The Wey Forrit E-Book

Stuart McHardy

• Herausgeber: Luath Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 178

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

The Wey Forrit is a political work written in Scots which examines the current British political climate, with a particular focus on how the inner workings of Westminster affect Scotland and her people. Arguing from a communitarian perspective, Stuart McHardy meticulously pulls apart the long-standing political ideas and traditions which many citizens of the United Kingdom have automatically accepted as correct or justified. He challenges his readers to re-think the consensus. Focusing on some of today's most highly discussed and potentially divisive topics - such as Brexit and Scottish Independence - McHardy lambasts the 'peelie-wallie politicians and lickspittle journalists' who protect the needs of the rich and sneer at those outside the realms of money and power. His views on the sovereignty of the Scottish Nation are also put forward, considering both the past and future implications of the way in which Britain came into being and the way in which it has been run for the three centuries since the Act of Union.

Leseprobe

STUART McHARDYwis brocht up in Dundee an eer syne he wis a student in Embra in the 1960s, he has been screivin in an studyin the auld leid. In the 1990s while Director o the Scots Langauge Resource Centre his joab wis tae promote the Mither Tung an this included screivin in Scots fer various newspapers an ither publications. He is the author o a puckle books in Scots an has lang been veesitin schuils tae bigg up yung fowk’s kennin o the tung. An the leid his figured strangly in his wark as baith a traditional musician an a storyteller ower monie years an the feck o his publishit poetry his aye been in Scots. He wis deeply involved wi the Vigil for a Scottish Parliament (1993–98) an screivedScotland’s Democracy Trailwi Donald Smith in 2014, whan he wis gey active in the push for independence, braidcastin an performin at monie events. Fer monie years he has lectured on a variety o topics, includin Scotland’s Radical History, fer Edinburgh Univairsitie’s Centre for Open Leaning.

The Wey Forrit

A Polemic in Scots

STUART MCHARDY

Luath Press Limited

EDINBURGH

www.luath.co.uk

First published 2017

ISBN: 978-1-912147-01-4 eISBN: 978-1-912387-09-0

The author’s right to be identified as author of this work under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Acts 1988 has been asserted.

© Stuart McHardy 2017

Contents

Whit Wey Forrit Nou?

Introduction

1: The Black Stuff

2: Democratic Representation

3: The Bottom Line

4: The Sovranty o Scotland

5: A Message Fer the Media

6: A Whirligig o Numpties?

7: Propaganda and the Scottish media

8: Cultural Diversity is Cultural Strength

9: The Pouer o Sang

10: Airtistic Licence

11: ‘Tae See Oorsels as Ithers See Us’?

12: The Land Endures

13: The Quaistion o Tourism

14: TheNHSAn the Welfare State

15: Chiels that Winnae Ding

16: A Fire o Freedom

17: The Brexit Bourach

18: A Merry-Go-Roun o Inefficiency or Corruption?

19: A New Warld Waits

Aye But?

Reasons tae be cheerfu

The Back o the Ha

Whit Wey Forrit Nou?

THERE’S NAEdoot that the result o the election cawit bi Theresa May on 8 June 2017 came as a richt shock tae monie. Despite a boak-makkin an doonricht disgracefu personal assault on Jeremy Cobyn bi the mainstream media their howpit-fer clean sweep o aw afore her bi the Prime Minister jist didnae happen. The bampot Brexiteers were stoppit in their tracks bi the voters, o England oniewey. Up here north o the border things werenae jist quite the same an there seems tae be an affy lot o fowk gettin theirsels intae a richt steer anent the drive taewards independence. Shair theSNPlost 21 o their seats in the posh-boys natterin-hoose o Westminster, bit the results o the last election that gied them 56 oot o 59 seats were maist likely a reflection o the ongaun volatility o politics as muckle as these latest results. The blatts are fou o stories aboot jist hou wonderfu Wee Shoutie (a.k.a. Ruth Davidson) is fer managin tae get mair seats in Scotland while her buddie Theresa wis losin them doon sooth an this is gettin some fowk affy feart that the impetus taewards independence is noo gaein backarties! Gin there’s anither election in the short term, the wey they are biggin the quine up micht see her bein offerit a safe seat sooth o the border, which micht jist plaise monie fowk up here.

