Saturday, April 21, 2012

Mad Rant: The News from Spain

In case anyone hasn’t heard, HM the King of Spain broke his hip (actually you may not have heard about that part) while on a hunting trip in Africa. I was horrified when I first heard the news. As regular readers will recall my own father broke his hip last September (due to an altercation with a bull). Especially for people of a certain age, a fractured hip is extremely serious. All too often it is the beginning of the end. However, regular readers are also well aware that, according to numerous medical professionals, I’m not entirely of sound mind. I must be nuts because, silly me, here I was thinking that the elderly monarch breaking his hip would be the focus of all the news coverage and evoke an outpouring of sympathy from his people. No, evidently I missed the real story which was that the King had an accident (gasp) WHILE HUNTING! Saints and angels in Heaven, I have never in my life been more flabbergasted at the outpouring of vitriol toward a man who could possibly have been killed -because he was hunting! Seriously, the next day I read through article after article desperately trying to find something else I had been missing that would explain this over-emotional collective hissy-fit on the part of people, not only in Spain, but including royal watchers around the world.

Aha! Some will be quick to point out that the word is that he was hunting elephants and elephants are endangered and cannot be hunted. In the first place, that has not been confirmed. So far, it is a rumor and nothing more. In the second place (and you might want to sit down for this) -I don’t give a damn if he WAS hunting elephants. The man (forget King, a living, self-aware person with a soul, a family, children and grandchildren) might have died. I’m deranged, I’m a crazy person -I consider a person more valuable than an elephant. Sorry if that offends you. No, actually I can’t say that, I really don’t care if it offends anyone or not. I just cannot believe the outpouring of hatred over something so trivial, I cannot believe that a 74-year old man breaks his hip -and everyone is upset at HIM! And I’m not exaggerating, I wish I were. For the first time ever, the King issued a public apology (you know, after he got out the hospital for emergency surgery) for taking such a vacation at a time when the country is having an economic crisis. “I’m very sorry, I made a mistake. It won’t happen again,” the King said. The leader of the socialist party has actually called for abdication and the Spanish media, traditionally respectful toward the monarchy, has been lambasting the injured King as well.

I could just scream! The socialists are calling for King Juan Carlos to abdicate over a hunting trip. Seriously. The socialists. The socialists who are only able to exist openly and be in politics at all because this same King said that the people should be able to choose any political party they wished to participate in government. The media is attacking King Juan Carlos. Seriously. The media. The same media that was firmly muzzled before this same King Juan Carlos restored freedom of the press along with everything else after the death of Generalissimo Franco. Because he might have shot an elephant. Really…I…the words just escape me. Was it the hunting? Was it that money was being spent during hard times in Spain? I DON’T GET IT! No one really knows what the King was hunting, no one even knows if he actually killed so much as a fly and we DO know that he was a guest and no Spanish public funds were spent on the trip at all. I don’t see how this could possibly make LESS sense to me! Was Spain just overdue for a hyper-emotional freak out and this just happened to be the only available excuse to let it all out?

My heart breaks over this stuff, it really does. Once again I find myself asking, “what on earth has happened to Spain?” I want to go over to Portugal, stand at the border and ask that other country, “Who are you and what have you done with the real Spain?!” Tear down the monarchy over a hunting trip? Campaigns against bullfighting? Giving in to terrorist attacks? My God in Heaven, how can this be the same country that produced the conquistadors? How did the people who forged the first empire upon which it was said, “the sun never set”, whose saints inspired people on every continent, whose tercios made countries tremble somehow produce these over-emotional, hyper-sensitive, bleeding heart crowds I see before me today? How is it that the same country that invented “macho” is freaking out so much over a hunting trip? Has all Spain gone vegetarian and I missed it? I mean, where do they think meat comes from? I can’t help but wonder after seeing so many royal watchers go into hysterics over the idea of someone killing animals. How do you think they get on your plate? Think they commit suicide or roll over and play dead?

I’m really at a loss to explain it. How almost a whole country can change so drastically in such a short period of time. And I’ll say something else. I would be willing to bet that back in the days when the Spanish Inquisition was still going strong, conquistadors roamed the frontiers of the world and there was a bullring in every Spanish town, there were probably more Spaniards doing more actual good for more needy people around the world than today. All they do today is gripe on the internet, send angry emails to TV stations and sign on-line petitions. Yeah, that’ll save all the precious animals from the horrors of humanity and the food chain. How about next you fly down to that same part of Botswana and find a poor farmer who just had his entire crop for the year trampled to nothing by elephants that you signed an on-line petition to save the precious animals that might be the cause for his children dropping dead from malnutrition. Because animals are more important than people after all. Right? Is that the normal mentality these days? I don’t know if the King learned anything from this bewildering episode (bewildering to me anyway, I can only imagine what His Majesty thinks of it all) but the only lesson I see is that no good deed goes unpunished and that some people just feel compelled to bite the hand that freed them. If the King made one mistake in his life it was when he decided that the Spanish people should make their own decisions.

This…really, I just can’t put it into words. I’d eat an elephant burger right now if I could. So there. My thoughts and prayers are with His Majesty the King and his family, I hope he recovers well and quickly. I hope he makes it through this emotional outburst by his people unscathed. Oh, and any world leaders contemplating giving their people freedom and democracy might want to consider how they might one day be rewarded for such a gift. That’s all, I am The Mad MonarchistViva el Rey!

14 comments:

  1. And more dishonest from the Socialists, is that in some parts of Africa, not only is Elephant hunting legal, it brings money in to the people, rids the place of troublesome pachyderms and dare I say it, some places put a bounty and PAY people to shoot elephants. HRH King Juan Carlos is not only in his right to shoot elephants , but he was doing humanitarian work while he was doing it.. MY prayers to the King and his family.

