Geoff Botkin: Prince George has a DUTY, dammit!!!

[August]

Religion is so fucking weird.

[Conuly]

Two pages and nobody has said it yet, so I will.

He's two lousy weeks old. The only "duty" he has is in his diaper.

[jenny_islander]

She didn't actually say she could see it from her house. That was Tina Fey playing her. What she said, though, was almost as stupid:

“They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska. We have trade missions back and forth. We– we do– it’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It’s Alaska."

OK, while the Governor did say and do some remarkably dumb things, she had a point here. You can literally see Russian territory from Alaskan land. And what I suspect she was trying to get across in her muddle-headed way is that Alaska is strategically located. Assorted skullduggery went on up here during the Cold War, and it was well known that there was a flock of ICBMs in the Ukraine aimed at points in Alaska, including my hometown. We have an active military presence even now, due to our location.

[louisa05]

OK, while the Governor did say and do some remarkably dumb things, she had a point here. You can literally see Russian territory from Alaskan land. And what I suspect she was trying to get across in her muddle-headed way is that Alaska is strategically located. Assorted skullduggery went on up here during the Cold War, and it was well known that there was a flock of ICBMs in the Ukraine aimed at points in Alaska, including my hometown. We have an active military presence even now, due to our location.

The stupidity of it, to me, was more that she was using this to claim foreign policy experience. Is it true? Yes. Does it make the governor of Alaska in charge of foreign policy as it relates to Russia? Absolutely not.

As to the Botkins writing about the royal baby, it would have been much more fun to see what they would have written had it been a girl who would have been heir to the throne and had all the same future duties. Exploding heads all around in Botkinland.

[Closed Womb]

Geoff Botkin is not someone I follow, although I am aware of his ridiculously shallow daughters (who I kind of feel bad for, for being in this perpetual state of waiting for a man, err, THE perfect man.)

Anyway, I was kind of surprised at how powerful his writing was in this piece. I, of course, think it is utter bullshit, but if someone was already interested in his message and had a son, I think this would speak to him/her. It effectively lifted up the common (boy) child without putting down anyone else. Of course, with my shock comes disappointment, since having the ability to write lucid, well thought out, inspiring essays will hardly make people run and turn the other way (as they should.)

I do wonder what analogy would have been made (if any) had we a Princess Georgette.

[Someonetocall]

Does Geoff like Sarah Palin think the queen is the president of England or something? What the royal family is is a bunch of figureheads sucking off the taxpayers of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. I was up in Winnipeg last weekend sightseeing, even visited the Mint and there was hardly a word about Prince George.

Hugely off-topic but, Yay Manitoba! Winnipeg is lovely. And I hate it, as is tradition.

Little more on topic, where I live, there has been little talk of Prince George. And my mother is a bit of an Anglophile. How can Botkin be actually interested in a potential future figure-head except to twist this to further his megalomaniacal rhetoric?

[fundiefan]

Didn't one of the Botkins princesses (cough, cough) dress as Ann Boleyn when they played dress up once? Saying Mistress Ann was a warrior for Protestants or something like that? A hero?

These people don't know or understand 'Royalty' in the past or the present. They have delusions of grandeur, but don't exactly know what they want to be anyway since they grossly misunderstand the entire concept - again, both past and present.

[docmom]

Huh. What I gather from all of this is that Geoff Botkin is waiting for a Duke or better to come along and propose to his perpetually waiting daughters and bring the family once and for all into actual royalty rather than the fantasy created in their minds. They must look at Kate's family as a very hopeful example of commoners joining The Firm...

Compared to Botkin, the royals are radically left wing...

[Lainey]

Hugely off-topic but, Yay Manitoba! Winnipeg is lovely. And I hate it, as is tradition.

:? Whut? Who's traditionally supposed to hate Winnipeg?

I'm supposed to hate Edmonton, but I kind of like it.

[Marian the Librarian]

Two pages and nobody has said it yet, so I will.

He's two lousy weeks old. The only "duty" he has is in his diaper.

Thank you! My point exactly. Botkin's arrogance, as always, astonishes.

And, if the baby had been a girl? His essay would have been full of "her duty will be a lifelong commitment to obeying, serving, and worshiping her father, and trimming his beard on demand."

[gardenvarietycitizen]

The stupidity of it, to me, was more that she was using this to claim foreign policy experience. Is it true? Yes. Does it make the governor of Alaska in charge of foreign policy as it relates to Russia? Absolutely not.

Pretty much this.

