Repeat after me
Posted on
January 14, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
We hate to be banging on this drum again, but we can’t help asking: if these British nationalists had instead been Scottish nationalists, setting cars on fire and attacking policemen because they wanted the Saltire flown more often from public buildings, would the Scottish media be covering it in such a low-key, non-political way?
That’s a rhetorical question, obviously.
Now I have Repeat by the Manic Street Preachers in my head. The lyrics are pretty apt for this, mind…
Repeat after me
Fuck queen and country
Repeat after me
Death sentence heritage
Repeat after me
Death camp palace
Useless generations
Dumb flag scum
Useless generations
Dumb flag scum
Repeat after me
Fuck queen and country
Repeat after me
Royal Khymer Rouge
Repeat after me
Imitation demi-gods
Useless generation
Dumb flag scum
Useless generation
Dumb flag scum
Useless generations
Dumb flag scum
Useless generations
Dumb flag scum
The Scottish media would not only be reporting it prominently for weeks, they would do so with unconcealed glee and triumphalism.
Kaye Adams would be hosting a daily phone in show inviting listeners to call in and traduce the notion of Scottishness..
Hang on, she’s already doing that..
This is all getting rather awkward for the media. Six days of trouble in Belfast, with no sign of let-up. With each passing day, it becomes more difficult for the MSM in Scotland to ignore.
@Luigi
As with Cameron about to make a speech on the EU in the next few weeks, they will ignore it as much as possible. In fact, they will probably turn it into yet another argument against independence. They will probably say that a Yes vote will provoke ‘civil war’ in Northern Ireland or some such. They will ignore the source completely, in this case Northern Irish Loyalists.
Tweeted yesterday my concerns about the virtually apologetic tone the BBC has taken when reporting… “most of the protests have been peaceful” etc If this had happened at the march for indy last year we’d still be hearing about it as front page news even now.
Interesting to see those, in last pic, protesting at Nicola Sturgeon’s “closed” office, looked awfully embarrassed. You would almost wonder if they were convinced in their argument!
They were a truly pitiful sight, all seven of them with their printed-out-on-A4 “banners” and glum expressions. Maybe they drew the short straw and had to give up their tickets to Rangers International vs Berwick?
Worth mentioning that in the media, well the BBC, reports this as Loyalists versus Nationalists. Whereas it is simply Nationalists of one stripe squabbling with Nationalists of another. Loyalism is a positive term whereas Nationalism (or rather non-British nationalism) is frowned upon.
Does the MSM ever call them ‘Irish Nationalists’ ?
Ah, but are they Belfast Riots or UK Riots? Someone ask a Unionist MSP as there seemed to be beef last time over UK Riots being renamed England Riots. I would go with Belfast Riots but they must side with UK Riots, what with the flag too. ;-P
If I were “proud to be British” why would I be seen beside an A4 sheet held by a very embarrassed looking colleague with my face masked? If I am proud of something I want to be seen being proud, not hidden and masked. For example I was at the march for Scottish independence in Edinburgh last September. I marched proudly from the Meadows to Princess Street gardens wearing my “choose freedom” T shirt and flying my Saltire “proudly.” At no point did I feel the need to mask my face, neither did anyone else who I saw marching, we were bursting with pride. However I then got to the gardens and was disappointed to see some rather knuckle dragging types had turned up to hang Union Flags from the trees and fences, whilst at the same time making rude gestures at us, and a few of them were wearing masks on their faces. So my question is to you unionists knuckle draggers, if you are so fucking proud of your dirty Union Flag why do you always feel the need to cover your faces when you parade it?
link to keyboredwarrior.blogspot.co.uk
Why do a lot of these so called ‘proud to be british’ kids feel the need to cover their faces?
Aye, these Ulster “separatists” in Belfast are causing some embarrassment.
The BBC and Scottish MSM treat the Scottish public as idiots. If we vote No in 2014, they will have done their job. The Scots will indeed have been proven to be spineless, weak-minded idiots.
You see, it`s not just those British flag waving arseholes holding their “protests” we see in Belfast, or, dare I say, Glasgow; it is also the unionist mentality which all Scots are fed by the Scottish/British media which also disrupts and distorts. Do you think those hordes of angry, drunken, (Rangers fans) unionists can really do as much long term damage as a unionist/Labour compliant MSM feeding their day by day, drip drip drip Vote No propaganda to the Scottish public?
