The Believe in Scotland Facebook page has long since been a waste of time as far as I’m concerned. Apparently politically neutral, I’ve found that you cannot float ideas about what a future Scotland might be like, and you cannot make comments which are not entirely on message. It also doesn’t allow discussion of individual politicians demerits, but does allow praise, no matter how unwarranted or undeserving, so long as it is for the SNP or Nicola Sturgeon (or INSERT NEW SNP LEADER HERE).
Some time back I posted on Believe in Scotland a link to my petition to the Scottish Parliament which would make it a requirement for politicians who leave their parties/jump ship to other parties to resign and force a by-election. To me, this would remove the hypocrisy which we hear every time a politician stands down, that they should “do the decent thing”. Why isn’t the decent thing law? Not an overly divisive topic you might think. Wrong. This was removed. So I tried to ask it as question: should a future Scotland have an open, fair and transparent system, how should that work and what were people’s thoughts. Similarly, removed. Anything outside the Groupthink is deleted.
The fact that we can no longer criticise the SNP or discuss what a future Scotland should look like (if it’s not in line with projected SNP policy) means that Believe in Scotland, for me, has become a waste of time as regards a place of debate. Gordon Macintyre-Kemp has helped produce some fantastic resources for the Yes movement, but as a facilitator of open debate he is abysmal. When you put out such cringe-inducing statements on a forum for “debate” about a figure who has divided the Yes movement, and whose inaction has led to the formation of multiple independence parties (Alba, ISP for example), you should not be surprised to receive replies which are not in line with yours from the “broad church” of the independence movement.
I had to respond: Thank you Nicola – for resigning at long last. You led a ship that was sailing towards it’s destination, steered it into the doldrums before smashing it on the rocks of gender reform. It’s now time for a new captain to take charge , pump out the bilge, and get this ship sailing again. Independence is back on!
For a long time now I have seen Nicola Sturgeon as a block to independence. My first concerns were at the Hydro event in 2015 when she announced her “gender balanced” cabinet, where she was promoting people on the basis of their gender – not ability. I’ve never supported this type of thinking. When you need the best people in post they MUST be there on merit. To do otherwise is to accept that you may be promoting mediocrity over competency.
When she was made aware of allegations of bullying within the SNP in North Lanarkshire there was no response – except a block from her personal account. Was I unsurprised to see the shit-show which then unfolded in North Lanarkshire SNP? No, and when I saw the same type of behaviour unfold at national level, with dirty tricks aplenty design to remove the likes of Alex Salmond from Scottish politics, to block Joanna Cherry from Holyrood, or the action directed at Craig Murray which landed him in jail, was I surprised? No. It turned out that this wasn’t a few bad apples, but a whole rotten barrel.
The independence movement was marched uphill so many times, taken advantage of by a group of shysters who knew that they just had to dangle the carrot of independence to get them to follow. How that comfy slippered elite must be laughing – all the way to the bank…
In the wake of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, Gordon MacIntyre Kemp asked this:
In response to this question posed by Mr MacIntyre-Kemp, I answered honestly:
Suffice to say this was not a popular take. I won’t reproduce all the replies, but it’s fair to say that my thoughts were described as not being helpful and more suitable for a No voters page. In response I did say that “One of the biggest problems over the last few years has been the inability to look at ourselves self-critically. It’s very easy to point and shout YOOOOON! when dealing with uncomfortable topics of discussion. Goodness knows, it’s almost impossible to introduce them to this particular forum as they are deleted by the admins. But address them we must. The SNP have been a huge disappointment in many areas, and we are long past the point where we can wheesht for indy. In the face of increasingly out of touch, right-wing administrations in England we should be romping ahead in the polls. People should be demanding independence to get us out of here. Instead we are watching an inept Scottish Government bounce from failure to Scandal, with little sign of success on the horizon. Good, open,honest governance will lead us to independence. I do hope it comes soon,because I’m getting tired of waiting.”
When it was pointed out that the SNP’s raison d’être was independence, and why would they have no appetite for independence I responded that “They have an appetite for carrots. I believe that they have settled in to a comfortable period of semi-colonial administration. They have created a cottage industry in which they, their friends and families now depend on for their income. In short – it pays the mortgage. I believe they will not regain a true desire and appetite for independence until they are deprived of that which they have become reliant on just now – their income.
Of course, I fully expect such sentiment to be deleted by the admins. But if we cannot acknowledge reality then we are only lying to ourselves.“
True to form, Admin intervened.
Followed by:
Unfortunately, said “feedback” doesn’t exist. For now I’m unable to make any comment on that page. To be honest, why would I? If you can’t talk honestly about our movement, or the SNP, then you are kidding yourself on. An echo-chamber of self-congratulation might be a comfortable place to spend time for some, where Eastasia will remain at war with Eurasia and the grain harvest will be the best it has ever been, and we’ll all live happily ever after – the way we always have.
An Independent Scotsman 