Can We Get Rid of the Monarchy Now?

When you look up the royal family’s connection to slavery, there’s a lot of deliberately passive language. The “Royal African Company” was simply “formed.” It’s not often clearly stated by who’s authority.

A woman who was born into maximum privilege and never had to do anything to earn anything she has, is being mourned today, with people praising her for having been alive during events that she had no particular influence on. She lived to meet so many prime ministers, presidents, and other leaders. She “reigned” during so many social changes and historical events that she had no say in. She was especially notable for not having died for so long, so much longer than other people who, like her, did nothing to deserve the titles they had.

What’s especially hypocritical about the mourning is the dance everyone does to try and view her from whatever angle separates her from the legacy of colonialism, empire, slavery, conquest, brutality, and fundamentally undemocratic nature of her status in society. It’s framed as an issue of common human decency, to not speak ill of the dead. As if she’s just a person, and you may or may not like her, but, hey, come on, now’s not the time, right?

The only reason anyone is speaking of her right now is because she’s not just a person. Millions of people died today, but we’re talking about Elizabeth Windsor and not any of the others because she is a historical figure, one who came into position because of an archaic model of power that was built over generations of brutal oppression and murder and enslavement of people around the…