tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post8254181275625159337..comments2024-03-29T10:31:21.056+00:00Comments on SCOT goes POP!: The pain of living in the scunnered middle of the independence movement, part 3James Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516007141763230886noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-21051343346016292462023-01-30T16:21:26.006+00:002023-01-30T16:21:26.006+00:00Aye, if only the punters putting ballot papers in...Aye, if only the punters putting ballot papers into boxes had your wisdom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-79432957952372136122023-01-30T15:58:35.477+00:002023-01-30T15:58:35.477+00:00Third Craw, most of the electorate are simply behi...Third Craw, most of the electorate are simply behind the curve because they pay less attention to politics than the followers of this site. I predict they'll catch up eventually and SNP support will decline.Stravaigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17954354184365312922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-32776265639575828842023-01-30T15:56:51.198+00:002023-01-30T15:56:51.198+00:00Anonymous, whilst it's true that the Greens ar...Anonymous, whilst it's true that the Greens are strong on bampot ideologies, the rot set in long before they got involved.Stravaigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17954354184365312922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-56925365445573966632023-01-30T15:11:25.582+00:002023-01-30T15:11:25.582+00:00sturgeon is at fault for the lack of a yes allianc...sturgeon is at fault for the lack of a yes alliance leading to a holyrood plebiscite election. don't care at all about the freakazoid grr pash. only care about independence and sturgeon at fault as she's a greedy conniving shitebag. De SFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-12070845353079029132023-01-30T14:35:25.590+00:002023-01-30T14:35:25.590+00:00The Scottish electorate don't agree with you. ...The Scottish electorate don't agree with you. The SNP keep winning election after election - much to Campbell and company's chagrin..Third Crawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-34282330199655619812023-01-30T13:55:50.467+00:002023-01-30T13:55:50.467+00:00Personally I put the blame even more in the Scotti...Personally I put the blame even more in the Scottish Greens’ hands. They’ve got the SNP by the short and curlies and can impose whatever bampot philosophy on the SNP that they desire to keep the SNP’s precious majority. <br /><br />A tiny band of extremist nutjobs are basically calling the shots at the moment and the SNP are taking all the flak for it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-45090738763676312382023-01-30T12:20:35.938+00:002023-01-30T12:20:35.938+00:00Yikes, understood!Yikes, understood!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-28561866670727151102023-01-30T09:31:16.115+00:002023-01-30T09:31:16.115+00:00So much truth posted above. I agree with almost al...So much truth posted above. I agree with almost all of it. I think if Alba stood a candidate in my constituency I'd vote for them (less nose-holding required) but realistically I think I'll be forced to spoil my ballot for the foreseeable future. I never thought I'd see the day. This comes from someone who has voted SNP since I was old enough to, nearly forty years now, and a one-time party member.<br /><br />The blame for this situation lies very squarely at the door of one person. Nicola Sturgeon. She has managed to destroy a party, a movement, and any chance of seeing independence in my lifetime.Stravaigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17954354184365312922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-10783076965955445392023-01-30T02:16:57.248+00:002023-01-30T02:16:57.248+00:00Pre-moderation is switched on, so there's alwa...Pre-moderation is switched on, so there's always going to be a delay. I've given in to the inevitability of leaving it on for the foreseeable future, not least because of a commenter called PeeJay who regularly attempts to post comments that are almost certainly illegal. He advocates extreme violence, makes baseless allegations of sexual abuse against named politicians, and makes both racist and homophobic remarks about named politicians.James Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01516007141763230886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-49894704435418529722023-01-30T01:01:19.662+00:002023-01-30T01:01:19.662+00:00Social media echo chambers are the worst. Both th...Social media echo chambers are the worst. Both the SNP and Alba very online activists need to learn that Twitter is not real life!<br /><br />On another note, my comments havent been coming up? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-7108657648339965912023-01-29T17:58:19.618+00:002023-01-29T17:58:19.618+00:00I gather that Wings will soon be merging with the ...I gather that Wings will soon be merging with the Scottish Daily Express. Not that anyone will be able to tell the difference.