…the same man who LITERALLY just passed a law dividing Scotland into groups of people who are worthy of protection from hatred and those who aren’t? (Most notably women and people who know what sex they are.)
Is he, then, a “bad faith actor”? Maybe we misunderstood.
Oily SNP MP John Nicolson – a man who was pompous and condescending even as a teenager presenting Open To Question in the 1980s – this week posted an extended and theatrical Twitter rant at the fine Herald and National columnist Kevin McKenna.
Goodness knows we could all do with some cheering up at the moment, so let’s have a momentary change of tone and kick today off with a chuckle or two.
We’ve been working a bit too hard lately, and yesterday’s Wings post went to press with an unprecedented FOUR errors in it, including an “is is” instead of “it is”, a “more far” in place of a “far more” and a “strata” where there should have been a “stratum”. We’re deeply ashamed, and thanks to the alert Wings readers – including our mum – who swiftly drew our attention to them.
The most embarrassing clanger was this one, which we fixed promptly:
So imagine our surprise when we were reading this morning’s Scottish press.
We suppose we should be grateful nobody had any ribbons to hand, or a full-scale terrorist alert might have been declared, riot police deployed and martial law declared.
One month ago, writing a mild political slogan on a wall in Scotland in chalk – which washes off instantly at the first sign of a damp cloth or a small shower of rain – was enough to have uniformed officers of Police Scotland turn up at your door on suspicion of hate crime, conspiracy and breach of the peace.
Of course, that depends wholly on which views you’re expressing.
We’re assuming, naturally, that the First Minister will be duly suspended from the SNP while these shocking allegations are fully investigated, just like Gareth Wardell, Denise Findlay, Neale Hanvey, Mark McDonald, Michelle Thomson, Neil Hay, etc etc etc were.
We’re not, of course. And nor should she be, because “shared a platform with” is the ugly ginger stepchild of fake-outrage cancel culture – lower on the smear scale even than “liked a tweet by” or “linked an article by someone who completely separately had an unfashionable opinion on a completely different subject several years ago”. It’s absolute guff punted only by scumbags.
Nevertheless, the uncomfortable fact is that those are precisely the crimes for which other people WERE suspended and/or ostracised from the party, and we can’t help wishing the SNP’s flagrant hypocrisy about it was just a little bit less obvious and less arrogantly blatant, so that it wasn’t quite so painfully offensive to any decent person, and so that we weren’t having to fight quite so hard to keep believing in independence when we see the grim state of the Scotland that’s taking shape before our eyes.
Something most people don’t know about the infamous Spanish Inquisition is that it was never the Catholic Church that actually executed heretics. Particularly if a prisoner had refused to confess their vile heresy even under torture, the Church instead handed them over to the “mercy” of the state to deliver their end.
So SNP MP Kirsty Blackman (or as we understand some are already calling her, “the Tiny Torquemada“) would have fitted right in with it.
MaryB on The Grand Tour: “100%Yes@ 9.52am Couldn’t agree more with what you say. Roddy, SSRG, Sovereignty and ISP are the only sensible voices to…” Jun 13, 15:11
wullie on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “They have been selected for their stupidity, there can be no other reason.” Jun 13, 14:25
dandydons1903 on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “The SNP unionist collaborators in full sight. Deceased unionist political spook agent John Smith and his fake Centre for you…” Jun 13, 14:25
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “A NOTE TO READERS: If you really MUST argue with each other about Gaza, there’s now an article where such…” Jun 13, 14:21
Mark Beggan on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “‘He’s a real nowhere man Sitting in his nowhere land Making all his nowhere plans for nobody’” Jun 13, 14:15
Alf Baird on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: ““who are the people behind this?” Brutish Labour Party and offshore equity, by the look of things: https://www.scotland-2050.co.uk/about#founders” Jun 13, 14:13
Rev. Stuart Campbell on The Jokers: “Because I’m tired of fucking repeating myself? I’ve explained half a dozen times, in thousands of words of articles, what…” Jun 13, 13:47
KiltedSplendour on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “I think that it’s imperative that we fill that room with stroppy Yes folk. It’s free, after all, so what’s…” Jun 13, 13:40
100%Yes on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “I could understand the SNP argument if Scotland couldn’t financial be Independent, which is the exact opposite its England who…” Jun 13, 13:39
Aidan on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “This is what we call a jolly. Everyone working in the 3rd sector or quangos gets drunk with their mates…” Jun 13, 13:30
Campbell Clansman on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Reminder: Alex Salmond (St. Alex) PUT Sturgeon in office as FM. Sturgeon did not get to be FM by some…” Jun 13, 13:28
sarah on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Rev, who are the people behind this? It sounds grim and pointless. None of the Scottish branch “leaders”, Swinney and…” Jun 13, 13:26
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Why genocide is brilliant: “WHILE SPRING FALLS (Najwan Darwish,1978-) Spring’s disillusioned, the seasons stand on the edge and throw themselves off, like a woman…” Jun 13, 13:23
duncanio on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “The treachery staring folk in the face. The question for the remaining erstwhile docile and blindly loyal membership is: What…” Jun 13, 13:23
Moon on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Sounds like an absolute shitfest of a meeting with all this ‘diverse crowd’ pish. Two votes reform for me next…” Jun 13, 13:09
100%Yes on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Tickets a free interesting. I believe Salvo and liberation and Scotland bid to have Scotland decolonised is worrying the SNP…” Jun 13, 13:06
Sven on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “I wonder if they’ll decide that in 2050 they’ll still, “be doing it for you, Beth”.” Jun 13, 13:05
Alf Baird on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Looks awfu like a conference aboot mair colonialism o Scots, A wad jalouse, wi a richt paircel o rogues. We…” Jun 13, 13:04
Hatey McHateface on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Well, I’m stumped. It’s hard to believe that even the most red, white and blue of unionists could be certain…” Jun 13, 13:04
Breastplate on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “The SNP have been a Unionist party since Alex Salmond resigned as FM” Jun 13, 13:00
Alison on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “In today’s Scotland ‘collaboration’ & ‘cooperation’ are just euphemisms for ‘croneyism’ & ‘corruption’.” Jun 13, 12:38
aLurker on The Grand Tour: “@Northcode Respect mate. Dinnae gee it aw up tho. ye can still go off topic fae time tae time. ” Jun 13, 11:10
Hatey McHateface on The Grand Tour: ““become a nuisance within the Indy movement and he’s dangerous because he’s got an Anonymous following who’s listening on to…” Jun 13, 10:51
Alf Baird on The Grand Tour: ““Post Referendum after I campaigned for Independence I joined the SNP again only to find Thuggery.” Fanon similarly describes a…” Jun 13, 10:32
Aidan on The Grand Tour: “What you mean is you’ve been continuously posting the same repetitive fantasist delusions day after day after day regardless of…” Jun 13, 10:27
Breastplate on The Grand Tour: “No, it’s been 1984 for some time now.” Jun 13, 10:15
100%Yes on The Grand Tour: “It really was a shame Ian Lawson passed away he gave so much to the cause of Independence. Its a…” Jun 13, 09:52
Chas on The Grand Tour: “Anybody who dares to criticise the fantasists, cranks and downright nutters, you mention, is a Unionist!!! The individuals you mention…” Jun 13, 09:14
Dan on The Grand Tour: “@ Dunx I can’t recall you ripping into the lack of detail with regard to Stu’s similar “wish listlike” suggestion.…” Jun 13, 09:00