The Guardian’s Michael White is a revolting liar. He writes today in The Guardian:
Why so few “no thanks” posters or union flags? “Because we don’t want our windows smashed or tyres slashed,” some no voters reply.
That is a plain lie, Michael White. No “No voters” said that to you. You made it up. Nor has there been a single instance reported of any No voter having their windows or car trashed.
White also retails a story that a woman allegedly told him on hearsay about somebody else who was “seized by the throat” on canvassing because of their English accent. Well I have lived more than eight years of my adult life in Scotland and never once had any adverse reaction of any kind to my very English accent, including while canvassing in some very deprived areas. This incident is also an invention.
White has always been revolting, his constant snide support for Tony Blair and his wars, covered by that horrible false bonhommie, is repulsive. But the move into straightforward lies disguised as reportage to please his New Labour masters (and their creature Rusbridger) cannot be allowed to pass. Michael White is a disgrace to the profession of journalism.
Went clear over your head, didn’t it? I was wrong, it’s not stupidity, it’s brainwashing, pure INGSOC, and when someone pricks it, all you can do is thrash around with a bit of scattershot classism and your thoroughly-instilled “Conspiracy Theory!” reflex.
You poor sod. Can’t accept that a foreign oligarchy owns your soft pasty British ass. (Even worse, when it’s the likes of me!) There’s no shame in your lumpenprole false consciousness. Usually it takes access to classified and then some time and effort to digest it with the blinkers off. Clearly you’ve had neither, not of any consequence.
I think people do feel intimidated and it’s hardly surprising when there are blogs such as this one preaching hatred. To disagree with someone is one thing but resorting to name calling is another. But then much of this blog seems to consist of name calling.
Vandalism does happen, I’ve seen it, not only campaign material defaced but public property with campaign slogans spray painted on them. If this is happening in my quiet neck of the woods no doubt it is happening everywhere and it is intimidating.
Windows do get broken and tyres do get slashed. If there was no evidence the reason was a campaign sticker and most of the time there can’t be then it isn’t going to be reported as such but it does happen and considering the level of fanaticism in this campaign it’s hardly surprising.
What is ridiculous is pretending the campaign is all sweetness and light while calling someone a “revolting liar”.
Fred’s whinge is classically British. When the British pedo toffs lost their American colony, they got their panties in a bunch about the teddibly teddibly horrifying brutality of the emerging nation’s freedom fighters. And now they’ve degenerated so far that they can’t even take ridicule and pointed vituperation from fed-up Scots.
Craig,
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/abuse-for-pro-union-councillor-168268n.24547550 came up straight away for me. Also see the twitter handle I gave for the chap who had his car damaged two nights ago, two examples which came up very quickly.
As I said in my original post, there has been plenty of vandalism on both sides. Brings me back to a comment I made to you a few weeks about how I can’t wait for the whole thing to be over.
Saying that people who oppose your views are not decent is hardly likely to be an encouragement to good behaviour.
I feel sorry for you Fred. You’re way up there in the North waiting for legions of Nazi’s goose stepping their way to your door to make your life more miserable than it already is.
It won’t happen.There are no Nazi’s,no bogeymen.Your sheep are safe.
If they report eggs being thrown,they’ll report tyres and windows being smashed and slashed.That’s major crime in Scotland.It would be reported Fred.You just live off the beaten track.
The part of Fife that I grew up in. all the things you’ve mentioned happened on a weekly basis.They were young juvenile delinquents (usually known) with nowhere to go and nothing to do in the evenings.These young people are getting the vote and if they cut their democratic teeth on defacing opposition posters,thats the way it goes,for both sides.The paint will wash off and the posters will disappear after the 18th and you and your sheep will find only the weather intimidating.
Chap who had his car damaged? Pffffff.
You want to see the automatic weaponry they have in the US! Peanuts!
Mick
Not convinced by that. “He feared damage had been scratched into the bodywork”. That’s rather strange. The car was keyed or it wasn’t. Photo? Evidence the Labour councillor didn’t do it himself?
“I feel sorry for you Fred. You’re way up there in the North waiting for legions of Nazi’s goose stepping their way to your door to make your life more miserable than it already is.”
This is precisely what I was saying. Your repeated personal remarks about me are intimidating. Online bullying. If anyone puts any point of view but yours you subject them to personal abusive comments.
Is it any wonder people are afraid to put up campaign stickers on their property? Is it any wonder people feel intimidated?
I think you have bigger issues than the referendum Fred.
“Not convinced by that. “He feared damage had been scratched into the bodywork”. That’s rather strange. The car was keyed or it wasn’t. Photo? ”
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/call-to-end-abuse-after-car-targeted-167547n.24490072
I hadn’t heard of the expression ‘yobs’ before this. I knew I could learn something here. 🙂
There have been several reports of vandalism by both sides, it would incredible if there were not despite the personal experience of certain people.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/north-east/308475/strichen-farmers-better-together-billboards-vandalised/
All pretty low-level stuff you might argue but those on the receiving end may well feel threatened and intimidated.
“Evidence the Labour councillor didn’t do it himself?”
More to the point Craig any evidence that he did?
@jimmyGiro
“prediction for final count”
Don’t know. I am canvassing in a predominantly working class, Labour loyal, west central belt town and seeing Yes taking 50-70% of the return, more in some hot-spots. It’s a fair bet that the douce Tory suburbs are giving a different result and I have no means of weighting for that, or other factors. Important to note, though, that neither has anyone else. The professional pollsters have no previous independence campaign results to use as baselines for weighting so they’ve all chosen different approaches.
That said, I wish I could believe the pollsters. If it’s true that it’s neck and neck (within the margin of error) then Yes will win assuming that Yes voters, like SNP voters, are more motivated to get off their arses and go down to the polling station – but we can’t be sure of that.
