Right, as promised, one last piece of admin. (This post will be removed in due time.)
We left yesterday’s piece and the associated poll up for two full days to make sure the people who don’t read Wings at weekends saw it and had the chance to vote in it too. But in truth it was pretty obvious how the vote would go from about 20 minutes in.
When the Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died last month, the first of their songs that popped into my head, for no particular reason, was “Under My Thumb”, a mildly controversial 1966 album track the band never released as a single in the West.
Its most infamous place in history, though, is this.
Until Watts’ death I was only very broadly aware of the events at Altamont Speedway in 1969, a free festival at a racetrack near San Francisco at which four people died in scenes of malevolent chaos and which is widely regarded as the grim headstone of the hippy era.
But on seeing the extraordinary footage above for the first time on the day of Watts’ death – taken from “Gimme Shelter”, notionally the official movie of the show, although the first two-thirds of it are actually a mundane travelogue of the preceding tour dates – I did some proper reading up on it.
And as I did, a horribly familiar feeling started to unfold.
For many years now, whenever I’ve done one of those “Which Political Party Should You Be In?” online quiz things, it always says that I’m a Green, which is weird because I really hate cyclists. Nevertheless, it was still the result when I did one most recently, just last month.
So I decided that for the first time in my life it was finally time to join a political party.
DaveL on Just Good Friends: “What the fuck are you talking about? What’s a ‘Da Dews’? I’ve never heard of it. While I’m here you…” Jul 12, 00:28
Hatey McHateface on Just Good Friends: “I was confident you were going to morph onto Da Dews there, Confused, but you didn’t. Well done you. Bit…” Jul 11, 23:55
Hatey McHateface on Just Good Friends: “@Alf I must hae colonised masel! Partition is a possibility if the kind of eejits currently ruling the roost at…” Jul 11, 23:45
Confused on Just Good Friends: “Deviants are blackmailable. Makes them easy to control. They go to “young leaders” shindigs all round the world and are…” Jul 11, 22:40
Dunx on Just Good Friends: “The SNP might also like to consider whether sixteen year old children are mature enough to vote in any future…” Jul 11, 22:01
Alf Baird on Just Good Friends: “” I think that any kind of extreme dehumanizing and/or hatred of any group of people is a form of…” Jul 11, 20:31
Mark Beggan on Just Good Friends: “Craig Murray? wasn’t he one of the Merry Pranksters in the Koolaid Acid Test.” Jul 11, 19:26
Lorn on Just Good Friends: “I absolutely agree on the alignment. Both groups utilize the exact-same tactics and their aims are very similar. The official…” Jul 11, 18:31
Hatey McHateface on Just Good Friends: ““continually displayed abhorrent behaviour and used derogatory language to describe other fellow humans” Check out the synthetic outrage from Dan.…” Jul 11, 18:15
agent x on Just Good Friends: ““Scottish Government to consult on changing minimum marriage age THE Scottish Government has confirmed it will launch a consultation on…” Jul 11, 18:14
Alf Baird on Just Good Friends: “Manipulation, divide and rule, paternalistic colonialists, and finally partition when all else fails – all are part of the colonizer’s…” Jul 11, 18:12
Hatey McHateface on Just Good Friends: “That’s blethers, TH, even for you. If we have a People’s Assembly to sack politicians who don’t do as the…” Jul 11, 17:56
Dan on Just Good Friends: “@Lorn says : “I think that any kind of extreme dehumanizing and/or hatred of any group of people is a…” Jul 11, 17:50
twathater on Just Good Friends: “And THAT is where a REAL people’s assembly would EXPOSE and destroy the REAL purpose of these deviants and perverts…” Jul 11, 17:39
Hatey McHateface on Just Good Friends: “You still here, TH? I thought you were near the head of the queue for “assistance”.” Jul 11, 17:38
Hatey McHateface on Just Good Friends: ““partly to make the Scottish government look good (just being different even if that amounted to nothing at all)” Damned…” Jul 11, 17:35
twathater on Just Good Friends: “I very seldom agree with anything you post Mark unionist Beggan but that comment is right on the money” Jul 11, 17:27
twathater on Too Tight To Mention: “OH no someone else has unveiled Bastard Tax MOAN’s real agenda,undermine and deride everything about Scotland and Scots and beg…” Jul 11, 17:21
Hatey McHateface on Just Good Friends: “That’s a very fetching picture you conjure up there It’s 4-5 years until Chairman Murray returns from the UN…” Jul 11, 17:04
Lorn on Just Good Friends: “Hatey: you are absolutely correct. It was never about the women and girls. Always about the men in frocks. Personally,…” Jul 11, 17:03
Hatey McHateface on Just Good Friends: “@Lorn That’s another reasoned, eloquent and sane post from you. Beats me how you manage to post on here without…” Jul 11, 16:54
Mark Beggan on Just Good Friends: “The Royal Navy saves the Scottish government. Bastard English! Coming up here and saving the shipyard. I hope we don’t…” Jul 11, 15:24
Alf Baird on Just Good Friends: “The reality of a colonial society such as in the Scottish context provides for a more complex picture in regard…” Jul 11, 14:46
Mark Beggan on Just Good Friends: “Once the Yoons and the rest of the world stop laughing at your well planned strategy…. Let’s just recap shall…” Jul 11, 13:41
Lorn on Just Good Friends: “Hatey: It is because they believe that independence will come only via the SNP. They are entirely wrong. Independence will…” Jul 11, 12:53
Lorn on Just Good Friends: “David: why would so-called ‘trans’ identified people of either sex feel unsafe? They have been offered gender neutral toilets and…” Jul 11, 12:37
Duncan Strachan on Just Good Friends: “I agree Sarah. I think that we could have a check on the politicians by using a citizens assembly as…” Jul 11, 11:06
100%Yes on Just Good Friends: “I been stating this for months now that next years election isn’t going to be about Independence and even if…” Jul 11, 09:39
Alf Baird on Too Tight To Mention: ““The old Scottish parliament members entered the Westminster parliament of England” Aye James, lest they had no shame, I suspect…” Jul 11, 09:26