I recently have had an energetic LinkedIn exchange with someone prancing around New York City claiming that he is "HRH Prince of Yugoslavia". He voluntarily calls himself that on LinkedIn, a public social media site. He posted a photo of himself receiving some award from some other "HRH" of Yugoslavia and was quite proud of it. I had the audacity to comment on his post to say that he should stop using such a title, if for no other reason than because Yugoslavia no longer exists. And, it is now divided up into various republics which are republics and have no royal families or systems. He aggressively replied to my comment by claiming that I was an "ignorant American" and didn't know anything about history. He then professed that "I have ancestors" who were royal family members and, apparently, he thinks that entitles him to continue using a silly title like "HRH Prince of Yugoslavia". He also said that I needed to better understand "constitutional law". So, when I asked him to explain exactly why he is entitled to call himself a "HRH Prince of Yugoslavia" and to which constitution he was referring, he continued to throw insults at me, but made no actual arguments for why he should be calling himself by some non-existent title. Then, he blocked me from his LinkedIn account. That all was not very convincing.
Next, his cousin (apparently half New Yorker and half "royal family of Yugoslavia") jumps into the discussion. She argues that I have no business commenting on her cousin's title and that it is a shame that I am so "ignorant" (apparently a favorite word of "royal Yugoslavs"). And, she tried to make a comparison that calling her cousin "HRH Prince of Yugoslavia" was akin to calling Bill Clinton "Mr. Clinton" instead of "President Client. I told her that there can be no comparison between the titles of democratically elected officials and so-called inherited and unelected titles, especially of a non-existing royal family and royal system. I also clarified that Bill Clinton is no longer President and so, of course, he is now Mr. Clinton, although ex US officials often love to call themselves by their former positions (e.g., President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, Speaker Gingrich). When they do that, it is "trafficking in titles" in the same way that "HRH Prince of Yugoslavia" (and countless Prince and Princesses of Nowhere) like to do. Of course, having no valid argument, she also again called me "ignorant" and blocked me from her LinkedIn account. This is apparently a favored social media tactic of the "royal family of Yugoslavia".
It is all pretty clear to me. Any so-called royal system was the result of someone many centuries ago conquering some land, subjugating its people, giving himself and his descendants a bunch of silly titles and declaring that they were the representatives of God on Earth (at least for the area that they controlled). The fact that someone is a descendent of such a made-up system, especially one that no longer exists, doesn't mean that any of us need to (or should) call them by the silly titles that they have given to themselves. More to the point, we should oppose that nonsense wherever we find it.
Next, his cousin (apparently half New Yorker and half "royal family of Yugoslavia") jumps into the discussion. She argues that I have no business commenting on her cousin's title and that it is a shame that I am so "ignorant" (apparently a favorite word of "royal Yugoslavs"). And, she tried to make a comparison that calling her cousin "HRH Prince of Yugoslavia" was akin to calling Bill Clinton "Mr. Clinton" instead of "President Client. I told her that there can be no comparison between the titles of democratically elected officials and so-called inherited and unelected titles, especially of a non-existing royal family and royal system. I also clarified that Bill Clinton is no longer President and so, of course, he is now Mr. Clinton, although ex US officials often love to call themselves by their former positions (e.g., President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, Speaker Gingrich). When they do that, it is "trafficking in titles" in the same way that "HRH Prince of Yugoslavia" (and countless Prince and Princesses of Nowhere) like to do. Of course, having no valid argument, she also again called me "ignorant" and blocked me from her LinkedIn account. This is apparently a favored social media tactic of the "royal family of Yugoslavia".
It is all pretty clear to me. Any so-called royal system was the result of someone many centuries ago conquering some land, subjugating its people, giving himself and his descendants a bunch of silly titles and declaring that they were the representatives of God on Earth (at least for the area that they controlled). The fact that someone is a descendent of such a made-up system, especially one that no longer exists, doesn't mean that any of us need to (or should) call them by the silly titles that they have given to themselves. More to the point, we should oppose that nonsense wherever we find it.
No comments:
Post a Comment