founded on the principle of
might makes right, with monarchs and lesser nobles living high on the hog thanks to the labor of peasants who often lived in squalor.
The British aristocracy's power was diluted over time so that now it exists only in a social framework and by virtue of great wealth certain families were able to hold onto. As a result, it's easy for the people to view the monarchy as fantasy figures and/or symbols of Britain's long and rich history.
It's fine by me if they wish to preserve a ruling class in a glass bottle and live vicariously through their exalted lives, and if part of that arrangement is to buy into protocols that have them bowing to the Queen or making certain they never walk in front of her, that's also fine with me. However, I see no reason why Americans should adopt rules of behavior that are designed to elevate the status of someone based solely on a birthright and accidents of history. Again, common courtesy dictates that we shouldn't deliberately be disrespectful, but an accidental faux pas is really no big deal, even if it is due to a failure to memorize and maintain constant awareness of a ridiculous set of rules.
President Trump, like it or not, is our
Head of State and if, in the UK, that position dictates the Queen should be treated with deference and respect I would expect the same to be shown to ours. Flying a huge blimp of our
Head of State wearing a diaper seems to me to be a lot more disrespectful than walking ahead of a queen. I think the Mayor of London displayed his personal animus toward Trump by allowing the blimp to fly (I am quite sure he would never have permitted a similarly insulting exhibition to have attended a visit from President Obama), but it's free speech and while the Brits don't have an enshrined right to it, I'm still all for it.
