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Harry Must Be An Enormous Idiot - War Hero
The Scotsman ^ | 1-13-05 | Laura Elston

Posted on 01/13/2005 5:54:13 PM PST by veronica

Prince Harry’s Nazi outfit would not have been tolerated in the Army and he would have been punished for his actions, a former British commander said today.

Colonel Bob Stewart said he would have given the 20-year-old prince, who will join the forces later this year, two weeks’ worth of extra duties for being pictured dressed up in a fascist uniform, complete with swastika armband.

The army hero, who led British UN troops in Bosnia, branded the antics “bad taste”, saying they had caused offence to many people.

Harry is set to attend the prestigious Sandhurst military academy for officer training.

Col Stewart, who is now retired from the forces, said: “If I had an officer who went to a party dressed as a Nazi I would have dragged him in front of me and as his commanding officer would have given him a punishment of 14 days extra duties.

“Other people have different views but it’s bad taste. You don’t want your officers seen like that.

“It’s likely he would have been punished for bringing the Officer Corps into disrepute.”

He added: “Prince Harry must be an enormous idiot with minimum common sense. He’s made a grave mistake.”

Col Stewart, who trained at Sandhurst, said: “He’s made a serious error but it’s not an error that should stop him entering officer training.”

He added: “The army helps take arrogance away.”


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Israel; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: birdbrain; bonehead; inbred; knucklehead; nazi; notverybright; pinhead; princeharry; princeling; royal; stupid; twit; uk
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To: LibertarianInExile

How do you know?


41 posted on 01/13/2005 11:34:58 PM PST by Chunga
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To: ApplegateRanch

LOL...true...and ignored by many.


42 posted on 01/13/2005 11:37:44 PM PST by wardaddy (Quisiera ser un pez para tocar mi nariz en tu pecera)
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To: veronica

It's time to give genuine consideration to restoring the House of Stuart, rather than putting up with this nonsense from the Windsors a moment longer.

Regards, Ivan


43 posted on 01/13/2005 11:39:36 PM PST by MadIvan (Gothic. Freaky. Conservative. - http://www.rightgoths.com/)
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To: Lancey Howard
It boggles the mind that NOBODY warned Harry that he was doing something incredibly stupid.

It was said on Sky News this morning that his minders were not present.

Regards, Ivan

44 posted on 01/13/2005 11:40:46 PM PST by MadIvan (Gothic. Freaky. Conservative. - http://www.rightgoths.com/)
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To: tuckrdout

Leno just said he misheard when someone told him to "make a fashion statement", hearing instead: "make a fascist statement." LOL


45 posted on 01/13/2005 11:42:22 PM PST by DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet (Christine Fraudoire is not my governoire.)
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To: Chunga

Correct.


46 posted on 01/13/2005 11:42:56 PM PST by Red Sea Swimmer (Tisha5765Bav)
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To: Red Sea Swimmer

Harry is an excellent reason why the monarchy should be abolished.


47 posted on 01/13/2005 11:52:44 PM PST by Cyclops08
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To: veronica

I seem to recall seeing a thread here recently that the majority of young people in England know nothing about WWII and the Holocaust.

Unfortunately, given that information, this sort of thing shouldn't be suprising.

Mark


48 posted on 01/13/2005 11:56:55 PM PST by MarkL (That which does not kill me, has made the last mistake it will ever make!)
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To: Cyclops08
The English Crown will submit to a higher authority and sovereignty soon so the line of succession question for the House of Windsor is not such a big deal. Prince Harry is not guilty of a major crime. The Producers is a very successful play that features people dressed up as Nazi's in an obvious comedy setting. Context is very important when casting judgment on people's behavior. People are rapidly learning how to work out what is important and what is not at this time. The era of messianic jurisprudence is unfolding.
49 posted on 01/13/2005 11:59:03 PM PST by Red Sea Swimmer (Tisha5765Bav)
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To: Chunga

C'mon. They're not going after him because he said or did anything that was remotely anti-Jewish or even pro-Nazi. It was a COSTUME party. He should have known the reaction, but that's what makes him stupid, not that he wore a stupid costume.

This is being done to teach Harry and his brother who the bitch is in the relationship between the British Media and the monarchy.


