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Friday 21 May 2021

It's the grievance game yet again



Harry accuses Royal Family of 'total silence and neglect' and says he turned to drink and drugs as an adult over Diana's death

The Duke of Sussex was talking in a new Apple TV+ programme about mental health, called The Me You Can't See.

It's a defining aspect of modern celebrity politics, the self-centered grievance game. To say this is not unsympathetic dismissal - high-profile people have to cope with being high-profile. Obviously so, shouldn't need saying. 

Alternatively they have to lower their profile and tune out the problem as far as it can be tuned out. Sink into the background, read, go for long walks, keep bees, only rarely give interviews. That kind of thing. 

However this is the modern world and it is possible to make political and financial gains from the machinery of grievance publicity. It is possible to wallow in it. People will help you with that. 

The Duke of Sussex was talking in a new Apple TV+ programme about mental health, called The Me You Can't See. Nope - he's the me we can see all too clearly, the man who must be embarrassing millions.

4 comments:

Sam Vega said...

Yes, I feel really embarrassed for the poor bloke. Dysfunctional upbringing at best, and augmented by tragedy; ridiculous marriage; sudden change of public persona; and - worse of all - the incessant public exposure of all that stuff.

But then I think that it might just be me at fault, or people of our age. Perhaps he's doing fine, that's how the culture has changed, and maybe he's happy as a pig in shit.

A K Haart said...

Sam - that bothers me too. I also tend to wonder if it might me and merely an age thing. On the other hand we can't build a viable future on people like Harry and Meghan. Unless we can.

Doonhamer said...

I was going to comment, but I can't be aresed. He is just thick. Maybe the sex and drugs but no apparent rock 'n' roll have addled his pate.

A K Haart said...

Doonhamer - I tend to think he's just thick. He'll probably be forgotten sooner than he imagines too.