Dear SNP friends
Clearly, some of you are having a hard time right now. It's not because you're dealing with brexit, though that would only be right, given that we're about to lose our rights as European citizens. From where I stand, it really seems to be because you're not getting what you wanted - a second independence referendum.
I want to say a few things to you:
I'm not a member or a supporter of the SNP, but I've taken an interest in politics for a while (that means I'm old). If you joined the SNP because you only had one goal in mind - another independence referendum - and you're now so disappointed you're threatening to leave the party, I would say to you: just go, because you're no use to the rest of us out here. You know - people like me who belong to a different party or to no party at all but want independence for Scotland just the same as you do.
You come into the category of what I would call a 'fair-weather-friend'. Great fun and very cheery when all is going well, but not really in it for the long haul. And I promise you, that's what independence is going to be. The British have never willingly let go of a possession and it didn't matter that they weren't entitled to these possessions in the first place.
Look back at how they treated the Irish, the Indians and huge numbers of 'colonies' in Africa.
Ireland got the full treatment because it was right next door to England and was seen as a threat to English security and, well, because of greed. The Irish also had this habit of fighting back against occupation and oppression, so hell was rained down on them for several centuries - civil war, famine, mass deportation. The lot. They're still living with the damage in Northern Ireland.
The Indians on the other hand were rich before the Brits arrived. Not so rich when the Brits left, because the Brits had seized much of their wealth: oilseed, wheat, rice, sugar cane, many fruits and vegetables, tea, cotton, silk, etc. India, all by itself, fed the Industrial Revolution in Britain and helped the British Empire to expand for a couple of centuries. It took till 1947 for India to gain independence, and even then it was a two-edged sword: the British partition of India caused the deaths of about 2 million people, with about 15 million people displaced, some of whom went on to die of hunger.
As for poor benighted Africa, who knows how many people died in the land- (and people-) grab that fuelled the expansion of the British Empire? 20 million slaves for one thing. Many parts of the world are still coming to terms with that problem (or failing to) - especially the USA.
Of course, Britain didn't achieve this destruction all by itself. Other European countries - France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal - all played a part but the big pink bits on the map of the world were British.
Today, world powers - China, the USA and Russia - still treat Africa as the honey pot: dip your hand into Africa and you can pull out cheap labour, oil, gas, precious metals and everything you need to fuel the IT revolution. Africa should be rich - but it isn't. And the world still acts as if the biggest problems facing Africa are not how to deal with the aftermath of Empire but the notion we still have that Africans are incapable of running their own countries. (Why does that sound familiar?)
The Irish didn't even have oil to squabble over. Scotland does. Not to mention gas, wind and wave power, agriculture and fishing. Yes, I know I've missed out whisky. But while it's a great export, it's not a natural resource. You can use natural resources as bargaining chips. You can move the sea borders about to suit yourself. You can trade your fishing quotas. Most of Scotland's quotas are already owned by a small number of families.
And then there's the land: It's not the traditional 'lairds' that have invested huge amounts of cash in Scotland. It's overseas industrialists and businessmen looking for a place to stash their cash. Andy Wightman has written a couple of books about land ownership in Scotland - and it has cost him dearly to defend himself in the courts.
In the next few years we can look forward to more court cases: for example, the Alex Salmond trial for sexual crimes comes up soon (not one but ten accusations against him and many unsuccessful attempts to link Nicola Sturgeon to his name).
If Nicola Sturgeon goes to court to argue the case for Scottish independence, we can look forward to more and very expensive accusations in our national (Scottish) life.
There have already been attempts to blacken the names of a few politicians and public figures who decided to align themselves with independence. MPs accused of crimes which turned out to be totally unjustified. Remember Natalie McGarry? I reckon her political life is over thanks to an accusation that was dismissed on appeal. How about Chris Law? Do you even remember what he was accused of? And let's not forget those accusations of bullying in her office by Joanna Cherry. Why do you suppose her name is featured? (Start with female, lesbian, mouthy, high profile and clever).
What always strikes me is how boring SNP politicians are. There's no scandal. In that respect, they're quite like the LibDems. There's no money to be made from politicians who just do the job and try to do it well.
If you feel disillusioned and want a cause, start raising money to defend prominent independence figures. Because there will be more accusations. Those with a vested interest in keeping Scotland 'British' are not going to give up.
Meanwhile, till Indyref2 comes along, read more about Scotland's history so you're ready to take part in discussions. Go to meetings. Join more online groups (Well, you might as well because you're never going to find good political ideas in the British press). And remember there are people out there just waiting to slam the door on our future. Don't let them.
