There is nothing better in these times than reading the words of , the Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader, executed by the British firing squad on May 12, 1916.
The weirdest thing right now are the otherwise progressive commentators who still seriously intone that 鈥淣ow is not the time鈥 to criticize; that we should 鈥渟till show respect鈥; or that 鈥淪he did some good鈥.
Even if all the claims about Mrs Windsor鈥檚 good works and intentions were true, it鈥檚 as if they cannot grasp the fact that the only reason any of us even know she existed and was in a position to perform all that 鈥渟ervice鈥 is because the British royal family is an institution.
Why would we even want to forget that feudalism and colonialism ever happened and drift into Disney stories about princes and princesses?
Certainly Mrs Windsor and the people around her 鈥渕odernised鈥 the monarchy.
They made it fit for contemporary capitalism by perpetuating the notion that some people are 鈥渂orn leaders鈥 and others are not and, of course, providing fodder for celebrity distraction.
However, despite the media adulation, I don鈥檛 think the capitalist state and media will be able to carry over the reverence for Mrs Windsor to her successors.
The current outpouring and nostalgia is not entirely manufactured; it鈥檚 partly tied up with the fact she took the throne when she was young in a period coinciding with rising prosperity in the Global North, including for workers.
I鈥檓 not sure that 鈥淜ing鈥 Charles is going to provide much distraction from the grinding austerity of neoliberalism.