Denis MacShane tell us that just five of the richest men in Britain paid for 61% of the Leave campaign and that Brexit was ‘for the rich, by the rich, of the rich.’ This truth is seeping out just as the true nature of the vote and purpose of Brexit’s sister ‘populist’ phenomenon across the pond reaches new depths of weird depraved farce.
One of the consequences of the Brexit ‘victory’ has been a well documented spike in race crime and hate crime in England and Wales (I haven’t seen comparable figures for Scotland). This is perhaps not surprising given the drip-drip effect of xenophobia into the mainstream: from the Tories coyly racist ‘Are you thinking what we’re thinking?’ (2005)
to normalising fascists like Nick Griffin (2009); or indeed the Prime Ministers own hate van (2013) or the immigration poster fronted by Nigel Farage (2016).
There is evidence that the Brexit campaign was so imbued with racism, and the issue of immigration was so central to it that some people thought that ‘LEAVE’ meant just that.
You, the other, the foreigner, the immigrant, the non-English, should Leave Britain.
Just Leave.
As the messages beamed out, not just from every Dacre and Murdoch rag but from thousands of JCDecaux ad sites, as a fascist sits on a tv panel beside a Dimbelby its clear they’ve been invited in. It doesn’t take a huge leap to imagine this saturation, this surround-sound of casual, assumed racism having a wider impact.
England’s self-styled ‘national liberation’ was based on, predicated on, and motivated by racism. Take a moment on that.
And there’s no doubt that one of the targets of this new culture of hate were Scots themselves from the Economists Skintland, to the notion of ‘Jockistan’ and a new deluge of anti-Scottish cartoons and imagery.
The culture war was clearly against what you could call (they did) The Unbrits.
But if you are feeling for a moment self-superior, if you are feeling for even a second that Scottish society is inculcated with values and an ethos far removed from all this, it’s worth noting the recent reaction to Young Fathers recent performance from the Scottish Portrait Gallery.
The piece combines poetry, music, movement and a searing social commentary on power and race. With music & concept by Edinburgh-based Mercury winners Young Fathers it is spoken by the bands Alloysious Massaquoi. It’s intense, moving, evocative and surprising, partly because we live in such an unacknowledged monochrome white-privileged culture.
The comments underneath are just a tirade of vile racist violence.
Watch it and read them here:
Take your pick from the poison.
A few stand out:
“Behold the enraged ape. Jealous because all his ancestors came up with were sticks and mud huts” says one.
“Absolutely disgusting. A disgrace to Scotland. Everyone involved in this is a dos cunt” says another.
“Black people arent Scottish” and “Wait this man is basically pissing on our heritage and our culture, and not only do we encourage it, we put it up in a fancy Youtube video for everyone to see as if it’s a good thing? Who sat down and thought that making this was a good idea?”
It’s difficult not to think that the ‘contagion’ from Brexit has no border. That the mainstreaming and emboldening of fascist sentiments has been given a shot in the arm and that Scottish society has as many unexplored and unexamined assumptions as its neighbours to confront.
Young Fathers are a creative force working on a different level from anyone else. They are vital assets to Edinburgh and Scotland who should be celebrated and appreciated. No doubt they will go from strength to strength. One thing is certain we need their analysis of privilege and power more than ever in this new madness of Brexit euphoria and chaos.
Bella is off for a weeks staycation seeking the sand between our toes and the midges to show mercy. We will be back in August after a digital detox, refreshed and re-charged for the challenges ahead …*We really need your support to develop though and we’d like to ask you to support us by donating to us here.We’ve got big plans to launch our new site (just saw the wireframe), to launch new publishing and events projects, and to extend our platform of writers – but all of this needs your support.
We’ve got big plans to launch our new site (just saw the wireframe), to launch new publishing and events projects, and to extend our platform of writers – but all of this needs your support.
What many of these bigoted racists refuse to accept is that we all originated in Africa and had dark skins which subsequently evolved into many different shades due to environmental factors.
