The Yes movement, like almost all movements, is plagued with a small but incredibly loud faction of intolerant, destructive extremists. Alert readers will have noticed that this site has again been the victim of them this week, but we’re not alone. They’ve also gone after two print publications – The National and iScot – over their “transgressions” against the beliefs of these self-appointed arbiters of what people are allowed to think.
What those two outlets and Wings have in common is achievement.
Last month saw the first meeting between the UK Brexit delegation and the EU’s, and by many accounts it fell far short of the UK’s expectations. David Davis spent months drumming up the “strong and stable” approach which would see both the divorce deal and the subsequent post-Brexit trade deal negotiated simultaneously. He was told by everyone that this wouldn’t happen, but simply brushed off the warnings. When push came to shove, he finally accepted that he’d have to negotiate the divorce deal first.
This is just the latest in a long string of failures and ineptitudes over the course of the UK’s handling of the whole farcical process and it got me thinking. If Scotland had voted Yes in 2014, what would it have looked like if the Scottish Government had handled that vote the way the UK has managed Brexit?
Millionaire-funded diehard loyalist forelock-tugging faction Scotland In Union published an extraordinary blog post yesterday.
Its 606 words comprised a sort of Caledonian Cringe Greatest Hits, allegedly penned by someone called Fiona Annesley (of whom we’re told nothing else, and who has no detectable online presence), but the line that particularly caught people’s eye was this:
The complete series so far. If you’ve got a story like this to tell, or you know anyone who does, Phantom Power want to hear from you – drop them a line.
I went to “Dunkirk” at the cinema today. If you want to know what it’s like, just watch this trailer 40 times in a row and save yourself the £12.
It’s a poor movie, disjointed and aimless and curiously lacking in tension or narrative given the real-life subject matter. (It’s remarkably short on dialogue, which is lucky because you can barely make out any of what little script or story there is from behind the endlessly howling one-note airhorn of the soundtrack. It’s a bit like someone filmed an IKEA assembly manual in live action during a Formula 1 race.)
But I couldn’t help thinking that part of the reason it was so unengaging was because it felt akin to watching a boxing match between two fighters you don’t like. If Mike Tyson took on Tyson Fury, would you cheer for the rapist or the anti-Semitic homophobe?
Today’s Daily Record covers the story we mentioned yesterday about a report from a Scottish Labour campaign group making the pretty factually-uncontestable point that the branch office’s dismal strategy in last month’s election held the UK party back.
We’ll be honest with you here, readers – even though it’s only July, when it comes to sheer ham-fisted, tin-eared, clown-shoed, foot-shooting idiocy we didn’t think anything in Scottish politics in 2017 could possibly top the SNP’s decision that the surefire way to win back voters after a poor election result was literally mutilating puppies.
After all, that’s the sort of thing you say as a self-evidently ludicrous and hyperbolic joke: “Ha ha, the SNP are so dominant in Scotland these days that the only way they could lose an election would be if Nicola Sturgeon went on telly and started hacking the tails off week-old puppy-dogs without anaesthetic! LOL!!!!!”
It couldn’t even be defended as a grotesque but cynically cunning attempt to win votes from the rural hunting-and-fishing lobby – they did it right AFTER the election, when all those people had just gone out and voted Tory anyway.
But bless their hearts, Scottish Labour never once saw a low bar that they didn’t try to slither under, and today they pulled off the seemingly impossible.
Broadly speaking, the psychological phenomenon known as the Pollyanna Principle is a tendency to neurotically see the most positive possible view of a situation. It’s not generally widely found in newspapers – for whom bad news as a rule sells much better than good news – but for some reason the Scottish press makes a uniform exception when it comes to military shipbuilding.
This, for example, is today’s Herald:
Now, in itself that headline is – unusually – true, so far as it goes. But it only takes until the first sentence of the article text before things start to fall apart.
