Perception is All
Many thanks to the many people who helped force Bill Aitken’s resignation. Flying in the face of the reality of his own words Aitken yesterday stormed the media spluttering about how there had all been a terrible misunderstanding and ‘perception was all these days’. So he’s getting abit Jim Morrison? The now disgcarced Tory said:
“In politics, you have to have a thick skin. But this issue is no longer about me. For far too many people, perception is reality,” he said. “I am standing down as convener of the justice committee. I do so with a mixture of emotions. Frustration at allowing myself to be misrepresented. Anger at being misrepresented. And remorse to rape victims and their loved ones for any hurt they feel. But also in the hope that my true views can now be heard.”
It’s certainly with a mixture of emotions that we accept this resignation, frustration that it didn’t come earlier, that the Tory leader said nothing about it and that our politics are still contaminated with people like Aitken. The Scottish Green Party’s Patrick Harvie should take plaudits for leading the efforts to have him resign, as should Kelley Temple (NUS) and others who organised on Facebook on this issue. The sadness is only that he now blames the media (in particular the Sunday Herald) and more importantly the men who attacked the woman in Glasgow are at the moment still at large.
This is also a massive media fail with very little of the MSM picking up on the story and BBC Radio Scotland last night broadcasting a woeful coverage of the events including extended airplay to Aitken blustering about justifying himself and then the old boys club of Angus McLeod of The Times who came on and waffled about how it all had been a terrible misunderstanding and the Sunday Herald were somehow to blame. Listen to our media failing at Scotland at Ten here.
As we covered in Take Caledonia the Arab Spring is raging. But amongst Tripoli and seismic shifts in Middle east and North African politics, don’t forget Wisconsin.
Ode to Donald Trump – priceless and printed.
” Listen to our media failing at Scotland at Ten here.”
Not available.
On Aitken. Astonished that anyone, although we’d expect him to do it, could try and justify this man’s words. Those with even a minimal grasp of the basics of the English language (any nuance aside) could see from the transcript of what that man said regarding the victim(s) of these horrific attack(s) is left with no doubt as to what he was thinking. He’s a total disgrace. Thanks to you guys for highlighting it so effectively and to the Herald for publicising it. Good riddance to him.
Odious litte man should stand down immediately as an M S P.
I liked one poster on Indymedia Scotland pointing out the resemblance between Aitken and Himmler. Surely only a physical one though?