The demonisation of Alex Salmond
Iain Macwhirter in the Herald with a much-needed skewering of the "cybernat myth" that Labour have doggedly been trying to make stick for a few years now, and which was escalated dramatically with Iain Gray's vitriolic and bitter farewell speech to the Scottish Labour conference. There is, of course, poison aplenty on both sides of the SNP-Labour divide, but the most immediately noticeable difference is that nationalist bile and trolling comes from a few anonymous nutjobs on messageboards, whereas in Labour's case it comes from elected members and official representatives. We don't recall any SNP MSP comparing the Labour leader to Hitler, Mussolini or Mugabe, nor calling the entire party "neo-fascists", yet those insults and more have all been made in full public view by taxpayer-funded Labour politicians. Gray and Labour's attempt to claim the moral high ground is an extraordinary piece of brass neck, and it's good to see a grown-up journalist calling it out.
I'm a nat, I'm a nat, I'm a cybernat….
link to youtube.com
Hello Morag from 3 years in the future, we might actually win this 🙂
One last heave…!
And the interesting thing is, after 3 years, the situation is still exactly the same!
Any abuse and so on is NOT coming from the high heid yins on the YES side; it comes from a “few anonymous nutjobs on messageboards”.
The exact opposite is the case on the NO side. Their high heid yins, and their immediate sycophants, appear to treat this abusive behaviour as “normal”. Witness the Kathy Wiles escapade, as only one example.
Plus ça change…
Well, that went well.
Thanks Stu, you have given power to the Scottish people with your insight.
And now, by the wonder of time travel, this message comes to you from five years in the future, it’s Wings fifth birthday today but disappointment reigns as promised hover boards have not yet appeared.
I blame Nicola Sturgeon. (bet you cave dwellers in 2011 never thought that would happen).
And this message comes to you on Wings seventh birthday.
Cant help with hoverboards.
But we were also promised jetpacks.
link to youtube.com
A free jetpack with every ‘yes’ vote!
And we’ll be home and dry!
2022. We are now in a dystopian world where biological sex has been abolished in Scotland (they/them/us/thon) and we self-identify reality according to feelings. (I feel therefore I am).
Today I feel I am Eric the Red, famous Viking Berserker.
Tomorrow I will self id as a Jedi, from the rebel-held planet, Affitsheid.
Guessing, despite the relative lack of btl evidence in the excellent posts predating its birthday :), that a site like Wings had plenty receipts for decade old claims
“that nationalist bile and trolling comes from a few anonymous nutjobs on messageboards, whereas in Labour’s case it comes from elected members and official representatives”
Going on current (2022) evidence, the rate of accumulation of said receipts will not have slowed, despite the Edinburgh agreement – although it may sadly have become inverted (danger being that Nulabour think begins with detesting tories/ competitors and morphs into looking for things to hate rather than focusing on the things we like..) something John Romero inadvertently touches on when discussing recruitment policy at ID softwear in this fascinating Strangeloop talk:
link to youtube.com
If so then said receipts, whilst potentially forming substantiation in part that UK state or nefarious private interests have been actively and recklessly conspiring to undermine political agreement (jaw jaw), can also serve as a reminder for constant vigilance alongside the parable of the little engine that could -ie provided always that the giants on whose shoulders it piggy backs had the foresight, organisation, teamwork, intellect and pride necessary to lay the tracks, dig the coal, divert the water, conceive the engine and Honk the bastarding horn long and loud at every mad cow disoriented enough to stray onto the wrong path.
Doubtless the optimism of the past remains more than enough to get Scots reunited sooner than later but in interim, hope the strangeloop talk makes for a hitherto unseen but nonetheless worthy diversion and, thanks for all the hard work & accessible infotainment – not least yesterdays uplifting redirection to the archives!