Tuesday 15 December 2009

In Defence of Anonimity

As a matter of personal choice I am 100% in favour of Scotland gaining its independence.

There's nothing xenophobic in this reasoning. As an island race or as world citizens we share the same flaws and graces that gnaw and disturb the consciences of all human society. Scotland gaining its independence I see as granting five million people the opportunity to radically redefine the quality, competence, moral values and responsibilities of their democratic governance.

To this end, I often blog on related sites and occasionally on the Scottish newspapers which generally are biased beyond the tipping point of vitriol against independence. But with circulation figures below100k in total the two papers involved can no longer regard themselves as anything other than purveyors of establishment views. In a slightly different category and as a supporter of independence there is the weekly broadsheet the Scots Independent. Perhaps surprisingly it is an article in the latter that has led me to comment in the following manner.

The article in question is authored by a Mr Jamie Hepburn who I believe is a SNP member of the Scottish Parliament. It relates to recent events in the blogger sphere where some individual were 'outed' from the anonymity of their blog nom-de-plumes and, in one case at least, exposed as a peripheral employee of an SNP parliamentary minister. His critique of that case seems to be based on the exposure of inside knowledge to the free-for-all of the Internet is not the done political thing. Leastwise, while it may be done in the club, it shouldn't be aired outside it? Sounds a bit to me like Swinger Club rules - something not entirely compatible with open governance.

But, and in an even more patronising manner, he advocates that all bloggers of an independent persuasion should blog in a more circumspect manner! Why on earth should he want that when the very essence of the blogger sphere is the immediacy of the responses to whatever generates them. When a spade's called a spade, linguistically it's perfectly described with economic and pinpoint accuracy. Call it an instrument for the manual removal or redistribution of soil or loose compounds and your left with a confusion of possibilities from a spoon to an earth mover. Obfuscation is already well practiced and heavily employed in the political industry of Westminster; what possesses him to believe we want it employed in Scottish governance?

As to hiding behind anonymity. Our amateur status gives us a right to that. Mostly we seek to gain neither status, money nor celebrity but to put a shoulder to the wheel of independence. The glory we leave to you the professionals but we 're only too aware that often that professionalism sets as elitism instead of excellence and hides its failings behind the skirts of excuse.

So take us as you find us, elucidate where there's misunderstanding, remove the ache of frustration with objectives. But patronise, and you will be guilty of the same institutional hypocrisy as practiced by governments, unions and establishments throughout the life of this dysfunctional union.

Finally, while it has taken thirty years for the SNP to gain the ground it could have had with better intelligence, it has definitely earned the right to fight for Scotland's independence. As yet it has still to earn the right to govern an independent Scotland.

4 comments:

  1. Good Morning Crinkly,

    I have been following your blog and posts, particularly on Subrosa's blogsite.

    You commented last night on one of my ranting posts regarding "carbongate".

    Anyway, a propos to the SNP and their bewilderment at the so called cybernats darned refusal to toe the party line, and not upset their ship of state, I suppose that I must be one of the pesky insects. I am proud to be so described.

    I live abroad and rely on online Scottish newspaper editions to keep me abreast of what is happening in my native land. The London centric major nationals are a joke with respect to Scottish news unless it has something to do with the Barnett Formula, deep fried Mars Bars, obesity and low life expectancy, or is it low-life expectancy.

    I started posting in the Glasgow Herald after realising that the Scottish Press must be the most biased since Pravda, Izvestia and The Harare Herald. The Herald closed down their comments section after what I believe to be a concerted faux flag attack to pro Unionist people who could not handle the cheek and arguments of the gNats. The Scottish BBC is utterly abominable and its mastery of slanted news,semiotics and subliminal messaging must make, someday, a case study in state propaganda diffusion.

    Like most of them I believe, I am not in the SNP and cannot consider to ever to be so. To misquote Grouch Marx, I could never be a member any political party who would accept me. This discipline of toeing the party line, and not speaking out what I believe in, is the antithesis of political democracy. Democracy is about heart as well as mind, it is all about challenging the accepted rather than submitting to it and, to hell with the consequences.

    This cowed party politics is all too evident in today's Westminster and Hollyrood and it is anti democratic. The party is not all, the people are. Politicians are elected to represent us, our best interests, and not their own.

    I blog, sometimes I fulminate but when I have the time I write, rewrite and then ascerbically refine. Sometimes it works, sometimes it falls flat on its kipper. But, it is me moulding and sharing my thoughts, not toeing the party line.

    Most cybernats I would wager are of that ilk too.

    The internet has a lot going for it, like everything good and bad. For e the internet can only hastened the demise of once great newspapers who have lost their way and whose vested interests (I know this doesn't make sense) seem hell bent of corporate suicide.

    We are now seeing a ore thoughtful series of thinking blogs emerging, largely from redundant or retired journalists who obviously see a big hole in the market.

    I commend one to you, Kenneth Roy's Scottish Review

    http://www.scottishreview.net/index.html

    There are others including the left wing Bella Caledonia.

    From the SNP, the sound is shush and don't rock the boat.

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  2. So the SNP have sent out a messenger to say 'behave yourselves or else'. I don't take to that kindly, in fact I don't take to it at all.

    Some SNP supporting bloggers are now so boring to read I don't bother wasting my time.

    Although I support independence I refuse to stay silent when I see my country torn apart by political decisions. That's where the SNP has a problem - silence isn't golden - it still doesn't understand that discussion should be for everyone and not just those who are card carrying members.

    Not one SNP MP or MSP blogs, not one. Yet I see John Redwood and others doing a superb job on behalf of the tories. It really is past time they came into today's world and stopped behaving like thrawn presbyterians. One of them is the present PM.

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  3. Evening Bugger - I did get round to answering you and Rosa before - got half way through and my laptop crashed.

    Anyway I'll try again.

    I'm with you all the way. It's hard not to be a polemicist when the people you're commenting on are trying to sell you they have the ability to polish a turd. Like you I write as when,what and how I feel and being PC is not part of that equation.

    So here's to freedom of the cyberpen an lang may its product reach.

    Rosa, like you and many others I regard politics as the black art of deceit.

    And I was disappointed when Salmond came out with the retention of Queenie, pound and military bases speech - a sort of semi independent basis Mark 2.

    Then I had a thought which took me to Irish/Westminster negotiations circa 1920 -22 when Griffiths and Collins worked their butts off and DeVelera played the menapausel Queenie back home - now this is pure supposition. But could it be possible the backrooms of Westminster and Holyrood have been busy and Salmonds announcement and his lack of criticism is down to deal already having been worked out?

    Food for thought, or perhaps not.

    And I'll take this opportunity to wish you and all, my probably single digits, of readers the very best for Christmas and the New Year(When I will be in Scotland, Skye in particular)

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  4. "Not one SNP MP or MSP blogs, not one."

    indygalgoestoholyrood.blogspot.com

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