50 posted on 01/13/2005 11:59:08 PM PST by LibertarianInExile (NO BLOOD FOR CHOCOLATE! Get the UN-ignoring, unilateralist Frogs out of Ivory Coast!)
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To: onyx
Yeah, but in spite of Harry's jug ears like Charles, the resemblance to Hewitt was sufficient for him to issue a detailed public statement acknowledging the likeness but denying that he was Harry's father. So far as I know, the definitive proof -- a DNA test -- has not been claimed.
51 posted on 01/14/2005 12:12:08 AM PST by Rockingham
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To: veronica

Maybe he was dressing up as his Nazi sympathizer great-great uncle. Let it not be forgotten that part of Hitler's plan for an invasion of Great Britain was to put the Duke of Windsor back on the throne as a Nazi puppet....which was why Churchill shipped him off to Bermuda and kept him there most of the war.


52 posted on 01/14/2005 12:20:43 AM PST by balch3
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To: LibertarianInExile
Your first paragraph makes no sense. If he didn't do anything which was perceived as anti-Jewish or pro-Nazi, then what is the action by Harry that requires his being taken to task? Your explanation is that he "should have known the reaction"; I have to ask "the reaction to what?" Why is it stupid to wear a Nazi uniform to a costume party and why should anyone have a problem with it, even if the action is the action of a member of the royal family, if it isn't anti-semitic or pro-Nazi to do so? If your answer goes to perceptions you destroy your argument, because there has to be a perception of either stupidity or inflicted harm, negligence or something untoward in Harry's behavior in order to justify creating this kind of media firestorm in retribution for his actions. It isn't enough to say "he acted stupidly," because you have to answer the question "how so?" If you say "because he wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party and he should have known better," we're just travelling in circles.

Your second paragraph is so self-conciously flip I don't think it's penetrable, at least by me.

53 posted on 01/14/2005 12:22:44 AM PST by Chunga
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To: Chunga

Here's what you're missing: Harry should have known better that the media is a pack of circling vultures, and especially where the royals are concerned. Any situation in which the royals can be made to look the fools, they are. Harry's handlers and Harry himself have to have known that any negative perception of him would be the one the press would play up. If the kid had worn buck teeth and a tricorner hat, he'd have been called out for insulting Americans. Perception of the royals is set by the media's slant, because the public perception of this kid is by and large neutral. He's a royal but he's a kid, so he kind of falls in the middle as far as public perception of his actions, stupid or no. The skew here is to make him humble so far as the press is concerned.

To say it again: This is being done to teach Harry and his brother who the bitch is in the relationship between the British Media and the monarchy. The press is setting the tone for Harry to come to them, hat in hand. It's all about him being at THEIR beck and call, instead of being a normal human being. Royals are not to be allowed to be people, so far as the press is concerned--they are media properties. There was no ACTION that required him to be taken to task--this is about making sure all the royals know who is in charge.

I'm sorry if you didn't understand that last post, but I don't know what was so unclear about it. Perhaps you were too focused on the joke you'd made/idea you had put forth about Harry claiming he was pretending to be in the Producers, to catch the fact that the Continental celebro-paparazzi is entirely different from the fawning American Hollywood-wanna-be press. I hope it's clearer what I meant now.


54 posted on 01/14/2005 3:32:27 AM PST by LibertarianInExile (NO BLOOD FOR CHOCOLATE! Get the UN-ignoring, unilateralist Frogs out of Ivory Coast!)
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To: Peach

"then spend a few years doing community service for a Jewish Center. "

That's a bit excessive.


55 posted on 01/14/2005 3:34:36 AM PST by Rebelbase (Who is General Chat?)
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To: LibertarianInExile
I now understand the business about the press being "the bitch," as you say, and I have understood that this was an example of the British media doing what comes naturally; but I wasn't making a joke with my post, and I still believe that Harry's press people could have handled this matter better if they had addressed Harry's motives for wearing the costume at the beginning of the firestorm.