Bit are the howps fer an independent Scotland in the short tae medium term that damaged? Whit happenit wis that the Tories had a surge in Scotland – aff the back o spendin a fearsome lot o siller in the seats they targettit – wi whit seems tae be the sleekit support o the Lib Dems, whause chairge taewards irrelevance gangs ivver on. This wis biggit up on a media-supportit attack on theSNPon three fronts – indyref, eddication an health – that micht mak ye think they had advance warnin o Theresa May’s ‘snap’ election. Twa relevant facks were totally ignored bi the media in their support fer Tory an Labour attacks on the Scottish Government – that Scotland’s budget keeps getting cut bi Westminster, an in eddication theSNPhae been strugglin wi local Labour cooncils fer years. An these cooncils hae haud a policy o fechtin theSNPat ivvery turn, nivver mind onie resultin hairm tae oor bairns’ eddication. Whit is clear, bit, is that theSNPwere caught oot an nivver mountit onie kind o real campaign tae coonter the combined attacks o the Unionist pairties. A wuid suggest that, in spite o aw the triumphalism o the Unionists, the fack that we still hae anSNPmajority o Scottish seats at Westminster means that things arenae aw that bad.

Houanivver, there are thngs that maun be said anent hou badly theSNPdid, fer losin Alex Salmond an Angus Robertson cannae be seen as oniethin bit a richt skelp in the puss fae the electorate. Bit ask yersel this: did haein 56 oot o 59MPs doon on the banks o the Thames mak muckle difference tae the wey things were warkin oot? A’m no shair that it did – ither nor giein a heeze tae the confidence o Scottish Independistas – or that they cheenged muckle ava. Tae theMSMnaethin they ivver did cuid be o onie uise an the only media organ that micht hae reflectit whit they were daein, an providin, as a viable vyce o opposition – theBBC– are sae thirlit tae the British estaiblishment that they wuid raither hae oniebuddie faeUKIPon their screen afore a buddie that representit oniethin ither nor Unionism in Scotland. An this in despite o theSNPhaein had 56 o 59MPS. They’re cheengin their line a wee bittie noo, but onlie as far as Jeremy Corbyn is concernit. Their adherence tae the the delusion that the British Empire still means somethin is absolute, an the mantra ‘SNPbad’ is still their slogan.

That said, theSNPhivnae been daein a verra guid job in steerin up even their ain potential electorate. The softly-softly approach whaur awthin they dae seems coatit wi an aura o competent bourgeois managerialism isnae whit is needit. Jeremy Corbyn showit that even in England fowk cin, an will, respond tae alternatives tae the neo-con austerity politics that hae damaged sae monie fowks’ lives this past few year. An the fack he did it by copyin a lot o whit are coreSNPpolicies rubs saut in the wound. TheSNPmicht nivver be capable o bein a true radical pairty in terms o addressin the fundamental inequalities an excesses o global capitalism (the ongaun despoilation o the nation’s capital bi carpet-bagger property speculators, cashin in on an oot o control tourism sector bein an obvious case in pynt) bit tae be shown up bi the Labour Pairty (in England) is pathetic. The policy o showin competence an no fleggin the cuddies is nae wey tae bring on Indpendence, which bi onie wey o thinkin is a truly Radical step. An tae think, as they seem tae dae, that they can mak this particklar omelette athoot brakkin onie eggs is jist stupit. The fowk they need tae bring on board arenae trust-fund mangers, orITprofessionals, but jiners, nurses, posties, bus-drivers, cleaners, carers, an aw thae fowk strandit on the minimum wage in modren ‘service industries’, no tae forget thae thoosans o fowk desertit bi modern capitalism in schemes across the kintra.