OT
An Keith Jackson article in the Daily Record suggests ALL Scottish clubs should apply to join the English leagues, and not just Rangers and Celtic. Team GB Team GB TEAM GB TEAM GB
Divide and conquer #47 Plan “Destroy their football heritage: mop up the mess – send them to play Wycombe Wanderers”
That was very much a rant. All those British flags sure give you a headache after a while.
@Yesitis
Divide and conquer is indeed the No campaign’s best bet. I was in the company yesterday of a person who loudly proclaims his Catholicism, and has got it into his head that ‘the SNP’ are intent on abolishing Catholic schools, so he’ll vote No. He’s ‘proud to be British’ too (although he supports a united Ireland with its capital in Dublin). When it was pointed out to him that his beloved Britain has an Act of Settlement preventing Catholics from becoming King/Queen the look of utter incomprehension was truly sad to behold. He then attacked Ireland as an example of how we’d end up if Scotland were independent. You really couldn’t make it up.
More positively, I said to two other members of the company that I was unequivocally voting Yes. One said ‘you’re jokin’ but the other said ‘so am I’ – a pronouncement which clearly came as a bolt to the former. Conclusion: we need to encourage people to feel comfortable in saying they are voting Yes. Too many still don’t want to ‘look stupid’ by contradicting what everyone in the media is telling them about independence.
I think that in an independent Scotland, Berwick Rangers should be allowed to continue to play in a Scottish league, on condition that THE Rangers are finally allowed to play in England. Please, please, take them.
Doug, you’re a genius. The video’s pretty fitting too
Think I’ll see if any radio stations are taking song requests today
one positive to take from the protesters outside ms sturgeons office, is that that it was such a pathetic turnout.
Yesterday’s Sunday Post (I know, I know!) had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it “News Briefs” mini-article, with a picture showing two(!) youths, one with an “Ulster is British” wee placard, and another with a ‘Vote no to independence” wee placard. It’s final paragraph (of three) read;
“One said the protest was a “no to independence and to protect the Union”, -adding the pro-Union Better Together campaign didn’t represent their views.”
Yeah, right! Well, I’m calling them out on their lies: not what was supposedly said – note the quotation marks – but that anyone ‘added’ that the pro-Union Better Together campaign didn’t represent their views – note the non-appearance of quotation marks!
D.C. Thomson lying and misinforming without recourse for the sake of a broken ‘Union’. Shame on them – again!
““One said the protest was a “no to independence and to protect the Union”, -adding the pro-Union Better Together campaign didn’t represent their views.”
Yeah, right! Well, I’m calling them out on their lies: not what was supposedly said – note the quotation marks – but that anyone ‘added’ that the pro-Union Better Together campaign didn’t represent their views – note the non-appearance of quotation marks!”
That’s exactly the phrasing that appeared in the original Herald “target Sturgeon” piece weeks ago.
K Mackay – cheers for pointing that out, I had absolutely no idea they’d made a video for it (to coincide with the 20th anniversary re-release of their debut album, seemingly). It was originally a double A side with a song called Love’s Sweet Exile, and of course in those days, if you had a double A side, you only did one video.
Of course, it’s meant to be anti-monarchy rather than anti-UK, but who cares?
Dal Riata – that’s shameful, there’s no way a couple of thugs would take the time to say “oh, obviously we don’t represent the official campaign.”
Hands up everyone who thinks they would have taken the trouble to mention that bit if it had been related to pro-indy folk?
O/T I posted this on the Like a Record Thread but everyone appears to have moved on. It’s worth repeating here.
Could Cameron’s compliance in signing the Edinburgh Agreement be anything to do with the Scottish Affairs Select Committee ”Inquiry into the Operation of Multi-layer Democracy” (1998)?
”It is hard to see how the Scottish Parliament could be prevented from holding a referendum on independence. If the Scottish people expressed a desire for independence, the stage would be set for a direct clash between what is the English doctrine of the sovereignty of Parliament and the Scottish doctrine of the sovereignty of the people.”
15 years ago Westminster recognised that they couldn’t stop the inevitable. The Scottish doctrine of sovereignty has previously been upheld in court so maybe Cameron knew that he would have lost the legal argument.
What or to whom are they loyal too?
To answer my own question-anti catholic bigotry. If the Queen converted to Catholism, they would turn on her like Hitler did to the jews.
@Rev. Stuart Campbell
Good spot!
God almighty, is this what the unionist MSM is resorting to, copying and pasting to save the Union!?!
I posted on the Guardian’s now-rubbish CiF some time ago on how the MSM UK-wide were probably working in collaboration against Scotland’s hopes for independence. There then followed a string of semi-illiterate and faux-outraged troll posts (which the Guardian’s abominable nesting system accommodates) about independence supporters being ‘separatist collaborators’ in trying to “break up Britain”…[sigh, facepalm, LOL, etc.].
