Let arrogant, ignorant, exceptionalism, harking back to a past belligerent relationship (ended as long ago in comparable modern time as the gap backwards between World War 1 and around the time of the coronation of your Victoria) end.
Let it go. You are not better than everyone else by dint of your place of birth. Really you are not.
Set aside your disrespect and disregard of other cultures. Instead be overtly respectful. Be humble.
Then, and only then, neutrals may side with your sporting teams in competition.
So. No’ happy with getting the rubber-faced satire puppet that is Michel Gove intae the same news cycle as Scotland getting pumped at the fitbaw (to boot us hard when we were already down) informing us that his Prime Minister, the lumpen muppet of London, isnae going to entertain a section 30 order during the course of the current parliament (wee shame, how sad, who cares, for it matters not a jot what he thinks) we’re also, just a couple of days later, to be subject, thankfully from a distance , to yet more brainwashing of the incremental kind.
Yes, following Gove’s wee bit of mischief and his school-boyish attempts to stir the internal Yes Movement merde by saying what a good chap he thinks Ian Blackford is, and how comfortably settled Ian is in the Commons (cue wailing and gnashing of teeth) we’ve to put up with a national British national national British national day (today), ‘One Britain, One Nation’.
Loads of poor wee unsuspecting English weans, under the guise of a fairly innocuous- looking cause, but of course Tory-backed and trumpeted, will be used unapologetically to dress up in the colours of the apron, and North Korean-like, sing songs celebrating the magnificence of the state. Eerie scary stuff. Is this really the direction England wants to take?
Those poor weans. They’ll have them formation dancing in straight lines and squares of one hundred every 50 feet in Horse Guard’s Parade next.
As we all know, Britain is not a nation. Scotland is a nation. Wales is a nation, England is a nation. Northern Ireland is currently a province. All of these collectively are not a nation.
It is purported that it was school kids who wrote the theme to this event, complete with the rousing words “Strong Britain, Great Nation, Strong Britain, Great Nation”. If they did write the song it’s no’ the weans fault that this alleged patriotic dirge more than crosses over the line into nationalism, real nationalism, the bad kind, not the civic one, the one about exceptionalism and arrogance.
No it’s the fault of those promoting it, the right-wing little empire fetishists, thrilled, seeing this as yet another small step on the incremental road to the future they want (the past, plus uber-exceptionalism).
Horrible stuff. This lot are worth the watching. We’re no’ quite at the brawling in Munich bierkellers over who’s round it is next just yet, but every step to the right is another step towards a future that nobody but a very limited few wish for.
Rightly many folk in the south have condemned the very idea of such a jingoistic celebration. Good on them.
Scotland? Our divergent road away from our nearest neighbour continues. The section 30 refusal? Who cares. He refuses, we tick the box and get on with setting the date for the referendum. The British government can try to stop it if they like, via the courts, or otherwise.
The welcome news that long standing politico, party president and former constitution secretary (the poor sod who had to sit through the hours of endless sham ‘consultation’ meetings pre-Brexit) Mike Russell, has been appointed Director of the Independence Unit is a sign I was looking for in terms of forward motion towards independence.
It’s not the ideal, I would have preferred the First Minister to set a timeframe of key dates for the campaign and a provisional date for the referendum (with a Covid -19 caveat of course) but in the absence of that the paragraph in Nicola Sturgeon’s media release “He (Russell) will oversee the development of the party’s independence campaign, as we look ahead to #indyref2 later in this Parliament.” gives me some form of comfort.
There can be no backtracking, no reneging, no direction travelled other than forward towards the decisive canvassing of Scotland’s people on their constitutional future.
They say words are cheap, and we’ve been marched hallway up hills before for nothing, but I think now the party which has the facilitation of self-government as its fundamental reason for existence have boxed themselves so far into a corner that there can be no other alternative other than to progress towards a referendum or they risk significant political self-harm of meltdown proportions if they don’t.
We’ve hit bang or bust point. A referendum must take place during the course of this parliament or their credibility will be well and truly gone. Therefore a referendum will happen.
Seeking a section 30 order from London is a red herring. A lot of folk get het up about the whole concept of having to ask an apparent equal partner’s permission to do nothing other than to simply obey the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland. I understand that. However, on the tick sheet towards a “gold standard referendum” where we expect the outcome to be respected (kicking and screaming by the British state) and recognised by the family of world nations, it’ll be another demonstration of Scotland’s scrupulous attention to establishing legitimacy.
It’s a tick, and move on. You know, I know, Johnsons’ cabal of chancers and comic singers know, the Scottish government know, the EU know, the UN know, wee Tam the windae cleaner knows, that Westminster will refuse, or ignore a request for a section 30 order when it is made. So what? That very refusal will provide yet another boost to the independence campaign. Then a question arises, in the 21st century where two countries form part of an alleged democratic union can actual democracy be denied? There can only be one correct answer to that question, and legitimately Scotland will progress to the referendum.
We do not require the permission of London to hold a referendum or to re-establish self-government should we by democratic majority choose to do so. It is not within their power to make such decisions.
We already have the permission of the people of Scotland to organise a referendum, and at that referendum whatever their majority decision ultimately turns out to be is precisely all that matters.
We must ensure that we, as a movement, do all that we can, individually and collectively, to continue to promote and educate the not-yet convinced members of our communities of the benefits of independence. Ignore hardline Unionists. Don’t waste breath and energy on them, move on.
Noo’s the day, and noo’s the hour. Leave it all on the park, wae aw yer might, aw yer power. Make us proud, and make us glad. Make us boogie in the night like we are clearly mad.
It is but eleven versus eleven. It’s no’ aboot superstar masters we are servin. Tae the task pit yer mind, our foe you’ll be unnervin. Win yer battles wan oan wan, a victory deservin.
C’mon Scotland, we’re all with you. 5 million at home, a worldwide diaspora too. Give us a moment to lift ourselves high. For all of our people, a proud nation, let no one deny.
So there we are, wobbling on the back foot and needing snookers, again. Same auld, same auld, and I’m not talking about the fitbaw.
The Dough-ball of Downing Street, falling over himself tae sign any sort of trade deal with anybody, anybody at all, to try and make out that Brexit isn’t the biggest economic act of financial suicide ever known to modern man, has talked the Aussies intae making an absolutely smashing deal for themselves.
This will allow them over the next ten years, and beyond, with incrementally decreasing tariffs, (eventually to nil), to flood the UK market with beef, lamb, didgeridoos and just about anything they like (don’t eat their sausages, they are minging).
This will net the canny thong-wearers billions of dollars for their economy, while the Fermers of Scotland will find themselves getting pumped out of the business, their superior produce struggling to compete with the boat loads of frozen cheap Matilda meat. (Aussie chickens are wee’er than oors tae. I’ve never worked out whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing).
An Aussie government spokesperson, hawdin the fort whilst the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison was being wined, dined and being treated for compulsive laughing up his sleeve at the old mother country, has just been on the goggle box being interviewed about the deal, and was asked the question ( I paraphrase) “But this will surely have a devastating impact on the farmers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, wont it?” to which he replied something along the lines of “ I don’t give a stuff about what happens to them. It’s Australian farmers that interest me.”
Clearly the Bullingdon Bawheid isn’t too bothered about what happens to them either.
Like the post-Brexit fishing settlement the Fermers have now been well and truly shafted as well. Is it just possible, that at last, some of them might actually stop voting Tory now, (although apparently we’ve no’ tae call them Tories anymore because it upsets the wee darlins. I can think of many a thing I could call them that probably would upset them, far worse than the word Tories) and consider a future in an independent Scotland?
If, by signing off this trade agreement (the EU, too, must be wetting themselves with laughter) Johnson thinks he can stop the Scottish wildcats roaming all over the highlands from having a wildcat referendum, even though their wee paws cannae really hold a bookies pencil tae mark the voting slip (they’ll manage) he’s kidding himself on.
Mind you it’s more than time that all of these wildcats, from the political leader at the top, strangely quiet on the subject ( I know, we’re in a pandemic she’s trying to stop us dying from, a pandemic in which many souls have perished) through to the SNPALBANIANS and the wider, non-aligned Yes Movement started tae get mobilised, and together, for a campaign.
Give us a provisional timescale First Minister, temper it with a Covid-19 clear caveat, but please give us something to work towards. Please.
Independence is normal, being governed by another country is not.
As the Doughnut of Downing Street takes an aeroplane ride to Cornwall, from London, tae discuss issues like climate change and a greener future, you find yourself wondering if there is anything, anything at all, this numpty could do that would open the eyes of the voters of England to his gross incompetence?
Would strolling across Westminster Bridge in only his underpants singing show tunes from The Lion King the Musical and South Pacific do it? Or perhaps bearing his cheeks and breaking wind loudly in the Commons in the direction of the Scottish “Nationalist”Party’s benches every time Ian Blackford gets to his feet to speak might do the trick? Or maybe permanently moving his office to the inside of a large fridge freezer (after getting a filthy rich patron to expensively decorate it on his behalf first of course)? What will it take?
The guy is currently in the middle of the longest, most convoluted, Mickey-take that was ever perpetrated. A monumental wind-up known as his political career. It’s like the lovechild of Terry Thomas and Margaret Rutherford woke up one morning after a heavy night on the Beaujolais, had a wazz in the wardrobe, and was suddenly informed he was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
There are countless more qualified individuals around, in fact, there’s probably more of the adult population of the UK more suited than he is to the job than aren’t. He must stand in front of the mirror every morning, before brushing his teeth, giggling like a naughty five year old, at the very idea that he’s reached the lofty government position that he has.
Can you imagine the thoughts that manage to float to the surface for somebody with his mindset, where there is no doubt in his wee mind that he is special, exceptional, elite, one of the chosen, but with very few visible or demonstrable useful skills?
‘What chaos can I create today?’ perhaps, or ‘Whose bidding am I doing today for profit before lunch?” That’s the sum total of the man. The guy is a fraud, a very poorly trained snake oil salesman, seen through by genuine leaders as easily as his erstwhile special relationship pal with the fake tan and the golf fetish, currently drowning slowly and deservedly in litigation.
Independence for Scotland is not about getting away from being governed by a specific Prime Minister at a specific point in time. It’s about getting away from being governed for all time by another country. However this bloke really does take the tea cake. He’s a historian’s dream.
If ever there was a time, on the road to independence, where we should be taking advantage of the clear incompetence of our opponents, it is now.
With news that the Boundary Commission for England is recommending that England, the little darlings, get more of a share of the seats in the Commons (as if they haven’t got enough) and Wales and Scotland get it rammed right up, and roon aboot, us (if the recommendations are accepted Scotland would lose 2 seats, resulting in us having 57 representatives in a chamber of 650 seats, Wales would do even worse) the question is certainly begged. Why continue to go there? Why maintain this charade of what passes for democracy in a constitutional arrangement where one of the participants gets to trod all over the rest, concentrating entirely on their own agenda and priorities but gets away with saying thanks for all the benefit over the years of your natural resources and the use of your coastline to dump all our dangerous material and weapons in.
Clearly, yes, Scotland’s MP’s are there to represent their constituents, sit on committees, and to stand up and display oratory skills, making points during debates, asking questions and being drowned out by jeers during non-Covid times, or abused and belittled via Zoom during a pandemic, and all of that. However at some point, unless we become free of the place very soon, surely this will need a rethink if the vast majority of democratically elected representatives elected to the London-based parliament by the people of Scotland continue to be from a party whose reason for existence is to facilitate the return of an independent Scotland. That current norm of electoral preference doesn’t look like changing any time soon. For sure there isnae any sign of a political Messiah amongst the likes of Ross Dougal Moray, Anas Sarwar or Wullie ‘the interrupter’ Rennie.
It is most vexing reading comments from Scottish internationalist MP’s celebrating their longevity as members of the House of Commons for folk who don’t actually want their Scottish internationalist MP’s to be in the House of Commons. The old phrase about settling up instead of settling down comes to mind. I can’t remember who coined that one, but its words becomes more germane by the day.
Sometime soon, somebody somewhere, is going to have to make some progress towards an Independence Referendum. I know we’re still in a pandemic, and ameliorating risk in terms of keeping the people of Scotland as safe as is possible is of paramount importance. I know too, that it’s not about having a referendum, it’s about winning it, once and for all, and then the real work begins.
But no matter how many pelters it will generate from unionist politicians, and the media, many of whom who have spent at least the last nine months telling the Scottish Government they need to follow Boris Johnson’s laissez-faire ‘pandemic, what pandemic? ‘approach and open everything up, who will suddenly spin their opinion around 180 degrees and cry ‘How dare you mention the vile word independence during these dire viral times when together we need to ‘build back better’ (who came up with that asinine alliterative pap?) some progress needs to be made.
Progress of some kind towards legislating for, or scheduling key target dates for a campaign (they can proviso it with the demise of the impact of the virus if they need to) would be more than welcome.
At least give us some indication of a moment in time in the near future we should aim at, work towards, a reason to re-form, to focus on, to cut through the divisions, if only to provide encouragement to the many advocates of a self-governing Scotland, giving some comfort that the direction of travel that we all have followed, and are committing our time and effort to, is still the same direction our elected government, and by extension the party of independence, are also travelling.
Crank it up Bobo, go on, crank up the cringey volume. We can take it, and we will overcome it.
With news coming in, via a weekend Times article, that British diplomats are to be instructed to dispense with any mention of ‘the four nations of the U.K.’ and should refer simply to the UK as one country, it is clear that the forces of red, white and blue exceptionalist nationalism are moving to page 1966 of the subjugation playbook.
Scotland therefore should not be referred to as a country. It is instead part of a country, a region of a country, a province of a country. Not important.
We’ve seen this for years. For example if you are of a sporting mind, and fancy watching Scotland’s regional select team playing any of their matches (outwith that is, during the major tournament they are about play in, a tournament I suppose where we should feel grateful to the organisers for letting us, a region, play in, especially as every other team not from the UK at the tournament represents a self governing nation) you should continue to pay Sky TV for the pleasure.
Meanwhile the north British regional terrestrial station Scottish TV will show you at your convenience all of England’s matches free, complete with the occasional slips in commentary which let you know that their team/ country matters, and yours doesn’t.
Then, as an extension of the recent royal love in, (when the generation of royals who haven’t quite become sullied yet by unimaginable wealth, privilege,scandal and weird archaic ritual were sent north to quieten the normalists) it is also being reported that there are plans to saturate the place with them, to kill off the independence cause once and for all.
Yes, there’s nothing like extremely rich posh folk dressed up in kilts, surrounding by other extremely rich people who are looking for patronage, sleeping in mansions filled with priceless trinkets the rest of us can only imagine, strolling around vast country estates with weapons, blowing the shyte out of the local wildlife, for changing ordinary people’s minds about their aspirations for their children and grandchildren’s future. Although another media photo shoot of them eating a fish supper outside a real chippy might just tip us over.
Yes, a definite ramping up of the encouragement of cringe and self-loathing for all things Scottish is in the wind. Have we seen it before? Yes. Did it have any impact? Naw.
We are a country, we’ve always been a country, we always will be a country, and soon, soon we will return to being an independent country.
Absolutely everything is a gimmick with the mob of ill-fitting, unqualified, chancing wallopers who gather round a polished table in Downing Street on a regular basis, preening themselves and trying to be noticed, as they laugh at all the right moments in amongst the woolly-headed muppet’s gags, or during his half-learned oft-misquoted Latin pearls of wisdom.
London, London, London. Let’s revive the spirit of the swinging sixties or Cool Britannia. Let’s build a see-through swimming pool for very rich people and glue it up between two skyscrapers. How incredible we are! How ingenious, It is almost just like developing Concorde, but without the French of course. Yes, a swimming pool high in the sky that catches the eye, that’ll take the Saturday tea-time TV watchers minds away from the many tall buildings they live in that are still clad in material which may send the structure up like a bonfire should a spark appear.
Marvellous. Doesn’t it make you proud? Let’s take it further. Let’s commission a next generation super-yacht. Let’s spend upwards of 200 million pounds of tax-payers money on this super symbol of the new dawn of mini-empire, where the rules will be waived once more in spades. Yes, in a time when research shows that Foodbanks in the UK are now far more numerous than McDonald’s fast food restaurants that is indeed a splendid idea.
It’s a simple fix. Once the sleek gliding vessel, fitted out for the comfort of the super-rich elite who will be travelling aboard is launched the poor and the hungry will be entirely welcome to come and wave the toffs off from the dockside. There you go, that’s them appeased. Oh how John Foreigner will quiver and crumble as this majestic craft hoves into their waters. International negotiations and trade deals will be a piece of cake from now on for old John Bull. By golly they will.
Now that we’re relieved of the burden of carrying all of those European failed states on our back Britain can rise again to glory. Who needs a fishing or farming industry anyway, when you can paint fighter jets in sparkling red, white and blue-flagged livery?
Who needs actual policies which are designed to impact the lives and health of the many positively and beneficially, when you can easily bamboozle them with layer upon layer of rituals, jubilees, centenaries, fly-pasts, weddings, visits, memorials, trips for the golden hat in its own Daimler, and statues, adding more and more each year to the already busy schedule of mesmerising the herd with the past. Standard of living slipping? Blame European spite and Rumanian travellers.
Accountability? What accountability? On a daily basis the regime in Downing Street make monumental errors, displays outrageous patronage, transfers masses of public money to the private sector, benefitting themselves personally, and takes decisions which are disastrous for the people of the nations which make up the United Kingdom. If even a portion of what Cummings revealed is true the current leadership of the British government should resign immediately. Yet, as every error, every mis-step, every failure, every deadly decision is made, opinion polls shows his popularity increasing. Teflon coated. A nightmare scenario.
Can somebody somewhere soon please provide the strength of character, the personality to heal and unite the various strands, fringes and warring factions of the broad Yes Movement, its political parties and its non –party political groups, behind a spearheading campaign to once and for all return Scotland to its rightful state of independence, and free of this dangerously deluded clown show trip to the past? Please.
itisintruthnotforglory 
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