There is only one human race,although it is apparent that some have a considerable amount of Neanderthal in their family history and have failed to develop fully.
Scottishness,unlike our southern neighbour is not about our superiority to other humans but our right and desire to be treated as equals.
However,in order for our neighbours to continue to consider themselves superior,we have to be considered inferior,there is no one else left for them.
It is the strange people in our country who agree with our inferiority that are a great puzzle.
I don’t understand them.
I was watching a programme on a battle between two miners who owed mines in Montanna before it became a state of the USA. Both where extremely wealthy, while their workers lived and worked in terrible condition. One man always came out on top until one set up a newspaper when Motanna became a state. He used it to attack his adversay and to promote himself. Quickly he was gaining dominance in the state and found his increasing wealth could indirectly buy votes in the State Legistative which he became a member. Not content on controlling the the state he decided to stand as State senator, unfortunately others decided to print newspapers and a independent representative exposed his financial dealings with other represenatives whose votes he had purchased indirectly.
Today we have a man born in Australia living in the USA who has never been a citizen of the UK owing most of the News Media. His overall aim his to increase his business Empire and to increase his profits. Murdoch,s Empire is not interested in the welfare of the British people and could not care less if people in Sunderland are giving a load of lies and half truths and there standard of living falls not too far I hope as they have to cancel their Sky subscription.
A bit research and you soon discover why Murdoch promoted little England Nationalism and Bretexit and guess what it’s do with MONEY, his not yours.
Bringiton, well said, funny how they roar on athletes like Mo Farah, or any of a multitude of coloured rugby or soccer players when they are winning gold medals for Englandshire!
Re: hate crime in Scotland post-Brexit: Police Scotland did comment on it, and Scotland didn’t witness the same rise as rUK, though other events have caused spikes (in fact I think elsewhere it’s argued that rUK has seen both spike and a sustained increase). Good overview here, though the article is too soon after Brexit to cover the long term effects:
England has a level of multiculturism and multi-ethnicity that Scotland has never experienced and in the main most people get along fine. Wales unlike London voted for Brexit. I imagine none of this fits into the always the victim narrative of nationalist seperatists.
In GDP terms at least Scotland did well out of the empire so it would be highly dishonest to say that most high-cultural artefacts in Scotland don’t need to come with a little QR-coded trigger warning sticker affixed like “*MAY CONTAIN SLAVERY”. Small’s points above about the xenophobia underpinning Leave and so on are all valid.
At the same time, there is a confrontational dynamic in this whole milieu which, it’s no secret, functions as part of a larger and more contentious cultural animus.
There are racists and then there are also white men who get their hackles up and want to politicize and, in the classic “A4 sheet of paper” phrase, want to “challenge the assumptions” of “white men” being used as a routine pejorative, or have the same reaction to a video of some rapper pointedly accusing and making generalisations about Scottish society as racist, particularly in a video piece in the National Portrait Gallery.
Scotland is not a political monochrome and inevitably some Scots /don’t like/ and are not prepared for having such fingers shoved in their chests. They’re sore about other perceived or real grievances. The left is not noticing the provocation-alienation dynamic here and its blindness is political. The alt-right is wide awake to it, yet blind to literally everything else. But I think, in spite of the best efforts of those who see always career possibilities in following fashions, Scotland will not prove fertile soil for this wider cultural schism; we have too much social empathy.
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Bella is off for a weeks staycation seeking the sand between our toes and the midges to show mercy. We will be back in August after a digital detox, refreshed and re-charged for the challenges ahead …*
We really need your support to develop though and we’d like to ask you to support us by donating to us here.We’ve got big plans to launch our new site (just saw the wireframe), to launch new publishing and events projects, and to extend our platform of writers – but all of this needs your support.
What many of these bigoted racists refuse to accept is that we all originated in Africa and had dark skins which subsequently evolved into many different shades due to environmental factors.
There is only one human race,although it is apparent that some have a considerable amount of Neanderthal in their family history and have failed to develop fully.
