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 think it would be good if we had a post from Craig – followed by what I hope would be a calm and rational (well, hope springs eternal and all that)discussion on here – on the question of leader’s TV debates in the lead ip to the forthcoming general election.
Of special interest would be
1/. the utility or otherwise of such debates, in particular with regard to the (new-ish) claim that they constitute an integral part in the democratic process and in the light of the debates before the last election
and
2/. Craig’s and commenters’ views on the position being taken at the moment by David Cameron in respect of inviting the Green Party to take part.
2/. specifically
DonnyDarko
“I think you’ll find that the NHS problems has little to do with underspend and more to do with “consultant” Doctors resigning.The money is there if the doctors would only stay.”
____________
I’m minded to think that you may have an interesting point there.
In your opinion, why do you think consultant doctors (you mean doctors working in hospitals, I think?) are not staying?
Just coming on to find out how the manure market is doing, thanks for the laugh Clark.
Good to see Duncan spread some sense into wild minds, absolutely agree with him on PFI’s they should be outlawed, not free speech and non violent actions on campuses. wonder what all those tenth of thousands of students are going to come up with to highlight this outrageous law. Privatised hospital providers should sign up to a minimum of ten years service to the public before they run away because they can’t make profits.
I’d like to propose a health tax for all who are working, a flat rate of 2% of their wages and bonuses, from everyone in work. In return there should be no more private beds in NHS hospitals, all PFI’s renegotiated with banks and providers, those who decline to negotiate should be stripped of their responsibilities,
‘ because by rejecting negotiations they have disqualified themselves, they are not team players, nor are they socially responsible.
Did you ever fix that back window on your 4×4 Duncan? or did you get another banger? Who knows, we might meet again soon Duncan, I believe I owe you an orange juice.
@Guano/Giyanne tell us about yourself, Duncan pretty much offered you his concise wisdom and reasoning, so what have you ever done to stop Zionists apart from bickering over what others do, beguile us, why don’t you.
Can I just second Clark’s recommendation of Duncans blog, it is well researched and always actuell.
BTW. I have ordered 50 copies of CH, I’m having a friendly book burning, My friend suggested to use schnapps to set it all alight but such green front page appealed and it takes some doing to set light to a Koran, Mein Kampf, a copy of the Tora and the BBC’s public complaints guidelines for dummies.
I’m open to suggestions of any other publications, the Smith report on very little or nothing, maybe? all the spare ballot papers and those filled out still lumbering in some desks? the bible, because we can?
I shall spread the remaining ash on the garden which arguably has been the most quiet and peaceful purpose these books/pamphlets ever served.
[craigmurray.org.uk – Jemand’s ‘censored’ comments can be seen on the Terrorism and Nuance thread.
Jemand you are on premod because you objected to posting on the right thread. This comment contributes nothing to the discussion so you are lucky it has been approved]
Mod/s are now censoring me. Ideological hypocrites and cowards.
How’s it going, Jon?
@ it
someone responded to DonnyDarko
“I think you’ll find that the NHS problems has little to do with underspend and more to do with “consultant” Doctors resigning.The money is there if the doctors would only stay.”
I think it will find out that it is the 206 MP who have a vested interest to see the NHS fail, 80% of them Conservatives, those who expect to ride into town as the white Knights rescuing the NHS from their dastardly future and fleece the taxpayer something rotten with so called privates services.
Hinchingbrooke Hospital disaster shows us what sort of social responsibilities these corrupt self-serving MP’s have in mind.
got that, bella ironicus
excuse moire, should be 205 Parliamentarians, some are Lords who get paid ÂŁ 300.- for falling asleep.
Big day for night flying today, I hope the obscenity will stop at 9pm
Habba”je suis Fred”
To answer your question.The problem is not as Fred states ,underfunding or the underspend by the SNP,they have problems with recruitment.The big why is anyones guess.I for one would not like to be the one in charge of a scalpel operating on Fred.
