The passing of the British Queen Elizabeth, predictably brought forward varied responses from the public. It was interesting for me to witness the immense grief and despair that emanated from large sections of the formerly colonized. It just seemed very idle to me, but I do understand the exceptional public relations job that the monarchy has done in painting Elizabeth as an agreeable grandma figure, rather than the colonial legacy she presided over.
The death of Elizabeth, saw many angrily defending the monarchy, stating that now is not the time to be talking about its past and current harms. This was a great case study of how a strong enough public relations team, can often result in the larger public embracing whatever new washed image they put forward. People are of course welcome to mourn if it is that they care, but is harmful for those mourning to expect others to mourn along with them and simply forget the truth of what she represented. This is the perfect time to talk about the history of the monarchy and the ways in which they need to limit their power and atone for their harmful legacy. It is abusive to expect formerly colonized people, people that are still living with its impacts, to mourn the death of its instigators. Buying into this belief that we must not speak ill of the dead regardless of their harmful actions and legacy is a dangerous practice. This practice constantly sees us reframing active enablers of racism, genocide, theft and economic suppression against minoritized groups as merely being a slip of their hand.