FWIW there have been some similar Japanese politicians who tried to claim some sort of natural influence in foreign affairs because they live on the northern island (closest to Russia). Like, never mind that it's actually the foreign ministry and fisheries departments that handle that stuff. So Palin does have some company! :D

[dairyfreelife]

Two pages and nobody has said it yet, so I will.

He's two lousy weeks old. The only "duty" he has is in his diaper.

[SPHASH]

:? Whut? Who's traditionally supposed to hate Winnipeg?

I'm supposed to hate Edmonton, but I kind of like it.

What's your opinion on Regina? Its a destination I may take later down the road.

[SPHASH]

:? Whut? Who's traditionally supposed to hate Winnipeg?

I'm supposed to hate Edmonton, but I kind of like it.

What's your opinion on Regina? Its a destination I may take later down the road. BTW Winnipeg kicked ass!

[alchemy]

You should visit Prince George, BC... I don't think they're going to shut up about it until he becomes King George...

I'm from Prince George and I can understand the hoopla, this is the most exciting thing to happen to the town since ever.

I am having a hard time geting used to seeing PG in headlines and thread titles because my first thought is alwaya "what did we do now?" and in the case of this thread title "oh god, what do they want from us now? More pulp mills and moose meat?" :D

[Someonetocall]

What's your opinion on Regina? Its a destination I may take later down the road. BTW Winnipeg kicked ass!

@Lainey - I refer you to exhibit A: http://www.theweakerthans.org/discograp ... tcity.html

If you haven't seen "Less Than Kind" you are missing something amazing from your life. Everyone should see it.

Also, now that I know approximately where you are in your province, would you like to perhaps participate in an FJ gathering around Labour Day weekend? I'll be through Lethbridge the Saturday and in Calgary the Sunday.

@SPHASH: you know that as a Manitoban I am contractually obligated to hate Saskatchewan and everything about it. I do secretly believe Regina is lovely and would move there happily (and loudly complaining as though I am a bigot and it is "one of those foreign countries with the smelly food")

[MamaJunebug]

Never mind the fact that the new baby prince has yet to hit the two week mark - Geoff has weighed in on how he, along with every other male child, is going to lead his life. By George.

From David Botkin's FB page:

(I guess girl babies just aren't worthy of mention...)

That's right, they aren't. Dad just prays over their ovaries, hoping they'll be the matriarchs of millions of descendants - then he keeps them from marrying at least until well into their 20s.

Which is fine with me. The married Botkin boys are doing more than enough to multiply and replenish the earth. And Elizabeth and Anna Sofia, by most accounts, have a lot more freedom than the adult Duggar daughters. And way more varied a life than the eldest Maxwell daughter.

But back to MtL's topic: Botkin's opinion on a royal baby's duty. it's very much like his daughters' opinions on Disney films - they're read and approved by friends and followers, and read and dissected (usually with hilarity) by FJians and other un-fans.

Some folks just gotta bloviate, is all.

[fatcat]

Didn't read the article, but I remember I was talking to my fundie acquaintance a few years ago, and she mentioned the Botkins several times. One thing she said really stood out, she said that knowing them made it feel like it was possible to live in a fairy tale. I think that's what a lot of this is about. People who wished they were born 100s of years ago, in an old-fashioned adventure story or romance novel. Everything has an easy answer, there are no morally grey areas, and everyone knew their place and was happy with it. Of course, most of the people in these families wouldn't have been at the top of the hierarchy, which I think they know deep down.

I could go into all of the (heart-breakingly obvious to anyone who knew the family) reasons why this girl I knew would want to live in a fairy tale, but I won't (especially if she ever reads this...). I think young people like this see a 'perfect family' or a 'perfect person' and want to be like them, thinking they can change their family into that. But no family or person is perfect. Maybe the Botkins really are happy, but I'd be willing to bet a decent sum of money that there is something really rotten going on there.

That said, I just don't understand the appeal of the Botkins or the Phillipses in any way. Literally nothing I have read that was written by them has made me feel anything but irritation, boredom and occasional horror. I find the 'patriarchs' of many of these families particularly unimpressive. I have met people with similar conservative, even patriarchal beliefs and found them impressive in some way, but almost every American Christian patriarchal type man seems like such a wimp. Just an observation.

Sorry for being a bit off topic...

[fatcat]

Apparently I am one of those people who needs to bloviate :lol:

[LeopardLady]

Complete derail but it's bothering me. On the video about how much money the royalty costs, the shiny British castle that they used is in fact Mont Saint Michel which is a French (albeit Norman, so maybe that's what they're going for) fortified island.