You can’t handle the truth!
Apparently I stirred up some poo (hey, I have a professional job now) over at Global Voices
when I shared some of ya’all’s blog posts (okay, and my own, I couldn’t resist) about M6 being a bit too rich.
“Long live the king!” says one of my commenters.
What do you think?
September 18th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I read the comment of that delirious “patriot” on your post in GV. A lot of my countrymen are, unfortunately affected by some sort of self-deceptive state: the repeated rhetoric about the sacredness of the monarch has severely damaged the critical spirit of some of my people, to the point that some see any critic on the King as a personal attack; as if he was his own father. I mean it’s conspicuously scandalous those figures on the king’s fortune when you look at the levels of abject poverty all around, the lack of any decent health system, the country’s abysmal debt, the levels of illiteracy (after half a century of formal independence). But never mind; these kind of reactions are (hopefully) not those of the majority. As 63% of the Moroccan electorate has shown in the last elections: they rejected the process, hence refused to be bought out by the system
September 19th, 2007 at 2:41 am
Thanks Hisham, particularly for your comment over at GV (forgive me for not mentioning it publicly there). I agree with you completely.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Well, criticism of the Monarch can get one into real trouble. Some feel that this requires vocal support. Others have a knee jerk reaction against foreign comments on the First Jet Skier.
His wealth is not the real problem however, it’s the monopolisation of economic activity and the rent seeking.
Precisely why I waited until moving out of Morocco to make such comments! Thank you, by the way, for your explanation over at GV - very thorough and helpful.
-Jill
September 19th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
His wealth is not the real problem however, it’s the monopolisation of economic activity and the rent seeking.
I’d agree with you, but aren’t those things sort of related? The royal family would still be very wealthy if they stopped exploiting their position to suck the country dry (huge family fortunes don’t vanish overnight), but I doubt they could long uphold that kind of megawealth. By definition, monarchs are not monarchs because of their sharp minds or keen business senses…
I would assume that’s why only a couple of European royals made the Forbes list: most of them are still living off fortunes gathered Moroccan-style in the bad old days, and only a select few have managed to keep making money. Or look at at all the decaying palaces, mansions-turned-hotels, and déclassés among European nobility — unsurprisingly, these people didn’t do very well on a level playing field. Give it a couple of generations more, and Europe’s capitals will see scores of well-mannered inbreds trying to trade heraldic shields for food.
September 20th, 2007 at 5:16 am
Hm. It’ll be interesting to see if you experience any repercussions.
My husband gets nervous if I even tell a joke about M6 - then again, his father was tossed in jail back in the 70s for “treason.”
September 20th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I think it is a real shame that M6 and his royal family spent that amount of money! There must be some discussion about this; i can hardly believe it. He shouldn’t spent so much money on cars and clothes but on building houses for the poor’s living in the slums of casablanca for example. In my eyes the king is not a sacred person, i just don’t believe that he is related to the profhet mohammed; it’s just a manner to secure his position as a monarch in morocco. But let’s say he is sacred; as a moroccan i don’t believe that should justify his spending! Period.
September 21st, 2007 at 5:38 pm
@rachma: with all due respect: related to the profhet mohammed or not he should serve his people rather than acting as if he owns the country!
September 21st, 2007 at 6:15 pm
well that’s exactly what I meant by saying that whether or not he is related to the profhet he shouldn’t spent that much money. Even if he is indeed related to the profhet (which I don’t believe personally)that does not jusify his spending. There must be more discussion about this.
October 6th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Ooh…watch it there, you may not be Moroccan but your husband is.