Friday, January 14, 2005

Harrys blunder

So, Prince Harry has been snapped wearing a Nazi Costume to a fancy dress party. This was always a story that was going to spark outrage. The difficulty in being a royal or member of govt is that scrutiny is far higher than that of any other celebrity. However, we still need to ask the question, is it really that bad?

Only recently, I had a row with some friends over an inappropriate comment made concerning Indians. Now while I know he didn't mean to cause offence, I was still offended and so can totally understand where the people demanding punishment of Harry are coming from.

However, I do find a certain level of hypocrisy when it comes to these scandals. More often than not the fascist era of the 1930s and 40s are viewed with a 'walking on egg shells' stature. Would there have been a scandal if Harry had worn a Roman Centurion costume? The Roman military was responsible for the massacre of millions and subsequent destruction of countless cultures. What if he'd worn a late 19th British army uniform. You know, that famous red tunic that didn't show up the blood of the hundreds of thousands of African and Asian people slaughtered in the name of Empire?

The guy is young and wore something to a fancy dress party. He's apologised for making a poor judgment call. Can we let it go now?

No comments: