Unionist of the day #2
Posted on
December 14, 2012 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
We suppose we really ought to start saying “British nationalist”, but it’s a bit long.
We’ve found that “answering a different question to the one you were actually asked” is something of a Unionist specialist subject – Alistair Darling gave a masterclass in the strategy on today’s edition of the Daily Politics. Still, you heard it here first, folks.
Sovereign Nation? Scotland did not surrender this when it entered the Union with England. The UK is nothing more than a construct comprising Scotland, England, Ireland and wales, the commonwealth and its dominions. It’s really a federal structure when you think about it. That’s why no one has been able to define Britishness except in vague terms. You could also easily claim that no one in England is a EU citizen or for that matter, the Welsh and the Irish.
For me the follow up question would then to challenge him on the status of England. Lets see how far he stretches his fuzzy logic – anyone want to guess what the response would be?
Ask if English people are EU citizens.
Off topic right at the start: sorry folks.
Donald Trump has taken out a full page advert in the Dundee Courier slagging off Alex Salmond for the SNP Green Energy policies and for the release of the so called ‘Lockerbie Bomber’. I found it to be insulting. I suspect most Scots will also.
“So called.” Don’t get me started. A complaint that the original investigation and then the subsequent prosecution deliberately ignored and then buried conclusive evidence that showed he wasn’t is currently in the hands of the Dumfries and galloway police.
Sorry, off topic. I’ll shut up now.
“Off topic right at the start: sorry folks.
Donald Trump has taken out a full page advert in the Dundee Courier”
You’ll be forgiven on the sole condition that you get us a scan or photograph of said advert. Otherwise LIFE BAN.
It was referred to on the radio this morning, I think. At least, I’m aware of the contents and I think the information came in my ears. Something about this being the sort of man who will ruin Scotland.
Broken link there, Rev.
I’ve got a business idea that someone might be interested in. When the apocalypse fails to happen on the 21st there are going to be a lot of Americans with spare survival shelters. My idea is that we import them and sell them to Unionists who are scared of a YES vote and the resultant opening of the Hell Mouth.
RevStu, here you go. I actually read it on Robert Black’s blog, but he got the informaiton from the STV web site.
http://news.stv.tv/north/205898-donald-trump-criticised-over-lockerbie-bomber-jibe-at-first-minister/
Trying this….
http://nfs.stvfiles.com/imagebase/172/623×349/172289-donald-trump-anti-windfarm-advert-december-2012.jpg
I thought it might display the picture. Anyway, it’s a scan of the advert.
Going by that picture, if all those wind turbines mean the A9 can be upgraded to 4 lanes each way then most people will probably go for it.
Nice of him to use a picture that shows Eck at his most jowelly.
In the advert:
‘This is the same mind’… ‘write and protest Alex Salmond’..
Oh dear, looks like Don won’t be getting a job in the public sector under Ed Milliband’s plans only to employ people wot speak the proper Queen’s English..
@Doug Daniel
Not a lot any of us can do about Alex’ weight Doug. That’s for the man himself to tackle. It would be in his own interests regarding his health however to lose a bit.
Megrahi is dead. He spent the remaining years of his life in pain. The guy was considered by most level headed people innocent. What the f… else does that twat Trump want from him?
I don’t follow twitter, but had a quick look. Mr. Hill seems somewhat ‘lost’ on this, and many other issues. Maybe its the 140 character limit, but I just don’t understand what he is trying to say.
I think I will stop now 😉
We need to home in on the underlying logic.
Ask him “do Scottish people exist?”.
You could shorten it to ‘Brit Nat’ rather than British Nationalist.
Lowland Scots and Scottish Gaelic are both languages recognised by EU Charter. I wonder who speaks these languages and where they come from?
And where did the name Madame Ecosse come from for that matter?
You’d get more sense asking Benny Hill, and he’s dead.
He must be the NO campaigns strategic adviser.
“Donald Trump has taken out a full page advert in the Dundee Courier slagging off Alex Salmond”
That should increase Eck’s kudos ratings a fair bit.
Why did he choose the Dundee Courier? The Meanie Estate is in Aberdeenshire – maybe the P&J didn’t want his silver.
P & J has it too, just make the Donald look like a petulant bully.
Wow, that STV story is a real car-crash of subbing.
@scottish skier
Winnie Ewing was called Madame Ecosse when she became MEP for Scotland.
I thought Lord Lyon had already told Trump off for using that fake coat of arms? Or is this a different fake coat of arms just for the golf company? It is hard to make out on those images but it does not look genuine does it!
I think Alex has paid The Donald to come out with this shite. 🙂
Listen Donald, I’ll let you build your golf course thingy if you promise to slag me off something rotten at every available opportunity ok 😉
Rev your link goes to yesterday’s prog.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01pfs86/Daily_Politics_14_12_2012/
@Elizabeth Sutherland
Winnie…. Aye, a ken. 😉
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Incidentally, just flicking though family birth certificates. Mrs SS is French, Mr SS and mini Miss SS both Scottish (born in Scotland). No mention of any UK or British thingy, just this mysterious place called Scotland that the EU apparently does not recognise (even though its mentioned hundreds of times on their website). Does that mean Mini SS and I not are not EU citizens because we don’t have ‘UK’ birth certificates? Maybe just as Mini SS does not have a passport right now she’s out of the EU?
cynical highlander
Ta for the correct link.
Really interesting to seen Blair Jenkins – relaxed, and using reasonable language – compared with Alastair Darling’s irate behaviour and extreme language.
Were this an issue which I was only mildly interested in, and didn’t know much about it. my judgement would have been that Darling was running scared and blustering. I wouldn’t have been impressed.
I think it is becoming very obvious why Alex wanted the 2 year gap to the referendum.
When the shouting and screaming runs out of steam, there will be nothing coming from the other side.
He is a superb politician and strategist.
@cynicalHighlander Today’s wasn’t available when I wrote the piece. Updated now, ta for the link.
@Oldnat
Yes, Blair Jenkins is a major asset to the Yes campaign. Comes from a non-SNP background (so can’t be denigrated as an evil Scot Nat separtist!), has extensive experience of the media in Scotland, and appears to be a very decent, thoughtful person. Also, at the rally in September Ruth Wishart gave a very good speech. It would be good if the Yes campaign used her talents more.
@Juteman
It is alarming to think but we would be about ten months away from a referendum on independence if the unionists had their way. The White Paper and the debates would have been rushed so much it would have been a farce.
@ Mutley79.
Exactly! Imagine all this bolx being squeezed into a few months.
No wonder the Unionists wanted a quick referendum.
I can fully understand (and often share!) why lots of independence supporters get enraged with the Better Together tactics, and want to respond in kind.
However, the evidence so far is that the No side is becoming more and more extreme in their utterances, and are gratefully accepting the rope they are being offered to hang themselves.
I’d be amazed if both sides aren’t commissioning extensive unpublished polling and focus groups to inform their tactics.
The more relaxed the Yes campaign are, the more confident I feel!
@Juteman
Yes, the No campaign have inadvertently shown to the Scottish electorate just how important they think the debate on our nation’s future is for them…Something to be very grudingly conceded, and then got over as quickly as possible, because it is only Scotland after all.
RevStu,
“We suppose we really ought to start saying “British nationalist”, but it’s a bit long.”
A somewhat seminal book in pop psychology once divided the human race into these four categories.
I’m OK, your OK
I’m OK, you are not OK
Your OK, I’m Not OK, and you’ve guessed:
I’m not OK, you are not OK.
I quite liked that idea. That if you are OK and treat others as OK you can have a good life. It is about your own perception of yourself, no-one elses. Unless one deludes oneself.
Which certain unionist politicians must be masters at. The delusion thing.
I have just watched the Daily Politics programme and I do agree that Mr Darling seemed to be getting a bit frothy. Splenetic, actually. The BBC also seemed to have found him a nice quiet studio in Edinburgh while it sounded as though the BBC in Glasgow were having their Christmas party in the background.
I think the poorest performance came from Jo Coburn. She constantly interrupted Blair Jenkins while giving Alastair Darling a free run. The contrast was quite marked. This may go down well with viewers from England but came across to me as very high handed.
The metropolitan media, and the BBC in particular, seems to have great difficulty in controlling the natural tendency of its staff to see everything from a metropolitan perspective with everything non-metropolitan viewed as regional. So when we find the Scots referred to as “they” or hear a BBC interviewer or presenter saying something like “If we give the Scots independence” it reinforces the feeling that we are on the outside looking in.
In his interview with the BBC Mr Barrosso exhibited complete ignorance of the nature of the Union and it was quite obvious that the BBC interviewer had no interest in enlightening him, appearing to be quite satisfied at having pushed him beyond his original, vague and non-specific response to make an explicit statement about Scotland that suited the BBC’s agenda. It is clear that the EU in general and Mr Barrosso in particular need to be better informed about the political structure of the Union and it is clear that the Westminster government are not about to provide such information, for obvious reasons. It suits them to leave Mr Barrosso in the dark and the state broadcaster is in no hurry to shed any light on the subject. However, the BBC has no business colluding in this strategy. It needs to start reporting objectively on this debate and it could make a useful contribution by examining the nature of the union between Scotland and England.
I think the Yes campaign need to remind viewers and readers forcefully and at every opportunity that the UK is actually a political union between two nations formed by an international treaty and that what they seek is the dissolution of this treaty. I was particularly pleased to see that this issue was raised in the letters page in the Herald on the 14th of December and I hope that the leaders of the Yes campaign will start to give it prominence.
“In his interview with the BBC Mr Barrosso exhibited complete ignorance of the nature of the Union and it was quite obvious that the BBC interviewer had no interest in enlightening him.”
I doubt the presenter would know much about the Union either. It has only survived this long by going unexamined, by appearing to be the default. Once people start thinking about the Union – what it is, how it came to be, it’s place in the modern world as a political power structure – it quickly becomes clear just how shaky, useless, and unsupportable it is. That’s why our betters have always gone to great lengths to prevent us thinking about it.
Pauline Marois, leader of the Parti Quebecois in Canada is trying to separate from Canada claiming that the Province of Quebec is the original home land of the French living in Canada. The Province of Quebec is the original homeland of 12 Indian Nations who never signed treaties with the English or the French people living there. Ms. Marois is trying about trying to tell the world her people have no home. They have France.