Sorry if this isn’t very helpful, but I’ve always felt that most people wouldn’t really engage with the question until about now and I think I was right. I’m seeing undecideds going to Yes quite rapidly now, or responding to the mildest of pushes. If the trend continues into next week then I think the most I could say is that we’ll have moved into an area where a No vote is unlikely.
Is there extra money for a re-count? If it’s very close, it will be cheaper than containing public unrest.
“I hadn’t heard of the expression ‘yobs’ before this. I knew I could learn something here. ”
Look up the words “rabble-rouser” and “demagogue” and learn some more.
“Look up the words “rabble-rouser” and “demagogue” and learn some more.”
Sorry. I’m not a multi-tasker. 🙂
All pretty low-level stuff you might argue but those on the receiving end may well feel threatened and intimidated.
Some probably do. Which might deter them from making public political statements next time, but rarely seems to. Others wait till after dark or get up very early in the morning and reciprocate the favour. The battle of the posters can get a bit wild in a keenly contested Scottish constituency, as I remember.
Listen to Fred, Whah Baby, Whah! Whah! I can imagine how intimidated and afraid you must be of your British anti-terror goons – they can lock you up forever and put you away for not blabbing everything they want to know right off.
Oh, right, I forgot. You just submit and crawl and do whatever they say to be safe. This is Britain.
The late surge in the Yes vote is having a ripple effect in rUK, with the Tories plotting to oust David Cameron if Scotland regains independence:
““The move will take place immediately,” said one senior Tory MP. “David Cameron will be unable to contain the anger at the humiliation. His position will be terminal.”
http://www.newssniffer.co.uk/articles/832232/diff/0/1
Al Milliner is running the Scottish Observatory, not from a flat in Coventry, but from Disgusted Tunbridge Wells. This spam bot will be with us for 9 months, the hatching period for the Tory Bot fly larva, i.e.till the next election.
The first mission for our new troll is to cast doubt on the charge of War Criminal that hangs over David Cameron for his bombing of Sirte, where the inhabitants had come to an uncomfortable symbiosis with Col Gaddafi.
My low internet signal from my mobile is not up to the task of disproving his counter-claim to the 15,000 murdered by Cameron. I remember the number as half a million, but Google is regularly cleaned of inconvenient evidence about UK war crimes.
Anyway even if the larva lives long enough to hatch, the next UK government will be run by Wallace of Grommit fame. Every UK prime minister has to have a Scottish name.
As to Scottish Independence, Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells has boxes and boxes in storage of ‘No’ votes of non-existant voters with which to flood out the latest political uprising of those ungrateful Pict-blue clans.
“Listen to Fred, Whah Baby, Whah! Whah! I can imagine how intimidated and afraid you must be of your British anti-terror goons – they can lock you up forever and put you away for not blabbing everything they want to know right off.
Oh, right, I forgot. You just submit and crawl and do whatever they say to be safe. This is Britain.”
Once again you provide evidence to support my argument.
Can there be any wonder why people feel intimidated when campaigners resort to personal attacks such as this.
“”““The move will take place immediately,” said one senior Tory MP. “David Cameron will be unable to contain the anger at the humiliation. His position will be terminal.”””
Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells says he would be welcome to come and be the new terminal at Gatwick, any time.
Here’s Habbakuk’s trick, bleeding over to so-called fred, who’s now also taken to chewing the scenery in pop-eyed histrionic fear, shaking like a leaf. One would think that for a genuine proud Scot it would be somewhat demeaning to act such a sniveling pussy. I know frail elderly ladies with more evident balls.
For pity’s sake, man, keep your personas straight.
“Here’s Habbakuk’s trick, bleeding over to so-called fred, who’s now also taken to chewing the scenery in pop-eyed histrionic fear, shaking like a leaf. One would think that for a genuine proud Scot it would be somewhat demeaning to act such a sniveling pussy. I know frail elderly ladies with more evident balls.”
Proof, if proof were needed that it isn’t possible to make a rational argument without being subjected to personal abuse and bullying.
I can remember the Devolution vote and at the time was convinced there would be a swamping yes for that. That was because the yes side (round me anyway) were making more noise. Those against appeared to say a lot less then quietly voted against it. I’m not in Scotland now so no idea what its like for this one. But posters up etc aren’t necessarily much of a guide.
If fewer “No” ones then why that would be is an interesting question. Social pressure, real or percieved, certainly might be a reason. People don’t even tell their spouses about how they vote – or lie to them about it.
People don’t even tell their spouses about how they vote in general elections I meant to say.
Quote “Why so few “no thanks” posters or union flags? “Because we don’t want our windows smashed or tyres slashed,” some no voters reply.”
I’ve heard Unionist politicians saying the above during interview, No voters are repeating this on calls in.
It’s a lie, one of many circulating. All coming from the one side. Well what should we expect the poor sods have had to keep up their campaign of lies fearmongering negativity, for an awful long time now. It’s not working any more.
Kempe
I regard attacking billboards – ones not on residential property – as a perfectly acceptable manifestation of political exuberance. Always been done, always will be, by all sides.
Defacing cars is another thing entirely. But the Labour councillor’s car photo is something of a mystery. Someone has written a neat Yes on it in a rounded hand with what looks like a felt tip pen or white board marker. I strongly suspect it would wash away quite simply with no damage. Bit of a wanker to call the police about that.
That he or someone linked to him did it himself to implicate the Yes campaign seems at least as plausible as any other explanation, given the apparent lack of harm to his car.
@Clydebuilt
But I’m saying it.
I’m a voter. The online equivalent of windows smashed and tyres slashed is personal abuse and bullying.
I have to assume that the intimidation I see in cyberspace would be repeated in meatspace. The people who do the one are the sort of people who would do the other.