I have been much criticised for referring to Unionists – and No voters are precisely Unionists – as evil or stupid. I have given this much thought, as a number of very well-intentioned people have urged me to apologise. After a great deal of angst, I have decided to offer a heartfelt apology. Not all Unionists are Evil or Stupid. Some are just Cowards. There, I think that covers it.
My analysis runs thus:
Evil
The United Kingdom has become a force for ill in the World. In invading Iraq against the express wishes of the UN Security Council, Blair and Bush did to the United Nations what Hitler and Mussolini did to the League of Nations. The UK was up to its neck in complicity with extraordinary rendition and torture. Its foreign policy is based on resource grabs for the benefit of a few wealthy corporations. Even this year it is in Court still defending the atrocious deportation of the entire population of Diego Garcia to make way for a US airbase, and still preventing their return. It is actively preparing to do the same to the Ascension Islanders. It supports the hideous dictatorship of Bahrain and was implicated in the overthrow of Egypt’s only elected government by the CIA’s General Sisi. It constantly works against the interests of the Palestinians at the UN.
This week the UK has been passing still more laws attacking fundamental liberties in the name of “counter-terrorism” and increasing surveillance. It has an economy dedicated entirely to the interests of very wealthy people in the City of London. Its wealth gap between rich and poor is massive and still growing. The UK has 100 billionaires, and malnourished children, living on a small island. It is dominated by corporations run on a low wage model and has systematically destroyed workers’ rights.
On balance, the government of the UK has become a force for evil in the world. not a force for good. To support it in full knowledge of the above is evil.
Stupid
Given the existence of the tremendous communications possibilities of the internet, and given the wide range of information available above all in Scotland where a new political consciousness has developed, there are few excuses for having been ill-informed in the referendum. The failure to inform oneself, given the resources available, was itself evidence of a lack of gumption.
Some people are Unionists not because they support the policies outlined under Evil, but because they fail to perceive them. This group overlaps heavily with those who do not believe the Labour Party is now a fully paid up neoconservative party subscribing to everything above, and with only a sham concern for social justice. Despite the Red Tories’ open pledges to be tougher on welfare reform and immigration than the Blue Tories, these stupid people believe social progress is possible within the UK under Labour. They also actually believed that The Vow on Devo-Max would be delivered. This group of Unionists are incapable of perceiving evil when they see it, even when it comes certified with membership of the Henry Jackson Society. These people are stupid.
Cowardly
I have added this last group. These are people who did perceive the evil of the UK, and thus weren’t entirely stupid, but were too scared of social change to abandon unionism. A substantial section of the cowards should in fact be grouped under evil, because the cause of their fear was entirely self-centred. They could see the evil the UK does, but cared rather more about their own pension, job, mortgage etc. than they cared about anything else in the world. This combination of selfishness and fear of social change is of course classically Tory. But not all cowards fell into the Tory category. Some were genuinely fearful that things might somehow get even worse for everybody. They would not have boarded the first trains in case their heads were blown off by the 30mph winds.
Conclusion
After four months of constant thought, I cannot think of any hypothetical unionist position which does not fall into one of those categories. I am grateful for the criticism which led me to realise that I had left out the cowards. Some of that criticism came from nationalists who do not like politics to be described in moral terms, and for whom national independence should rouse no more passion than a change in local council boundaries, being a simple question of the best technocratic management of broadly similar political systems. That is a position I wholeheartedly denounce. For me national independence for Scotland is a great ethical choice for good – and against evil.
Fortunately a great many of the stupid are realising their mistake – being slower on the uptake does not stop you getting there eventually. So now there is a definite majority, for Yes. I am pleased about this, and view Independence as absolutely inevitable in the near term. I shall certainly live to see it. I don’t see converting No voters as part of my personal mission in life. The Wizard of Oz could give the Coward a medal and the Stupid a diploma. I shall content myself with being the one who throws water over the Evil.
Finally, for those who cannot get their heads round the purpose, style and conventions of political polemic, plainly you don’t have to be a No voter to be stupid. I have No voters in my family and among very close friends, including some without whose assistance I couldn’t keep this blog going. An attempt to introduce intellectual rigour into political discussion and test positions as part of political debate in no sense equates to personal animosity. As I have repeatedly stated in the context of the hundreds of political issues this blog has debated over ten years, I do not choose my friends by their politics. Otherwise I guess I wouldn’t have any 🙂 !
I’m looking forward to see how many new members will actually be allowed to stand by the SNP hierarchy.
None, if they’ve any sense. There will be entryists using the SNP as a ladder for their own ambition (see Blair for excellent example in Labour). There will be plenty of volunteers who haven’t considered the sheer drudgery of constituency work. There’ll be people with wonderful ideas of their own who fall out with the party loudly and publicly at crucial moments (see…no, I’ll spare him that). There will be all sorts of unknown unknowns, and nobody at all with have any experience of working, not just for, but with the organisation.
See who’s left at the following election, and by all means give them a chance. But newbies? Not sensible.
For ‘with have” read ‘who have’ or just ‘with’. As you wish.
“I can’t see the SNP standing up, demanding a referendum on the voting system that includes a choice of PR voting systems for the poor Englanders in the last unreformed bastion of the empire, so its all about I’m alright Jack bugger the rest of you, is it not?”