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  2. When it comes to Royals and Kings it seems too easy to be the arrogant self-righteous rebel and be disrespectful and ignorant of the facts. I agree it is completely unfair to King Juan Carlos and outrageous to go as fair to call for an abdication of the man responsible for their democracy and freedom! But isn't that the hard truth? People are more interested in personal prejudices than the truth of the matter.

    His Majesty has been a model King but the media and other self-righteous mobs see fit to tear him down when his life had recently been threatened but I suppose they'll use anything to fuel such unjustifiable hatred and give themselves a false sense of satisfaction. Such foolishness. I wonder how many every day people can claim to lead a blameless life? But I agree with MM I do not believe the King is responsible for any wrongdoing and people should instead be worried for his health than jumping to conclusions and condemning him without cause.

    Viva el Rey!

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  3. In the 1970's Spain did what few countries have the courage to do, Return to Monarchy.

    Democracy in one of the most cowardly things you can do, its all about Passing the Buck.

    But a Monarch is solely responsible for his people and now His Majesty has been injured and all the ungrateful socialists can do is call for his abdication? SCUM!(I wonder if they are National Socialists or International Socialists? Murdering Leftist Trash)

    I am sure the King deserved sometime off, after dealing with the mess the Leftist has made of his country.

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  4. The republican mob claim to stand for high principles, yet they will stoop to the lowest tactics in order to advance their self regarding and elitist agenda. I wish the King a speedy recovery and for his detractors, i have nothing but contempt. I am going shooting tomorrow, no one tells me what i can and cannot shoot.

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  5. I don't know about elephant, but crocodile, ostrich, and zebra are delicious.

    Well, it's the leftist mob again, isn't it. Bastards one and all.

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  6. After reading the Guardianista comments on this issue:

    I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ON THIS PLANET ANYMORE!

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  7. Although I believe in conservation of animals and I have progressive views, I do believe in monarchy in countries that has had them and were deposed by narrow minded intellectuals who turn out to be self serving. Despite my feelings towards Franco,he did the right thing when restoring the Bourbon monarchy and keeping what is left of the legacy alive. It is appalling to me to see these people who are criticizing the King are the same people who claim that they are more principled and more free thinking than the man who gave them that freedom. It is appalling to me to see these people get all discontent about hunting, something that has been going on for 1,000's of years.

    To the mad monarchist:
    I love your site and the arguments that you present.They are just as strong as the republican argument... something that is getting weaker by the day. People like yourself are doing a great service to the world by teaching people about history, duty and tradition. Keep up the good work!

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  8. The main problem is that he is Spain's (honorary) president of the World Wild Life Fund so it’s a bit hypocritical to be shooting elephants and bears and leopards (all of which he has done) when you hold that position, the Duke of Edinburgh is in the same boat but he doesn't shoot endangered species just birds and deer.

    The man who is believed to have paid for the trip is a bit of a shady character as well and the public (stirred up by the media) believe Juan Carlos shouldn't be accepting lavish gifts from anyone who might be trying to buy business favours or be seen to have the Kings personal approval by association.

    This has all come to a head because of other things happening around the same time. The state of the Spanish economy 27% unemployment, 50% for youth unemployment (everyone is less than happy and looking for something/someone to vent on), the son-in-law’s trial for syphoning off millions of public funds. The fact that his latest mistress has been very publically exposed because of these events and has a rather unsavoury reputation, (she was on the trip with him) as well the fact that she organizes such hunts for a living, not always legally and also the suspicion that Juan Carlos bought her a 250,000Euro necklace recently when he had just made a speech about everyone needing to tighten their belts including the royal family. It's a whole range of small niggling little things that have suddenly just burst the damn. Filipe seems to be the only one in the family who has escaped criticism of late.

    When the subjects are in a vile mood you just have to tread softly for a while, he has escaped criticism for most of his reign, the Spanish media has just looked the other way on things in his private life that other European Monarchs would have been pilloried for, it’s not really the Elephant shoot that’s causing this surge of vitriol, things have been festering for a while and this seems to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

    A poll taken before these events indicated that the King has lost a great deal of the trust he once held with the Spanish people, once he was the most trusted man in Spain but now his trust level is below politicians and the media.

    Unfair of course but that’s the way it is in this fickle modern 'everyone's a critic' world, to continue being respected as King he needs to be seen to be a superior man in all things and constantly set a good example , an almost impossible task but that’s the job, I'm sure he is up to the challenge and smart enough to judge the current mood of the people and make adjustments to his lifestyle accordingly, this will all blow over in a few months.

    On a good note Queen Sophia has come out of this smelling like a rose. A classy lady as always.

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  9. So they are not calling for an end of the monarchy, only the abdication of this particular monarch?

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    1. The Socialist Party (which has its roots as a Marxist party but has moved away from that over the years) does not, AFAIK campaign against the monarchy. HOWEVER they are in a political alliance with the United Left which is adamantly anti-monarchy and has laid out a detailed plan for the abolition of the monarchy and the creation of the Third Spanish Republic. They're hands are far from clean.

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  10. The judicious hunting of animals has always been a traditional part of the original conservationist movement. After all, If you hunt, you desire to pass that honor down to your children, as I'm sure His Highness does.

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  11. All this from socialists who have no problem with the slaughter of infants in utero... but save the elephants (even the ones that are not endangered)!

    Mad Monarchist, you are not nearly so mad as the politicos of our time!

    Fr Theodore

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    1. That is a very good point, Fr Theodore, abortionists decrying the humane hunting of animals...what bloody hypocrites !!!!

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