Scott on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Tbh I don’t understand the approach Liberate are taking. For any remote chance of success on the constituency ballot you…” Jun 24, 17:44
dasBlimp on A different school: “This has got to be one of the funniest posts I’ve read here. Gie us mair Hatey gie us mair…” Jun 24, 17:22
Del G on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “A plague on BOTH your houses. Bye-bye.” Jun 24, 17:12
sarah on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “I think you’ve said all that needs to be said, Rev. Don’t spend any more time on it. Turning to…” Jun 24, 16:15
Scott on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “He thinks it annoys him and that everyone is laughing along at the joke. But it’s just James, on his…” Jun 24, 15:55
William Barlow on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Thanks for the post. Had to be done.” Jun 24, 15:36
WhoRattledYourCage on A different school: “Cheers fir that, Northcode. Much appreciatit.” Jun 24, 15:16
Dave on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “It irks me that JK can’t even spell Stu’s contracted name accurately; instead, he calls him ‘Stew.’ 100 thicko points…” Jun 24, 14:31
Aidan on A different school: “@Xaracen – So you’ve read and considered all of the judgments in those cases, so can you find anywhere a…” Jun 24, 14:05
100%Yes on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “What ever proposal we came up with to delivery Independence next year isn’t going to work as the SNP isn’t…” Jun 24, 13:50
100%Yes on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “I’d like for him to tell us, whats Scotland done to deserve his betrayal. Our countrymen have so little for…” Jun 24, 13:45
James on A different school: “Yes, James C; we had to find oot for ourselves. They dinnae want us tae ken oor ain history. Wonder…” Jun 24, 13:18
Skip_NC on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Is it a coincidence that your stalker’s wee blog shares the same initials as the nutcase fringe in Parliament? They…” Jun 24, 13:09
duncanio on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “I’m sure there are lots of voices whispering in his ears.” Jun 24, 12:59
Xaracen on A different school: “I looked at all of these references, Aidan, but none of them contained any statement that explicitly spells out any…” Jun 24, 12:58
Aidan on A different school: “London’s wealth is distributed around the U.K. There are far more non-Londoners in London as a proportion of the population…” Jun 24, 12:55
Alf Baird on A different school: “London is not a country. London is not economically plundered by another country or politically controlled by another country. London’s…” Jun 24, 12:22
Xaracen on A different school: ““can you point to the criteria which differentiate Scotland from London?” Yes. Scotland is a sovereign nation, London is neither…” Jun 24, 12:11
Scott on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “If his blog did shutdown would anyone notice that we aren’t learning about what someone’s second cousin in Alba is…” Jun 24, 11:55
Aidan on A different school: “@Alf – using the criteria you apply to determine that Scotland is a colony, London is also a colony. If…” Jun 24, 11:36
MaryB on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Perhaps the SNP are paying him to criticise their opposition and help them to get support.” Jun 24, 11:22
Owen Mullions on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “He’s been trying without success to raise funds, supposedly for polling, for the last year; all the while ‘threatening’ that…” Jun 24, 11:12
John H. on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Lorn. The leaders of the SNP not only betrayed Alex Salmond, they actually hounded him to his death. I will…” Jun 24, 10:45
Scott on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “I really don’t get why anyone would send James a donation at this point. Who’s looking forward to unhinged ramblings…” Jun 24, 10:38
David M on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “I voted SNP all my life until the last GE. No more. The goal was once independence but those days…” Jun 24, 10:19
James Cheyne on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Usual problem with sent post being delayed.” Jun 24, 10:17
James Cheyne on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Research, Bi Polar cognitive dissonence. We seem to have a lot of bi polar politicians this year,” Jun 24, 10:15
Alf Baird on A different school: “Aidan – On the matter of ” having no evidence”, all one has to do is consider the reality within…” Jun 24, 10:13
James Cheyne on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Stu, I think you stated it rather well quite early on in you’re post, Like an elegant victorian gentleman or…” Jun 24, 10:06
Owen Mullions on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Reading Kelly’s rants over the last few months is a sad glimpse into an individual’s descent into madness. SGP is…” Jun 24, 09:52