I want to say a few things to you:
I'm not a member or a supporter of the SNP, but I've taken an interest in politics for a while (that means I'm old). If you joined the SNP because you only had one goal in mind - another independence referendum - and you're now so disappointed you're threatening to leave the party, I would say to you: just go, because you're no use to the rest of us out here. You know - people like me who belong to a different party or to no party at all but want independence for Scotland just the same as you do.
You come into the category of what I would call a 'fair-weather-friend'. Great fun and very cheery when all is going well, but not really in it for the long haul. And I promise you, that's what independence is going to be. The British have never willingly let go of a possession and it didn't matter that they weren't entitled to these possessions in the first place.
Look back at how they treated the Irish, the Indians and huge numbers of 'colonies' in Africa.
Ireland got the full treatment because it was right next door to England and was seen as a threat to English security and, well, because of greed. The Irish also had this habit of fighting back against occupation and oppression, so hell was rained down on them for several centuries - civil war, famine, mass deportation. The lot. They're still living with the damage in Northern Ireland.
The Indians on the other hand were rich before the Brits arrived. Not so rich when the Brits left, because the Brits had seized much of their wealth: oilseed, wheat, rice, sugar cane, many fruits and vegetables, tea, cotton, silk, etc. India, all by itself, fed the Industrial Revolution in Britain and helped the British Empire to expand for a couple of centuries. It took till 1947 for India to gain independence, and even then it was a two-edged sword: the British partition of India caused the deaths of about 2 million people, with about 15 million people displaced, some of whom went on to die of hunger.
As for poor benighted Africa, who knows how many people died in the land- (and people-) grab that fuelled the expansion of the British Empire? 20 million slaves for one thing. Many parts of the world are still coming to terms with that problem (or failing to) - especially the USA.
Of course, Britain didn't achieve this destruction all by itself. Other European countries - France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal - all played a part but the big pink bits on the map of the world were British.
Today, world powers - China, the USA and Russia - still treat Africa as the honey pot: dip your hand into Africa and you can pull out cheap labour, oil, gas, precious metals and everything you need to fuel the IT revolution. Africa should be rich - but it isn't. And the world still acts as if the biggest problems facing Africa are not how to deal with the aftermath of Empire but the notion we still have that Africans are incapable of running their own countries. (Why does that sound familiar?)
The Irish didn't even have oil to squabble over. Scotland does. Not to mention gas, wind and wave power, agriculture and fishing. Yes, I know I've missed out whisky. But while it's a great export, it's not a natural resource. You can use natural resources as bargaining chips. You can move the sea borders about to suit yourself. You can trade your fishing quotas. Most of Scotland's quotas are already owned by a small number of families.
And then there's the land: It's not the traditional 'lairds' that have invested huge amounts of cash in Scotland. It's overseas industrialists and businessmen looking for a place to stash their cash. Andy Wightman has written a couple of books about land ownership in Scotland - and it has cost him dearly to defend himself in the courts.
In the next few years we can look forward to more court cases: for example, the Alex Salmond trial for sexual crimes comes up soon (not one but ten accusations against him and many unsuccessful attempts to link Nicola Sturgeon to his name).
If Nicola Sturgeon goes to court to argue the case for Scottish independence, we can look forward to more and very expensive accusations in our national (Scottish) life.
There have already been attempts to blacken the names of a few politicians and public figures who decided to align themselves with independence. MPs accused of crimes which turned out to be totally unjustified. Remember Natalie McGarry? I reckon her political life is over thanks to an accusation that was dismissed on appeal. How about Chris Law? Do you even remember what he was accused of? And let's not forget those accusations of bullying in her office by Joanna Cherry. Why do you suppose her name is featured? (Start with female, lesbian, mouthy, high profile and clever).
What always strikes me is how boring SNP politicians are. There's no scandal. In that respect, they're quite like the LibDems. There's no money to be made from politicians who just do the job and try to do it well.
If you feel disillusioned and want a cause, start raising money to defend prominent independence figures. Because there will be more accusations. Those with a vested interest in keeping Scotland 'British' are not going to give up.
Meanwhile, till Indyref2 comes along, read more about Scotland's history so you're ready to take part in discussions. Go to meetings. Join more online groups (Well, you might as well because you're never going to find good political ideas in the British press). And remember there are people out there just waiting to slam the door on our future. Don't let them.
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