“Our ongoing problems with recruitment and reliance on locums won’t be a surprise to anyone. We have tried very hard to keep everything going but it’s now become so fragile that it’s not reasonable to continue as we are.
http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/News/Pages/CaithnessGeneralHospitalSurgicalServices.aspx
I think independence supporters should take Fred’s complaints seriously and lobby their MSPs to improve healthcare provision in Caithness, pointing out that the current situation is losing support for independence.
Sorry Clark, I take none of Fred’s complaints seriously.
I do however worry about our NHS,and with Nicola Sturgeon at the helm and being previously at health,I am pretty sure she’ll be keeping it an SNP priority.
DoNNyDarKo, Fred’s complaint is valid. I was there with him, went all the way to Inverness to see a friend in hospital. It’s not good enough.
And the problem is underfunding?
DoNNyDarKo, I don’t know the cause of the problem, but we drove about 100 miles and back, I think, at our own expense, three or four round trips in all (I only went twice). Just as well we had private transport available, eh?
You’re visting someone, and complaining about having to travel to where they are?
These sort of distances are not unusual for actual patients, not just in Caithness, even in the Lowlands, try going as a patient from East Borders to Livingston for cancer care, to Edinburgh for chemotherapy. Patient transport services make very long journeys daily, volunteers such as the WRVS likewise do so. If you don’t like the inconveniences of rural life move to a city. Fred is just kicking up over oil, NHS or whatever the unionist partys are poisoning the airwaves with today, we had this travel to Inverness tale many times months back, during the referendum campaign, Fred couldn’t give a shit about the NHS, other than as a stick to beat the Scottish Government with in concert with the unionist media.
Clark : ” Fred’s complaint is valid.”
Is it? It’s true that there are problems with NHS services in Caithness, but Fred’s complaint is that the SNP is the cause of the problem. I don’t think that complaint is valid.
If Fred can demonstrate that the situation would be improved NOW if those services were controlled by Westminster rather than the SNP, I will withdraw my objection.
DonnDarko
“The big why is anyones guess.”
_____________
Thanks. Did the bloke you cited give any explanation?
What do you want a TARDIS?
Should’ve read it Habbzzy,
The problem is consultant doctors ( so called Locum’s).
They are a bit like soldiers of fortune.They say they are qualified,they turn up to do a job,charge a fortune,and they can come and go as they please.
What Caithness needs are Doctors on contract.
Tony M, I won’t comment about that; Fred may consider it private so I’ll leave it for him. But we weren’t just going for the sake of it.
Exceptional cases and circumstances are not anything to generalise from. Most people’s interactions and experiences with the NHS are of exceptional care and of the dedication of the staff, coping with anything, the stresses never showing through the smiles, turning what can seem a lonely, dis-spiriting, terrifying leap in the unknown into a positive life-affirming and improving experience that stays with them long after any crisis has passed.
Tony M, this wasn’t exceptional, and I don’t remember any complaints about the care, but please remember I was only peripheral to this matter.
Node, 7:16 pm; I agree.
Tony M, my opinion is that the necessary services should have been available closer to home for these people. Rather than trying to discredit this aspect of Fred’s argument, I think you should write to the appropriate authorities because action from the Scottish Government would strengthen the case for independence.
So the patient was in hospital,and the inconvenience seems to have been for the visitors.
There are places in Scotland that are even more remote needing a plane or a boat.I have had my own experiences visiting relatives in hospital,and it was always to my expense.
There is definitely room for improvement and I hope that Wick gets its own resident surgeon if not permanently,at least 2 or 3 times a week,but the SNP did not create the problem or the distance and they have certainly not caused it by “underspend”.
Since you were riding shotgun with Fred Clark,did he manage to point out the hordes of nazi’s that he lives in fear from ?? It would be interesting to get a 2nd opinion on that.
DoNNyDarKo, well the patient needed to be delivered and collected, too. I take your point about the SNP probably not creating the problem, and obviously not the distance.
No, no phalanxes of Nazi’s; the worst lot I saw were a particular bunch of No supporters in George Square, Glasgow. But you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been disagreeing with Fred about this accusation of his all along.
