The level of hatred and vile accusations seems to be escalating again and at a time when we were supposed to have been celebrating a peaceful holiday where we are allegedly to be encouraged to think well of others. Some of the statements being made in social media, and in person, are being made by those with little or no understanding of politics or indeed life. They are blindly repeating what they hear or see being said elsewhere.
A little like the taunts I got in the school playground in the 60’s because my mother had the audacity to stand for the council. One, she was a woman. Two, she stood for those nasty nationalists.
Who was saying this? The local Labour party committee members. Many in our village were in jobs that had unions and the Labour party expected obedience. They repeated it to all who would listen. All of it lies and a lot of it slanderous which if it had been said of their own wives, they would have taken action. Legal or otherwise. This was repeated in front of children and they thought it was a laugh to shout it at me in the playground, even though they didn’t understand what they were saying.
I have put this all behind me, but I have never forgotten. Why? Because it taught me that there is nowhere too low for the unionists to stoop in order to stop Scotland achieving its full potential. At that time we didn’t realise but we were influencing the voter more than we thought. We didn’t have the sophisticated systems we have now. Scotland was modernising in all walks of life. Comprehensive education was happening; each child had the opportunity to full education and wasn’t thwarted just because of address or social class. This was the start of people building towards the election of 11 SNP MP’s in October 1974. I now see that the nastier and more personal the comments get, the more they are getting worried.
What I don’t get is why they campaign this way? Would it not be better to find something positive in their manifesto, or even put something positive into it, and persuade the electorate in a nice manner that what their party wants would be good for the country? [Ooop’s, sorry. That’s what those nasty Nats are doing and it’s working so we can’t do that!]
Labour just cannot get out of the mindset that the working class (and the out of work class) are theirs for them to treat as they like and keep voting for more of the same.
The Tories, well they go even further back. As far as they are concerned it would be best if only the landed gentry could vote and then they wouldn’t have to appease all this dirty “new money” class.
Yes panto season is coming to an end, just wish this lot would too. Are political parties who cannot shift and adapt to meet the mood of the nation really worth supporting? A teacher once said that in a language as rich as ours, if you have to stoop to using swearing and lies, what you have to say is not worth hearing.
It’s now Tuesday and my deadline day. We have had this morning evidence from Ed, Jim and Kazia that they obviously don’t see fit to talk to each other before going to the press. Jim seems not to understand that some matters are devolved and he can do nothing about it as an M.P. Mind you, health being a devolved matter did not stop the B.B.C. reporter Eleanor Bradford from trying to turn an N.H.S. England story into an N.H.S. Scotland one even though (as she said in her own report) what happened in England couldn’t happen here as we have a different system.
The Lib Dems seem focussed on Alex Salmond and the north east so they’ll be easy to find then. Obviously they feel totally safe in their other seats?
Dave’s Tories are so busy trying to keep their English voters happy that they are going to forget about us all together. Just as they have forgotten about our extra powers. Seems it may be 2017 at the earliest before we see any sign of these.
Couldn’t resist repeating the social media deal of the week even though it will be old hat by the time you read it. Labour is having a closing down sale, all memberships now only £1.