Nou, A’m no a member o theSNP, bit A ken plenty that are an ane o the constant refrains A hear fae them is that the leadership o the pairty dinnae respond near enough tae the wishes o the membership, that the members tend tae be a lot mair ‘leftish’ than thae that seem tae get the jobs o bein representatives. It needs sayin, time an agin, but theSNParenae the independence movement, they are jist pairt o it – despite the usual lees an distortion fae the media – an we shuid neer forget thon. We shuid be aware forbye that theSNPhae grown tae whaur they are bi conformin tae the model o whit a Westminster political pairty shuid be, an as is gettin clearer daily day, Westminster isnae nou, an his nivver been, an actual democratic system o governance.

But here’s anither thing that micht jist be happenin. David Cameron hid nae need tae caw fer the Bexit referendum: he did it thinkin o his ain political survival; Theresa May had nae need tae caw this election: she did it fer her whit she thocht wis her ain political survival; an baith o them had nae worries aboot whit wis gonnae happen, bein driven bi thon peculiar combination o entitlement an preevilige that seems tae come sae easily tae British (an ither) politicians. Nou, shuid that no mak us hae a wee thocht? Jist hou capable are these fowk o daein onie job? Naebuddie that kens oniethin anent politics thinks that Theresa May will last fer onie length o time an wha is there tae tak her place? Weel, we ken there’s a lot wuid like the job, bit seriously, are onie o them the sort o person ye wuid want tae see rinnin even a burger van? The Brexit referendum coverit up the fack that there is an affy lot o in-fechtin in the ranks o the Tory Pairty, an their henchmen in theMSMhae jist rin intae a reality check cried the Law o Diminishin Returns. The attacks on Jeremy Corbyn fer haein links tae theIRAwerenae jist obscene, they were ironic. Wha is Theresa May askin fer help? TheDUP, whause involvement in The Troubles wis jist as bluidy. Bit we shuid mebbe mind that gin ye’re fechtin fer the British Flag ye cannae be a terrorist, cin ye? Tell that tae the fowk that hae sufferit in aw thae kintras that uised tae be colourit reid on maps o the British Empire. Fer that’s whit’s at the hairt o sae muckle o whit the Tory Pairty is aw about – the longin fer times past whan Britannia ruled the waves. It wis a lang time ago, an it micht jist be as the different wings o the Tory Pairty fecht wi ane anither an the neist election looms sometime soon that further chaos comes aboot. An siccan a guddle will likely no be bad fer us.

Whitivver comes neist, an the election that’s probably on its wey awready micht weel see mair volatilty amang the electorate, as lang as we cin learn fae this particklar mess, the chances o Scotland takkin back her status as an independent nation, in or oot o theEU, havenae actually got onie waur. An we maun aye mind that, tho the roots o Scotland’s commmunitarian culture rin deep, there are them amang us that are Tories, an they hae the richt tae vote as weel as thee an me. Tho gin ye hae onie pals or faimlie that did vote Tory, ye micht mind them that nivver mind whit Wee Shoutie an theMSM(a name fer a band whause tunes are dreck?) are aye tellin us, this last vote fer the Tory Pairty wis vote fer the rape clause, the bedroom tax, Trident, airms-sales tae despots, discrimination agin the neediest in oor society, an pittin the needs o speculators afore oniethin that micht be thocht o as the national interest. Their definition o the national interest is whit’s guid fer them an their City o London pals, an that’s no in the interest o Scotland’s fowk.