Princes of the Yen: Central Banks and the Transformation of the Economy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ac7ap_MAY
The gardens around the palace of Tokyo was worth as much as the entire state of California?
“Had I lost the candidate selection to a vote of members I should have been perfectly content.”
Your own actions since then suggest otherwise. Nor were you alone in not being selected. (across scotland never mind just in that seat) Yet you have continued to lash out at the party you joined and supposedly wanted to represent while those others who were not selected have got on with it and continued to fight for the party they joined. They joined and took part in a selection process in the full knowledge that not everyone gets to be a candidate and that you don’t join a political party on a whim or on the proviso that you only care about them and support them just as long as you get selected.
SNP activists across scotland have been out in atrocious weather in an effort to help our election prospects. We aren’t doing that for a laugh or an ego trip, we are doing that because we know that the only way there can possibly be another Independence Referendum is through SNP representation and the erosion of the vote of unionist parties like the Labour party, the lib dems and the tories.
We will also succeed because we have the best policies for all the people of scotland, the most committed and hardworking activists and the most popular and down to earth leader in Nicola.
“OK, DO you think Caithness NHS services would be better off NOW under Westminster than the SNP?”
I know for a fact they were a lot better before devolution. We had some top rate consultants.
I was listening to the radio yesterday and who should be on but Tony Blair, he was giving evidence to some inquiry about the peace process in Ireland. He was asked about something, not sure just what but he replied that he didn’t even know about it at the time but he was Prime Minister so he takes full responsibility.
As far as I’m concerned the health service in Scotland is the Scottish government’s responsibility, the buck stops there and these attempts to shirk that responsibility, to pass the buck, just lowers my opinion of and my confidence in the the Scottish government.
Mod(s)
OK, thanks for the explanations.
I’ll move the two comments but I honestly don’t see why you’ve asked me to. After all, no one stays on topic on any thread and I’m not as convinced as you are that I interrupted a particularly on-topic, useful and reasoned discussion, but there you are.
(let’s try this again…)
Mick Pork
14 Jan, 2015 – 9:10 pm
“SNP activists across scotland have been out in atrocious weather in an effort to help our election prospects. We aren’t doing that for a laugh or an ego trip, we are doing that because we know that the only way there can possibly be another Independence Referendum is through SNP representation and the erosion of the vote of unionist parties like the Labour party, the lib dems and the tories.”
British political life and the British Establishment are totally vile and corrupt, which is the point Craig makes. Are you, Mr Pork, canvassing support by being honest with the voters, or are you and your ilk peddling the same old, same old?
For instance, let’s take Nick Clegg, now deputy Prime Minister. His first political appointment was as an assistant to Leon Brittan, then Home Secretary under the Thatcher regime. Brittan, a long-time friend of Clegg’s father, helped launch Clegg’s career.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/aug/19/leon-brittan-conservatives-nick-clegg
If you don’t know all the stuff about Leon Brittan you have perhaps been living in the Highlands too long. Brittan still sits in the House of Lords. The possibility of legal action makes me cautious about saying more; but what is widely known is that Sir Peter Morrison, Thatcher’s private secretary, was a paedophile; and we all know about her close friendship with Jimmy Savile.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2689462/Did-Maggie-know-closest-aide-preying-age-boys.html
I’ve just touched upon the pervy side of things here. I haven’t even mentioned the financial side of things, which is just as bad (legal stuff means that I’m too polite to bring it up on someone else’s blog).
The system is totally rotten and corrupt. Do you, Mr Pork, try to make potential voters aware of all this? Or is it the Stepford Wives stuff, just so long as they might, inbetween taking trancs, vote for you and your party.
[craigmurray.org.uk – RobG tried to post at 22:13, but that comment got stuck in the spam filter]
@Giyane 14/1/15, 10:59: “Who on earth has a problem with Muslims except Zionists? ”
Are Nazi skinheads typically found to be Zionists? I was under the impression they hated anyone except true-blooded white Arians (despite which, I received a good kicking off the BOCs myself on one occasion).