It’s not. It may have passed you by but the SNP supported Clegg’s idiot attempts to reform the voting system at the AV referendum. We can hardly be blamed for Clegg’s incompetence.
“such as the Zionist supporter Murphy, who loves NATO and Faslane, came straight from university, others because daddy was an MP and has sent him to the best schools.
Nope, never heard of him. Does he has something to do with eggs?
“Lets do some predictions here, the SNP will either become breakfast for the Labour party”
Sounds about as plausible a prediction as devolution killing the SNP stone dead. You must be having a laugh? Wee Ed Miliband?? Nae chance pal.
“or they will cause a fracas and end up costing us another 300 million to re-run the GE. “
A “fracas” no less! My word, how dashed unsporting of us. Oh the calamity of having to run a democratic election in the event of Labour or the tories being too incompetent, unpopular and ill-suited to governing. Though why on earth would we want to put Miliband out of his misery? I think the public might just have to have their eyes opened by the spectacle of Labour’s inability to govern until Miliband himself decides to cut and run, if he dares. Can’t see that ending well for Labour somehow. That would be a shame, wouldn’t it?
“Your castigation of Craig”
Is a direct response to his castigation of me.
“with no one, not Alex or Nicola, having any ideas on land or sea borders, on past negotiations, foreign affairs that involved you preferred Labour coalition partners, or how we can reform and rejuvenate the diplomatic services stale finance orientated relationships. “
Well obviously not compared to the world’s leading authority on, let’s see now, just about everything.
“Are you aware that the UK’s foreign policy is not its own anymore, that it is superseded by the wishes of non EU member states”
Naw, didn’y have a clue pal. If only someone had told me when I and a hundreds thousand like me marched through the streets of Glasgow against the war in Iraq.
“dare I mention the Iraq war”
No need. I already did. 🙂
“Craig is an excellent orator who speaks informed, who knows where the weak points are in any opposing party, he is a speaker who can appeal to his constituency voters as much as to MP’s.”
He could have had a similar spiel for the lib dems if he wanted to be their candidate before he left them in 2011.
“I have no doubt that there are far more compliant candidates being selected who will be guaranteed to raise their hand when required, the qualification that seems to be most important. “
Crikey! You mean because Murray didn’y get the job everyone else must be compliant? Of course they must! Obvious really,
“even considers to go into coalition with any of the main parties, when they could give their support on an issue by issue basis to whoever has the better solution to an issue, is beyond me.”
You are a quit correct. It is beyond you. Don’t worry we’ll handle the heavy lifting of actually trying to overturn those gigantic labour majorities, you certainly don’t need to know how to appeal to disenchanted Labour voters or the positioning that involves.
“The SNP by their manner is already supporting a Westminster”
Bit of advice. After the 24/7 deluge of lies and smears we had to endure during the referendum (and for decades before it) aimed at us by westminster and their rabid media dogs, it might not be the wisest time to stupidly pretend we are their bestest buddies. You won’t get many dumb enough to believe that kind of bullshit.
“I pity the SNP for its top down allures that deny its members the choice on candidates”
I pity those ‘useful idiots’ who seem happy to do the unionists job for them.
“I’m looking forward to see how many new members will actually be allowed to stand by the SNP hierarchy.”
Whereas I’m looking forward to working more with many of those new members who have already proved so inspiring and hard-working. That would be afroma total of about 94,000 new members and counting. Just in case you somehow missed how terrible and unpopular that diabolical ‘back-stabbing’ ‘SNP heirarchy’ led by Nicola is with the scottish public.
“See who’s left at the following election, and by all means give them a chance.”
Yeah it’s a bit odd how many don’t seem to have realised that we’re in this for the long haul and that there’s going to be 2016 just for starters. I wouldn’t say no newbies whatsover myself but there will time enough to see who pulls their weight and who doesn’t. Some already are. What I have found surprising is that some of those ‘new eyes’ have put things like hustings and even just ordinary meetings in an entirely new light. Sure, it’s not always the most polished and nuanced debating but just seeing ordinary people find a voice and find that there are people listening and eager to hear what they say is pretty motivating stuff.
It’s a big jump to MP, I’m thinking. Talented new entrants might better be pointed at council seats…that would at any rate reassure them they’re not being ignored under my draconian rules 🙂
Mirrors scare the shit out of people, it takes a special kind of person to hold one up to a nation who don’t want to see themselves. I have a friend or two who have this sometimes shocking but honest and trustworthy way of responding. I hope one day people will be able to remove their own feelings of self and look at where you are very logicaly correct then perhaps they may thank you for helping them to see and grow.
Fool
12 Jan, 2015 – 6:59 pm
Naive and unfair.
…This is one island and for better or worse you should try to sort out problems without splitting the island up. If your focus is actually on the isle as a whole and you just want to give the centre an almighty kick so be it I understand that, but ultimately its one island.
Your argument that we are one island and therefore should stick together is completely meaningless. Unless, of course, you think that every continent, which are all just islands no matter how big they are, should each be one single country and not split into many countries.
Is there a fourth possibility that someone may support the union on the basis of a globalist morality? We can agree that the UK is acting evilly, but argue the problem is not solved by splitting off into smaller, opposed groups but rather uniting under bigger and bigger banners which force fairer policy?