TheSNPneed tae sort theirsels oot but they are jist ae strand o the movement that’s set on takkin back oor national sovereignty and we arenae goin oniewhaur bit further doin the road we’re set on. The rabid hysteria o the Unionists an their pals in the mainstream media is a shair sign that we’re daein things richt. Sae whit A’m sayin is jist this – the Wey Forrit is jist tae keep calm an cairry on…

Introduction

ANE O THEreasons ahent screivin this beuk is that A hae spent maist o ma adult life studyin ma ain, Scottish, historie an culture, an jalouse that it is time that A made it clear that the perpetual impertinence o the English as regairds that culture an history needs tae be cawed oot. Them that tell theirsels lees will nivver see ithers’ truth nae maitter hou aften they micht get tellt. Whit bathers me an gies a link atween aw the subjecks coverit in this wee beuk is the ongaun reality that sae monie fowk that think o theirsels as Scots gang alang wi sic impertinence wi a will. We cin pit some o this doun tae ignorance as siccan fowk swallie the lees o a centralised state an culture that tells them they are pairt o a wee kintra that cin onlie hae a role in the warld as an appendage tae the true world-player that is England. English pouer an influence are maitters o fack they tell ye, an wha are we tae deny this. Weel A’m no sae shair o thon. A’ve drawn attention in the follaein pages tae ae particklar airticle screived bi Professor Anthony Boyle on the English sense o exceptionalism several times in this book but A want tae quote somethin fae closer tae hame. This wis screived in 1989 in a grand wee beuk criedThe Eclipse of Scottish Culturebi David Beveridge an Ronald Turnbull…

English culture, or to be more precise, the public-school, Oxbridge, ‘Home Counties’ formation is steeped, to a singular degree, in the bizarre belief that its own history, institutions and practices are paradigms for other less favoured peoples. It is therefore not surprising that when anglican chaps turn their attention to Scotland their representations should reflect these assumptions of superiority; a violent history, a fanatical religion, an impoverished culture, a ‘dark’, ‘backward’, even ‘uncivilised’ country. What is at first surprising is the fact that these images of backwardness and inferiority also govern the Scottish intelligentisia’s discourse in Scotland. The overwhelming tendency of this discourse is to portray Scotland as a country which can be exhaustively described in terms of poverty, philistinism, bigotry, repression – a land of no gods or heroes.

Weel, Beveridge an Turnbull were wrang on ae particklar accoont. Their ain wyce-like discourse on Scottish philosophical culture showit that we werenae jist as dung doun as they were suggestin, an their ain wark is even mair proof. A’ve spent ma haill life studyin ma ain culture an history fer the ae single reason that A nivver accepit the hand-me-doun dreck that wis presentit tae me in aw the institutions A attendit tae try an get an eddication, an these twa lads seems tae hae been on somethin o the same gait as masel. They werenae the ainlie yins eethir, an siccan warks as George Davie’s seminalThe Democratic Intellect(1961) an Cairns Craig’sOut of History(1996) are jist twa instances o the reality that even athin the waas o academia there hae aye been Scots that kennt whit wis whit.

A wis gey lucky in that A wis brocht up in a hoose that held true tae the ideas ahent the norie o Marxist dialectics – it aw birlit roun the central necessity o critical thinkin. A’ve been teachin history masel fer a whilie nou an A aye tell students the main thing is tae tak naethin fer grantit – ye need tae ken whit fowk screivin history want ye tae think, an that’s best duin bi findin oot whit they think, or thocht thiersels. A tell them tae trust naebody screivin aboot the past, includin masel. Ye need tae mak up yer ain mind aboot things an gin the story ye’re getting is no the richt yin – gin there cin even be sic a thing – hou cin ye unnerstaun things clear? A’m no seyin naebuddie cin be trustit, just that ye tak naethin on trust, withoot checkin it oot as best ye cin. Anither wey o pittin that wuid be tae sey ‘think fer yersel’. An whan it comes tae Scotland, weel, the mindset o them that hae been daein maist o the screivin aboot oor past hae been thirlit tae pouer structures that hairdly recognise the verra existance o this auld land o oors. Nou A hae nae richt tae claim tae ken better nor awbuddie else but the ae thing ye cin be damnit shair aboot is that A’m no pushin the interest o onie pouer structure – ither nor the ain that’s jist beginnin tae steer – the pouer o the community o the people o Scotland, describit in the 1320 Declaration as the Common Weal. Some o whit’s comin in these pages is driven bi anger, an A mak nae apologies fer thon; the mair A learn, the mair A ken that there’s a sector o Scottish society – ye micht cry them the McEnglish – that sees their ain interest best served bi hingin on tae the coat-tails o a system o governance that cannae even recognise that it’s no got an Empire onie mair, an jist hou stupit is that?

