Originally Posted by Isbjørn

I'd gladly shake her hand, but I would not bow to her. Nothing personal about it - she is a person just like me, and probably a nice one too, but not a natural superior. And since I'm not a top politician like Jeremy Corbyn, just a petty pinko activist, I don't need to care about my image.

I see the monarchy as a remnant of feudal society that has survived its historical role - that goes for the British monarchy as well as the Norwegian monarchy. Queen Sonja of Norway is probably a good person, but her title is purely symbolic and a waste of the taxpayers' money. I think the Queen of the UK is worse - agan, nothing personal - but the state she represents has, historically, been responsible for colonial atrocities in India, Ireland, Africa, Australia and so on. With that in mind, I don't want to bow to the Queen just to be nice, since respect is something that should be earned.

Originally Posted by J.R.R. Tolkien

There is only one bright spot and that is the growing habit of disgruntled men of dynamiting factories and power-stations; I hope that, encouraged now as ‘patriotism’, may remain a habit! But it won’t do any good, if it is not universal.