Now, it is hard to argue with some of what John McTernan said in his email to that well known beacon of enlightenment, Karen Gillon: Scotland can be narrow, and it can alas all too often be racist. We are often content to sit on our laurels, and point to things happening doen south like the rise of the BNP, or the success of the Tories’ anti-immigration policies, as an example of our success in being so enlightened.
It seems we have come along way from the time when black footballers were roundly abused at matches – but we cannot say that they are no longer abused by a small minority, or even by their fellow players. Scotland, outwith Glasgow, and I could argue, outside Pollokshields and the surrounding areas, is still remarkably white. It is often the most striking thing that friends from the south or abroad notice. It is sobering when out canvassing, to come across the (thankfully rare) people who seem to have immigration on the top of their agendas, even if they live in provincial towns where you will be hard pushed to find a non-white face.
But that does not mean we are ourselves especially narrow – every country in Europe has had to deal with racism in some sort of way, and any comparison can only end up sounding shallow down the line. While Sweden has been far ahead of us in introducing a whole raft of progressive legislation, we do ourselves a disservice by forgetting that we are far ahead of other supposedly progressive places.
What McTernan’s musings do make me think, after the initial acknowledgement that he does have a certain point, is that the Labour Party fundamentally distrusts the Scottish people. Those Scots who have ventured south to work for Labour do tend to look back on those of us up here as the unfortunates, stuck in narrow, Presbyterian Scotland. Unionists, seeing the world as they do through their own narrow Atlanticist prism, forget that Scotland would be more than happy to prove them wrong, and that cutting ourselves loose from our current London-centric axis would allow us to rejoin the world on our own, broad, terms. If only the folk at the top of the Labour Party in Scotland were genuinely interested in creating the ‘One Scotland’ they liked to talk about so much, we would be closer to the day when an advisor to a Swedish Political party could email a member of the Riksdag to commend Scotland as a place to go.
And finally, what was that Presbyterian bit about? It may have been written five years ago, but I can’t for the life of me remember what seemed particularly Presbyterian about Scotland in 2003. A walk down any High Street on a Friday or Saturday night, or indeed Sunday, and a cursory knowledge of our woeful teenage pregnancy statistics would make anyone think twice about calling us Presbyterian - That and the fact that the Church of Scotland is largely impotent in the public discourse, and has been for years. For the fire & brimstone rhetoric around the issues of gay marriage or abortion, you can bet your bottom dollar it’ll be Cardinal Keith shouting loudest, and not whatever mild-mannered soul happens to be Moderator at the time.
It seems we have come along way from the time when black footballers were roundly abused at matches – but we cannot say that they are no longer abused by a small minority, or even by their fellow players. Scotland, outwith Glasgow, and I could argue, outside Pollokshields and the surrounding areas, is still remarkably white. It is often the most striking thing that friends from the south or abroad notice. It is sobering when out canvassing, to come across the (thankfully rare) people who seem to have immigration on the top of their agendas, even if they live in provincial towns where you will be hard pushed to find a non-white face.
But that does not mean we are ourselves especially narrow – every country in Europe has had to deal with racism in some sort of way, and any comparison can only end up sounding shallow down the line. While Sweden has been far ahead of us in introducing a whole raft of progressive legislation, we do ourselves a disservice by forgetting that we are far ahead of other supposedly progressive places.
What McTernan’s musings do make me think, after the initial acknowledgement that he does have a certain point, is that the Labour Party fundamentally distrusts the Scottish people. Those Scots who have ventured south to work for Labour do tend to look back on those of us up here as the unfortunates, stuck in narrow, Presbyterian Scotland. Unionists, seeing the world as they do through their own narrow Atlanticist prism, forget that Scotland would be more than happy to prove them wrong, and that cutting ourselves loose from our current London-centric axis would allow us to rejoin the world on our own, broad, terms. If only the folk at the top of the Labour Party in Scotland were genuinely interested in creating the ‘One Scotland’ they liked to talk about so much, we would be closer to the day when an advisor to a Swedish Political party could email a member of the Riksdag to commend Scotland as a place to go.
And finally, what was that Presbyterian bit about? It may have been written five years ago, but I can’t for the life of me remember what seemed particularly Presbyterian about Scotland in 2003. A walk down any High Street on a Friday or Saturday night, or indeed Sunday, and a cursory knowledge of our woeful teenage pregnancy statistics would make anyone think twice about calling us Presbyterian - That and the fact that the Church of Scotland is largely impotent in the public discourse, and has been for years. For the fire & brimstone rhetoric around the issues of gay marriage or abortion, you can bet your bottom dollar it’ll be Cardinal Keith shouting loudest, and not whatever mild-mannered soul happens to be Moderator at the time.
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