I still maintain my assertion of MSM collaboration re Scottish independence. What we are now seeing is the UK’s ‘democratic’, ‘free’ and ‘open’ MSM in action!
doug daniels says
Now I have Repeat by the Manic Street Preachers in my head.
i think a montage of the failures and consequences of staying in the Union to the Manics: IF YOU TOLERATE THIS YOU CHILDREN WILL BE NEXT, would be somewhat apt.
I could never understand the mentality of ethnic Irish catholics who support the Union and the Republic at the same time. Having just read Jim Hunter’s book, A Dance called America, we are seeing a repeat of what happened when the people who were cleared from the land ended up supporting King George against American Independence. History really does often result in headstands. James Wolfe descibed his Highlanders as his best troops having previously despised the Jacobite Highlander. The Highlanders themselves proudly developed the notion of the Fighting Jock in support of an English Empire they previously despiosed. I am still confused.
I notice the BBC are not refering to them as “UK RIOTS”
@Edulis
“I could never understand the mentality of ethnic Irish catholics who support the Union and the Republic at the same time.”
This basically describes a few of my close friends, never underestimate the power of school teachers and the MSM. There is a disconnect when you point the hypocrisy out, Scottish Independence is parochial, Jubilees and the Proms are not.
Of course. Scottish culture is parochial while “British culture” is not. Never any recognition that, it you believe in the union Scottish culture IS British culture.
@Training day
Conclusion: we need to encourage people to feel comfortable in saying they are voting Yes.
True, but then it’s quietly putting an x next to Yes in 2014 that matters. We’ve got to where we are very quietly and in 2014 lots of people will quietly go out and take us on the next stage of their journey. Wait and see.
If you asked them in a public place surrounded by people they don’t know well if they support independence, the might look awkward and say something like ‘Och I can see why its a nice idea but…’ They’re a yes voter.
There is a phenomenon called the ‘Shy Tory Factor’ in polling. There’s one for independence support too.
Although I do agree people should be happy to talk freely about it.
The Masses Against The Classes would be another apt Manics tune for the current political climate
O/T This was in the Guardian about the boundary changes at Westminster.
Cameron will make a final desperate effort in the Commons before the end of the month to reverse the Lords decision, but has only a fragile hope that he can offer something to nationalist MPs in order to win their support, which is needed to defeat the Liberal Democrat/Labour majority. If Cameron fails to win over the Democratic Unionists or Scottish Nationalists, he will be defeated in the Commons, so irrevocably depriving him of a boundary review that most experts believe will give the Tories an extra 15 to 25 seats.
I browse the Record, Herald and other pro Union sites, what a sad depressing lot they really are, not a single positive thought or suggestion. I really struggle to think why anyone would vote to retain the union.
@scottish_skier
I would hazard a guess that this effect is the most prominent in Glasgow.
@scottish_skier
On the ‘Shy Tory’ effect, I’ve reported here before that announcing one’s support for independence can lead to curious stares. We need to find gentle ways of doing it though. I’m steering away from debates and arguments and towards just saying things like ‘Well, it’s rather obvious, isn’t it? Run you own affairs or have someone else do it? Can’t see any difficulty.’ Then I change the subject and refuse to get drawn on border guards, passports, deserted grannies in Bognor or any of the rest of the crap. My aim is just to normalise support for independence, not argue for it. It’s important that people who are a little bit interested in the idea don’t get put off by feeling that they are eccentric or silly. Independence is just plain common sense: wanting to retain the Union is odd and eccentric, and requires explanation.
It’s not easy, though. Reminds me a bit of Sam Harris’ ‘Atheist Manifesto’:
“Atheism is not a philosophy; it is not even a view of the world; it is simply a refusal to deny the obvious. ”
Just substitute ‘nationalism’ for ‘atheism’. I’m an atheist about the Union.
It amazes me that so many of these people who claim to be so, so proud hide their faces with hoods and scarves. typical hooligan behaviour.
Rev. Stuart Campbell says:
14 January, 2013 at 1:24 pm
They were a truly pitiful sight, all seven of them with their printed-out-on-A4 “banners” and glum expressions. Maybe they drew the short straw and had to give up their tickets to Rangers International vs Berwick?
On the other hand maybe they drew the long straw.
Great tongue-in-cheek article ‘better together’ on EU membership by Tom Shields in today’s Herald. Apparently no comments allowed as there are no coments shown and my comment of praise was not published.