As of last night, the press was attacking Harry for his actions and no explanation of his behavior was forthcoming from The Royals' camp. The media has been pontificating in tandem, from the British tabloids to Fox News, that Harry should not have worn the uniform to the costume party; that he should have known better; that he had been incredibly insensitive; and that he had no, or little, knowledge of history. Solutions offered by the press included an apology during a possible trip to Auschwitz, where he would learn of the plight of those poor souls who suffered so horribly at the hands of the Nazis. One British military official suggested that the Armed Services will naturally and inevitably deal with his "arrogance" once his military career begins.

Now, it seems to me from all these accusations and profferred solutions that Harry's sin has yet to be identified. Is he ignorant, or is he arrogant? We must put aside the notion that he should have known the reaction of the press for a moment; he isn't being taken to task by them for not knowing how they would react; his actions have given them a huge story that's making them a lot of money. The press is quite happy whenever they see a Royal engaging in behavior having the scent of scandal. It's true that he should have known what their reaction would be, but he isn't being attacked because he didn't know, and as such, he has no reason to address that particular lapse in judgment.

For what then is he being called on the carpet? Arrogance? Regarding what? Did he don the uniform in defiance of commonly-held ethics of mores? Did he think, "I don't care what the Jewish people think or have experienced by-and-large; I will don this Nazi outfit, attend a costume party, and intentionally humiliate them"? If so, he deserves what he gets; if not, the only alternative offered by the press has been his ignorance. He "should have known" his actions would create a panic. But if he didn't know, he didn't know; and he is being held to standards of which he is unaware.

This is why it seems clear to me that an explanation of his motives should have been offered from the outset. It seems evident that he found the costume amusing. Now, there isn't anything amusing about Nazis per se; however, like all evil, they can be mocked, and herein lies the secret with which he might have disarmed the press.

He might have said, through his press people, "I wore this costume because I thought it would be amusing to the people at the party to see a member of the Royal Family being absurd. I had recently viewed The Great Dictator and The Producers and had foolishly come to the conclusion that pretending to be a Nazi was in itself funny, regardless of the context. I was wrong and I apologize profusely for my insensitivity.

Without a motive, can there be guilt? I say yes, if one is willfully blind. This explanation would have both addressed Harry's willful blindness and explained the resulting willful ignorance. It would have had to have been reported by the press, and he could have acknowledged the specific blame for this specific act and silenced the media's howling.

As it is, his detractors have yet to make his wrongdoing clear. One of the jobs of a press agent is to explain things to the press; he who controls the story wins. The Royals' attempts at damage control aren't working. Accepting culpability for specific sins, even if spin is involved, puts the ball in one's own court and one can play the four corners until the clock runs out on the news cycle.

56 posted on 01/14/2005 10:44:43 AM PST by Chunga
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To: Peach
Harry's father should have a tutor teach the foolish young man about the war. He should watch videos, read books and then spend a few years doing community service for a Jewish Center.

Why is all of this Harry stuff about Jews? How many British Jews died in the Holocaust? Far fewer than the tens of thousands of British civilians who died as a result of Nazi bombs--several thousand of whom were in church at the time. Where is the British outrage over this?

57 posted on 01/14/2005 10:50:36 AM PST by montag813
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To: MadIvan
It's time to give genuine consideration to restoring the House of Stuart, rather than putting up with this nonsense from the Windsors a moment longer.

I don't see that the House of Stuart and the various pretenders to that title have shown themselves any less inbred or imbecilic than the current clowns.

So9

58 posted on 01/16/2005 8:31:32 AM PST by Servant of the 9 (Trust Me)
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To: Peach
Harry's father should have a tutor teach the foolish young man about the war. He should watch videos, read books and then spend a few years doing community service for a Jewish Center.

Then we'll see if he thinks what he did was funny.

What nonsense.

How is wearing a Nazi uniform as a costume any worse than dressing up as Napoleon, which, I assume, would have been perfectly acceptable?
Napoleon warred with Britain, killed vast numbers of Brit soldiers and planned to invade and conquer the island.

How is wearing a Nazi uniform as a costume any worse than dressing up as Julius Caesar, which, I assume, would have been perfectly acceptable?
Caesar warred with Britain, killed vast numbers of Brit soldiers and actually invaded and conquered the island.

So9

59 posted on 01/16/2005 8:40:17 AM PST by Servant of the 9 (Trust Me)
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