There are two things in life that are inevitable. The first is paying taxes, and the second is death. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve most likely heard that Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully at the age of 96 on September 8th. The news coverage on her death has been insane. No matter what TV channel I turn on, no matter what radio station I turn on, and no matter what internet news article I stumble upon, there’s some sort of mention about the Queen’s death or anything relating to the royal family, such as the rift between Princes William and Harry. One segment on the radio compared the Queen’s death to a death of a loved one, and had listeners call to share their own experiences of losing a loved one in that manner. David Beckham waited for 13 hours in queue (He was offered to skip the line as he’s a public figure, but he refused) to pay his respects to the Queen. The public waited a whole 24 hours. It wasn’t just the people of England who were mourning the Queen. The whole world was mourning, and still is.
That’s not even the crazy part, though. The crazy part, at least in my opinion, was when Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, had plans to make September 19th, the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, a day of mourning, which means all of Canada would have a day off work and school. The following day, however, Doug Ford, The Premier of Ontario, luckily objected to that absurd idea.
“This will give all Ontarians an opportunity to reflect on the remarkable life of Queen Elizabeth II and her unrelenting commitment to service and duty,” Ford said in a statement. “It also allows students to be in school learning about the many contributions the Queen made to the people of Ontario, Canada, and the entire Commonwealth, as well as the accession of King Charles III. We encourage all Ontarians to use this day to honour Her Majesty and pay tribute to the extraordinary legacy she leaves behind.”
Ontarians weren’t happy that Doug Ford didn’t make September 19th a one time holiday. People were so frustrated and upset that they felt the need to post their feelings online on the day of the funeral when Ford encouraged us all, those of us that reside in Ontario, to have a moment of silence to mourn the Queen at.
Below are just some examples of what Ontarians had to say:
“I can’t believe Doug Ford is making us work today instead of mourning the queen”
“I am hurt. I feel destroyed. I am distraught. I cannot control my emotions right now. My eyes are balling out as I wail for the queen, distraught that I cannot watch her funeral. This is all your fault @fordnation“
“Sorry this is below your comprehension level. WE DONT WANT OR EXPECT THE DAY OFF. WE want to take care of the patients not mourn the queen. I bet you’ll be crying all day NOT”
So here’s the deal…
Back in the day, I’d say up until recently, I truly attempted to stay away from any political conversations. No matter what, it seemed to always end on a bad note. But that was me then. That was me when I was younger and I didn’t know how to handle difficult conversations. I was also too overwhelmed with any negative feedback if I’d posted anything controversial online, particularly on my old blog which I ran back in the day. I was so naive back then, and absolutely not prepared for the real world and its cruelty, especially what I call ‘the Internet real world.’. I guess that’s why the blog no longer exists and I started over with this blog. The whole purpose of this blog is for me, and others who’ve shared the stories, to be as honest, truthful and unafraid. Hence, here I give you my honest and truthful opinion about the public’s reaction to the Queen’s death.
I just have a few questions…
Who gives a sh*t about the Queen’s death?
Why is her death compared to that of a loved one?
Why should we have had a day off to mourn her death?
Shouldn’t we concentrate on our own lives and the deaths of our actual loved ones?
It’s safe to say that I agree with Doug Ford on this one. Of course, it’s important to know our history. But to care about Queen Elizabeth II’s death as though she was a family member is absurd. She was a public figure. She was our Queen. But she wasn’t our family. The funeral, or from whatever I saw and read about it, seemed like the perfect farewell to the Queen. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were there, and Prince Harry was allowed to wear his military uniform after all. Two of The Prince and Princess of Wales’ children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte attended and were very much the definition of childhood strength. Both the Princess of Wales and Meghan Markle, as well as Princess Charlotte, wore jewelry that was gifted or owned by the Queen herself as a tribute to her.
Moral of it all
The Queen’s funeral was a celebration of her life and monarchy. Instead of quote on quote mourning her death, we should all continue on with our own lives, give more of a f*ck about our actual loved ones, and allow the Queen’s actual family to grieve in their own timeline.
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