Objection! Conjecture!
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Misidentification based on appearances can definitely happen.
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It does seem to me that a group having outsize influence to encourage wars while being personally exempt from having to actually fight those wars is always a bad thing. And while there’s still the usual thing where the ultra- wealthy can usually dodge drafts (or at least ensure safe postings), it shouldn’t be written into the nations laws.
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could you elaborate?
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Plz allow me to set the scene sort of thing.
I watch a lot of videos made at Horse Guards, primarily so I can see the big sexy horses - Irish Draughts (they’re light drafts, not like Clydesdales), and Irish Sporthorses (ID/Irish Thoroughbred crosses).
Some tourons deliberately set out to fuck with the guards who are stationed in the yard. They make faces at them, say dumb stuff, point and laugh, try staring them down, do stupid shit in front of them while their friends record, try to walk into the archways, yell at them, get too close, etc. It’s not only bratty children and snotty teenagers pulling that crap, grown ass folks also do it.
Ministry of Defense police are on hand, and they usually straighten out and/or kick out the assholes. They explain it’s a military installation, the guards are decorated, on-duty serving members of the armed forces, and visitors must behave in a reasonable and respectful manner.
Whenever orthodox groups show up, the regular youtubers there hold their collective breath. They have seen so much bad behavior, they worry that the guards will have to put up with undeserved BS.
About half the orthodox groups are respectful and interested, and ask the MOD cops questions, like anyone else would. They don’t let their children go screaming and careening around the place, trying to climb on or under the chains (which separate the guards in the arches from the public), or make fun of the guards. Nor do they engage in such behavior themselves.
Sadly, many of the adults, esp in very large groups, do pull similar crap.
They are esp disrespectful of the women guards, staring and STARING at them, making snide remarks they and their buddies find amusing, etc.
They’ll stand right in front of the guards and laugh at or say nasty things to them, which can’t be fun when it’s 30-40 adult men doing so.
Some monopolize the space w/a weird kind of entitlement. They’ll be chatting, or rearranging everything in their baby carriages ferinstance, standing right in front of the guards. No other tourists are allowed anywhere near, so they’re forced to wait for ages to take their pictures. Most tourists take their pics, look around for a sec, and move away so the next person can do the same.
Some do all that and let their kids run wild, only for them to be ushered back to their parents by the MOD cops, who calmly explain such behavior is not permitted.
Some esp ill-behaved groups have been approached by the youtuber I really like. He civilly informs them that the regiment whose guards they were just abusing liberated Belsen. He often asks them what would happen were they to behave like that toward serving Israeli soldiers? Do they think tourists should be respectful of local traditions when they visit Israel? They usually wave a dismissive hand at him or just walk away, but others are deliberately obtuse. “What did I do that was disrespectful?” Some teenagers have told him soldiers are stupid.
One large group of jr and high school age boys swarmed a mounted guard, pushing other tourists aside as their chaperones watched. They got much too close, which made the horse understandably nervous. The boys started up a short song with a very loud shout at the end, and the horse liked that even less. They did that twice, and since the MOD cops were nowhere around, the guard urged his increasingly upset horse forward, scattering the laughing morons as he shouted, “Stand clear of the king’s guard!” The cops finally came, and gave them and their idiot chaperones an earful.
Please note my use of the word ‘respectful’ means not getting too close, and not misbehaving. I am not saying visitors should act like they’re at a place of worship or a funeral, they just shouldn’t act like dicks.
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Thank you for the explanation. I definitely had questions.
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The “ticket to heaven” mentality of religious fundies leads many of them to believe they can behave like arseholes to others in the pre-afterlife, especially to those who aren’t members of the cult. The black-hats aren’t an exception to this rule.
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Can’t spell ‘fundamentalist’ w/o ‘fundament.’
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It’s cued up to a point where you can see a nice lady getting a great pic w/a mounted guard and a beautiful horsie.
Then comes an orthodox family who’d already been there over an hour, monopolizing the space in front of the gatesman.
Shortly thereafter, a large tour group shows up and hassles the chitsman.
It does have a happy ending: Our John has a great convo w/the tour guide, who gets a lot of info from John, and shares some w/him, too. They’ve become friends, and always have a warm greeting for one other. Ever since, when this guide brings his groups to Horse Guards, they are far better behaved than was this lot. He explains everything to them ahead of time, so at least any mockery they feel like indulging in is private.
Once in a while John gets through to rude tourons. They promise to eschew touronism, and to hip their friends to what’s acceptable at Horse Guards.
ETA: Sorry @GagHalfrunt and all! I’d cued it up to 58 mins exactly.
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You’ll have to give the timestamp, because at least for me the video can’t be watched embedded, and when I “watch on YouTube” it starts at the beginning.
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Add &t=3480 to the URL.
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Or
&t=[minutes]m[seconds]s
I can’t convert something like this without a calculator.
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ETA
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