Monday, August 27, 2012

Prince Harry screwed (again) by the world media: Much ado about nothing?

What? You really thought I could let this go unremarked???!!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have heard that a few days ago England's Prince Harry was photographed nude, while attending a private party in Las Vegas. Apparently those pictures were sold to an American media outlet and have now been seen around the world. News out of England now is that, despite earlier reticence to publish naked pictures of Prince Harry, one British 'news'paper has also shared them. They seem to justify it as coming under 'the public's right to know' or some such rot. Every sleaze rag in America jumped on board to share the proof that *gasp* Prince Harry is a normal male. I am presuming he is normal, since I have heard no follow up story along the lines of *Prince Harry is alien baby: picture proof* or some such nonsense.

No, I have not seen these pictures, and no, I have no intention of seeking them out, because I DON'T CARE! Shocking, I know!!! However, it seems that my total lack of interest in such private pictures is rare, at least among the msm who have fallen all over themselves to express their faux outrage. Not as if England has any other really important issues to cover - or uncover as the case may be. Yes, that was sarcasm.

Fact is these pictures were taken at a PRIVATE party in a PRIVATE room by - one presumes - a private individual. Should all participants (including Harry) have a reasonable expectation that their privacy would be respected? Of course they should, and that quite apart from the old cliche "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

As Prince Charles pointed out to the British media, any publication of these pictures is a gross invasion of privacy, no matter WHO the subject is.

The msm may be flogging this issue, and being oh so terribly serious (as they run to the bank, no doubt) but leave it to our British Military men and women to show the appropriate response to this non-issue.

According to the Daily Mirror, there is now a FaceBook page dedicated to showing support for one of their own by shedding all their clothes. In the Mirror article there are some great pictures with this story. In true British fashion, the Troops - and in some cases, their missus' - poke fun at the stodgy public image portrayed by the msm, and have posted pictures of themselves baring all as they stand tall and salute Prince Harry. The comments are hilarious as they prove that this whole non-issue has been overblown and that they, at least, are not buying into it. Of course, they also prove, in case anybody EVER doubted it, that some British can always laugh at themselves.

In all seriousness though, the msm has proved once again, that there are no lengths to which they will not go, in order to portray a public figure in a bad light, and if that is Prince Harry, so much the better. The fact is, Harry and his mates were at a private 'do' and doing what young lads have done since time began: having fun.

Despite what the msm is saying about how seriously Prince Charles and Buckingham Palace may be viewing this 'incident,' (did any of them suggest that Harry would get a 'dressing down' by his dad? I don't know,) none of us really have any way of knowing, since I am sure none of the family will be saying anything quotable for the media.

Bottom line for me is that this should be a cautionary tale for Harry and his friends: Know who you are trusting, before you strip off. Yes, as a Royal he is a public figure, but he also knows how the media has salivated over every detail of his family's life for years. Sad to say, the media has always pushed the boundaries of the family's right to privacy, and for an opportunity to show Harry in his birthday suit I guess the sky was the limit in terms of the price they were willing to pay.

We don't know who sold those pictures to the media, but I suspect that by now Harry and friends most certainly DO know who did. If nothing else, I hope it was a reminder to them all to be ever wary of who they include in their merrymaking. It is said that everybody has their price, and I hope that the seller of the Harry pictures made a bundle, since that will be the last time she'll ever be invited to a party with that crew.

Good on the British Military for standing with him, and displaying an attribute the seller will never understand: loyalty, which cannot be bought, for any price.

Soldier ON, Harry....

1 comment:

kate said...

Leave Harry alone! Nice post AB...