The wey this book his been pit thegither is as a series o short essays, an the same subjecks crop up mair than aince, bit howpfully helpin tae mak a diffrent pynt ilk time. Nae ither person nor me his responsibilitie fer the ideas herein, an it will be affy clear tae ye that A’ve no taen the road o ‘objectivity’ or eenpolitessein these pieces. A hae been studyin Historie near aw ma days, an A’m pretty damnt shair that the notion o ‘objectivity’ is mair aften as no a ploy fer fowk tae pretend, no jist tae ithers bit een tae theirsels, that they’re richt. An as fer yonpolitesse, weel A try, bit it disnae aye wark. The ae siccar reason fer studyin the past is tae try an unnerstaun things better sae as we cin mak a better future. Sae, een tho there’s muckle here anent Scotland’s past, this is a book that aye looks tae the future, an ma howp is that a wheen o the argiements pit forrit here cin help cairry on the grand political revival across the haill o Scotland that wis brocht on in the years leadin up tae the kintra’s independence referendum o 2014, an help tae mak siccar that in onie forthcomin referendum we dae the best fer Scotland an her comin generations.

It’s no just the mainstream media that are aye tellin lees aboot whit the agreement atween Scotland and England really is an distortin oor historie forbye; there’s mony fowk that shuid ken better bit cannae stop tellin lees tae theirsels. A’ll cover maist o this in detail farther alang, bit there’s a couple o particklar things need seyin at the aff. Ane o them is hou the pouers that be in Scotland – oor ain wee Estaiblishment – hae aye kennt whit side their breid is buttert. Eer syne the bribery o 1707 that sparkit riots aw ower the kintra an left a lang-term legacy o resentment – some micht sey justified political anger – there hae been fowk that hae duin weel oot o the Union; damnit few in terms o the kintra as a haill, mebbes, but aye eneugh tae mak siccar that the reins o government an patronage hae nivver left the hauns o thae fowks wha are thirlit tae the simple norie that their personal weel-bein an success depends on unflinchin support fer the status quo.

Siccan fowk were cried Gatekeepers by a freen o mine, an A reckon the name fits. They’re jist the kin o fowk that William Blain identified – as aw yese wi the guid fortune tae hae read it will ken – as the ‘Richt Yins’ in his braw bookWitch’s Blood, nou sadly oot o print, like an affy lot o guid Scots leeterature that disnae jist fit in wi the agenda the Gatekeepers are aye pittin forth.

As a bairn at the schuil (or a wean fer aw ye on the ither side the kintra) A wis aye tellt that Scotland had duin no that bad oot o the Union, or Wanchancy Covenant, as anither freen o mine refers tae it, an hou we had managed tae haud on tae oor ain law, kirk an eddication systems. Weel, it’s amang thae institutions that a great monie Gatekeepers hae been thrivin aw these years. See the Law? Scots Law? Independent? – Ma bahookie! The ink on the Wanchancy Covenant (tae be referrit tae fae nou on asWC?) wisnae even dry whan the Pairlament o Great Britain, that had nae existence afore 1707, drave a horse an cairt straicht thru the notion o the independence o Scots law bi passin the Treason Act o 1709. This statit that oniebuddie chairged wi treason in the new laun o ‘Great Britain’ wuid be tried bi Oyer and Terminer which wis an English law that had nae legal staunin in Scotland. Did oor ain representatives at Westminster sey oniethin? No that A’ve heard. Did the Scottish judges mak a peep? Nae chance. Nae mair nor in 1989 they opposed the imposition o the Poll Tax in Scotland a year afore England – anither clear breach o theWC