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-13134448429733349602023-01-29T16:02:21.237+00:002023-01-29T16:02:21.237+00:00The pool of below-the-line commenters on Wings/Wan...The pool of below-the-line commenters on Wings/Wangs is getting ever smaller. It's the same names over and again. This seems a fair indicator that support is largely confined to a Trump-like base of my-cult-right-or-wrong believers. <br />The more ugly Unionist media keeps referring to the GRA as Sturgeon's bill, yet it was supported by all the non-Tory parties - the Scottish Labour Party actually ordered its MSPs to vote for it. It is politically useful for right-wing Unionists to keep this issue alive as a wedge to divide us. The best thing we can do as far as promoting the independence cause is concerned, is to ignore the substance and concentrate wholly on the undemocratic nature of a Westminster veto. From my own experience, the SNP is not obsessed with transgender rights but keeps having to address the issue because it is being deliberately kept smouldering by hostile interests. Stuart Campbell is pathologically obsessed with transsexuals and it is nearly impossible now to argue that he is anything but transphobic. Perhaps Kezia Dugdale was right all along because his reactionary social conservatism is now becoming increasingly evident.Tridentitycrisishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04328855605146680649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-73552805013609647822023-01-29T15:28:41.882+00:002023-01-29T15:28:41.882+00:00He's just making himself look daft. The genuin...He's just making himself look daft. The genuine independence supporters are abandoning him and all that's left are the boring gender warriors. He probably hasn't even noticed. Hell mend him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-49187164113543617662023-01-29T14:25:46.706+00:002023-01-29T14:25:46.706+00:00"The SNP aren't actually focusing on gend...<i>"The SNP aren't actually focusing on gender at all"</i><br /><br />Really? In that case the mind boggles as to what it would look like if they were.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-64337223710795453262023-01-29T14:24:43.996+00:002023-01-29T14:24:43.996+00:00Sadly everything you have written about the SNP ap...Sadly everything you have written about the SNP applies to the Scottish Green Party in spades. I don't know what it is about the tiny trans/GC issue which makes previously sane people act in an intolerant, undemocratic way but it must cause the unionists and the climate deniers an enormous amount of satisfaction. If I could work out how dark money could have caused this I'd have a fine conspiracy theory, but I can't. It seems to be a self inflicted infection and it reminds me of the disastrous effects of the disease foul brood on bee colonies.topherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15534401130755572381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-43090824112589862832023-01-29T14:23:56.308+00:002023-01-29T14:23:56.308+00:00Today's Wings post, the unmistakeable subtext ...Today's Wings post, the unmistakeable subtext of which is "please elect a unionist government, folks!", is the ELEVENTH Wings post in a row about the trans issue.<br /><br />This isn't obsession from Campbell. It's derangement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-41138078959221010092023-01-29T13:41:32.375+00:002023-01-29T13:41:32.375+00:00Ah James, it's just the way it is till it isn&...Ah James, it's just the way it is till it isn't - don't sweat it. Mz S and her supine minions gave up on indy nearly 10 years ago, it's a matter of putting a nationalist into the SNP leadership position and that'll be soon. Till then the supposed 'leader' will crush any revolutionary zeal and put indy into the abstract. I've sadly known this since she got elected leader and her first big conference speech and zero indy references.<br /><br />Fking dmfk move on Salmond's part pssing off...<br /><br />I'm afraid you'll just have to hope the SNP changes leader soon.Steviehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18226832161404154663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-3470012999941090492023-01-29T12:07:11.738+00:002023-01-29T12:07:11.738+00:00The SNP aren't actually focusing on gender at ...The SNP aren't actually focusing on gender at all, it's just the opposition and media constantly insisting that they are to get the result they want, which is for people to repeat the SNP are focusing on gender<br /><br />Ferries ferries ferries, see how that worksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-924251112521998412023-01-29T11:30:47.062+00:002023-01-29T11:30:47.062+00:00SNP are attacked primarily because they threaten t...SNP are attacked primarily because they threaten the Precious Union.Third Crawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-71524830345701623372023-01-29T09:05:58.235+00:002023-01-29T09:05:58.235+00:00A good, heartfelt, piece of writing James.
Bear...A good, heartfelt, piece of writing James. <br /><br />Bear in mind, though, that the increase in support for independence has happened despite the Yes movement's current squabbles.<br /><br />Sadly, with WoS now turning against us, this is ready made ammunition for the unionists and you can be sure that when/if the time comes for an actual campaign the anti-independence MSM will be using every word that site publishes against us. In addition to this no amount of fact checking will be reported or even attempted - it will just be a case of using that sites words against us then move on to the next article and repeat.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-28196605414150161652023-01-29T08:43:36.453+00:002023-01-29T08:43:36.453+00:00People, indepence supporting people are utterly fe...People, indepence supporting people are utterly fed up. The SNP is not delivering. Quite the reverse in fact with their abandonment of pursuing independence and their focus on things like gender.<br /><br />It is therefore no wonder that they are attacked from all sides. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-75194055407621579132023-01-29T07:26:07.099+00:002023-01-29T07:26:07.099+00:00Don’t despair, James. It’s coming yet for a’ that…...Don’t despair, James. It’s coming yet for a’ that…Paul Bassettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-70508588649254541172023-01-29T04:06:38.557+00:002023-01-29T04:06:38.557+00:00James, thank you so much for this post. You have p...James, thank you so much for this post. You have put into words the increasing despondency I have felt with this movement over a course of months if not years. I think I'm especially despondent about the direction Alba has been taking, because there was so much potential there for a genuine, serious social democratic alternative to the SNP that has hitherto been totally squandered. <br /><br />I joined the party in April 2021, and campaigned vigorously for the May election. Like many former SNP members, I was dismayed by the years of dither and inaction by the SNP leadership. I thought that under the leadership of a serious statesman like Salmond, we could hold the SNP's feet to the fire on independence and force them to keep good on their promise to the people of Scotland - while presenting an optimistic, sensible, social democratic vision for an independent nation.<br /><br />But the years since have dismayed me. As far as my own experiences go, the party risks becoming (if it hasn't already) a partisan, introspective echo chamber - a vehicle for personal score-settling, rather than a vehicle for independence itself. <br /><br />And then of course there are the people who hold truly stomach-churning views - who have in some cases, gained quite significant roles within the party. <br /><br />I'm sure you yourself have encountered some of these people. The sorts who argue for ethnic nationalism rather than civic. The sorts who equate not just trans people, but gay people and lesbians and bisexual people with paedophiles and pederasts. The sorts whose backwards social agenda, or anti-Sturgeon agenda (it's quite often both), take priority over any interest in independence. Not to flatter you, but quite frankly, I'm talking about the sorts who faithfully absorb Wings rather than reading Scot Goes Pop. <br /><br />It's a pretty depressing situation. Because there are a lot of decent, worthy, hard-working people in Alba. But at every turn, they seem to be undermined by a coterie of people who spend all their time on social media echo chambers determined to turn the party into a cult, rather than a serious, adult political party. And that's the most depressing part of all, because so many of us became despondent with the SNP precisely because it was becoming cult-like in its unwillingness to criticise leadership or direction. But I did not sign up to Alba simply to become a cult of a different flavour. <br /><br />I remember the moment the bad penny dropped, when I was having a discussion with a quite senior party official, who simply could not be convinced that Sturgeon had not stuffed the ballot boxes in the local elections last year. All their Twitter and Wings friends said they'd voted Alba, you see, which was apparently tantamount to the people of Scotland drinking secret toasts to Alex Salmond's health, and all the bairns of the land saying nightly prayers in the hopes Salmond might one day reclaim his throne from his unworthy usurper. It was such truly delusional stuff that I was stunned into silence and thought she was joking. She wasn't. <br /><br />I remain a member of Alba for now, because I feel as though leaving would be like the Labour left abandoning the party to the centrists. But I cannot deny I have been truly tested by some of my experiences in the party over the past couple of years. <br /><br />Frankly, I knew things were going in a bad direction when you were not re-elected to the NEC, James. Every party - especially small parties, where each individual can have so much more sway - requires people like yourself who are not afraid to stand up and disagree with direction, or to call out the preposterous self-delusion that can take hold in minor parties such as this. <br /><br />As far as I can see, Alba seems to be losing that ability for self-reflection rapidly. So I'm not sure I'll be able to bear remaining a member for long. But I'm determined to try. Because the potential of this party is so much greater than what it has amounted to thus far. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-72480332027104935212023-01-29T02:49:31.367+00:002023-01-29T02:49:31.367+00:00I'm surprised you think the media would in any...I'm surprised you think the media would in any way facilitate the SNP speaking directly to the public to deliver any messages regarding independence when their instructions have clearly been to keep Nicola Sturgeon as far away from TV exposure as they can, unless it's a prerecorded interview on media terms and can be edited by them<br /><br />The FM isn't the PM, she isn't allowed to tell the media what to do and what to say<br />Have you never noticed Mark Drakeford in Wales gets the same treatment, and in Northern Ireland you never see or hear anybody from Sinn Fein get a look in with any of our wonderful National state broadcasters<br /><br />Only England counts, the rest of us can, in Alister Jacks words, Suck itAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-64590769580808623112023-01-28T23:50:01.518+00:002023-01-28T23:50:01.518+00:00I fully agree that GRR has achieved a prominence w...I fully agree that GRR has achieved a prominence way beyond what the issue merits. I’m still missing the vision piece from the SNP. Where is the talk of all the things we’d do with independence? All the ways we could improve our economy and society? Given how many SNP politicians there are you’d think a few of them could be tasked with being omnipresent in the media, seeding these ideas in the minds of the electorate again and again, so that everyone is well aware of them come voting day. Seems to me like most of them are not quite working hard enough at this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com