Scottishness,unlike our southern neighbour is not about our superiority to other humans but our right and desire to be treated as equals.
However,in order for our neighbours to continue to consider themselves superior,we have to be considered inferior,there is no one else left for them.
It is the strange people in our country who agree with our inferiority that are a great puzzle.
I don’t understand them.
I was watching a programme on a battle between two miners who owed mines in Montanna before it became a state of the USA. Both where extremely wealthy, while their workers lived and worked in terrible condition. One man always came out on top until one set up a newspaper when Motanna became a state. He used it to attack his adversay and to promote himself. Quickly he was gaining dominance in the state and found his increasing wealth could indirectly buy votes in the State Legistative which he became a member. Not content on controlling the the state he decided to stand as State senator, unfortunately others decided to print newspapers and a independent representative exposed his financial dealings with other represenatives whose votes he had purchased indirectly.
Today we have a man born in Australia living in the USA who has never been a citizen of the UK owing most of the News Media. His overall aim his to increase his business Empire and to increase his profits. Murdoch,s Empire is not interested in the welfare of the British people and could not care less if people in Sunderland are giving a load of lies and half truths and there standard of living falls not too far I hope as they have to cancel their Sky subscription.
A bit research and you soon discover why Murdoch promoted little England Nationalism and Bretexit and guess what it’s do with MONEY, his not yours.
Bringiton, well said, funny how they roar on athletes like Mo Farah, or any of a multitude of coloured rugby or soccer players when they are winning gold medals for Englandshire!
Auld Rock
‘Coloured’? I haven’t heart that word since the days of separate lunchcounters. Let’s get with the proram!
Re: hate crime in Scotland post-Brexit: Police Scotland did comment on it, and Scotland didn’t witness the same rise as rUK, though other events have caused spikes (in fact I think elsewhere it’s argued that rUK has seen both spike and a sustained increase). Good overview here, though the article is too soon after Brexit to cover the long term effects:
http://newsnet.scot/archive/scotland-witnessed-spike-post-brexit-hate-crime-not/
Thanks Conrad
Can anyone identify who the five actually were?
Auld Rock
I too would be interested to know. Y’know, name and shame.
Douglas, my idea entirely. If you find out anything you can email me at:- [email protected]
Auld Rock
I’ll find out
Thanks,
My attempts have not been successful.
That video is incredible.
England has a level of multiculturism and multi-ethnicity that Scotland has never experienced and in the main most people get along fine. Wales unlike London voted for Brexit. I imagine none of this fits into the always the victim narrative of nationalist seperatists.
Au contraire: Scotland has ALWAYS been multicultural since its founding days. To suggest otherwise flies in the face of all available evidence.
In GDP terms at least Scotland did well out of the empire so it would be highly dishonest to say that most high-cultural artefacts in Scotland don’t need to come with a little QR-coded trigger warning sticker affixed like “*MAY CONTAIN SLAVERY”. Small’s points above about the xenophobia underpinning Leave and so on are all valid.
At the same time, there is a confrontational dynamic in this whole milieu which, it’s no secret, functions as part of a larger and more contentious cultural animus.
There are racists and then there are also white men who get their hackles up and want to politicize and, in the classic “A4 sheet of paper” phrase, want to “challenge the assumptions” of “white men” being used as a routine pejorative, or have the same reaction to a video of some rapper pointedly accusing and making generalisations about Scottish society as racist, particularly in a video piece in the National Portrait Gallery.
Scotland is not a political monochrome and inevitably some Scots /don’t like/ and are not prepared for having such fingers shoved in their chests. They’re sore about other perceived or real grievances. The left is not noticing the provocation-alienation dynamic here and its blindness is political. The alt-right is wide awake to it, yet blind to literally everything else. But I think, in spite of the best efforts of those who see always career possibilities in following fashions, Scotland will not prove fertile soil for this wider cultural schism; we have too much social empathy.
National identity is being reduced to ideology. Upon independence, one voice will become many – so must you conflate left ideology and Scottishness?