tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post3911539387364985048..comments2024-03-28T07:16:39.621+00:00Comments on Lallands Peat Worrier: GE2010: BNP in ScotlandLallands Peat Worrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18276270498204697708noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-31421599784156955912010-05-13T18:39:09.333+01:002010-05-13T18:39:09.333+01:00Interesting ratzo,
I didn't thumb through tha...Interesting ratzo,<br /><br />I didn't thumb through that list myself, so didn't spot that trend.<br /><br />Anyone else have any ideas about Banff & Buchan? Anyone with more knowledge of the local situation or what might have made the particular obnoxious bigot who stood more appealing than your average comedy fascist thug?Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-73181910588911099842010-05-13T10:24:38.526+01:002010-05-13T10:24:38.526+01:00When the BNP membership list was 'accidentally...When the BNP membership list was 'accidentally' revealed on the internet, it showed very little participation in Scotland - <i>except in the South West</i>. <br /><br />That pattern is borne out by the historical record for Scotland in the 20th century, where it has been shown that fascism made little or no headway - <i>except for down in the SW</i>. <br /><br />Again, this tendency is reflected in the continuing (atypical) SW Tory vote. <br /><br />So, it would seem that something specifically different happened in Banff & Buchan to produce that result.ratzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512152633620132970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-5268993278949612592010-05-11T12:09:30.462+01:002010-05-11T12:09:30.462+01:00This is the thing, immigration is a complete non-i...This is the thing, immigration is a complete non-issue - after all, if you've migrated to the UK, why would you go all the way up to Aberdeenshire? So these votes for the BNP aren't a symptom of people rejecting an influx of immigrants, they're reacting to an imaginary problem presented to them by the newspapers. I can't entirely explain it, I just know it's not the same as places like Oldham where you get the feeling there is real, racial hatred rather than just a bunch of farmers never having met an ethnic minority in their lives (although apparently the Chinese take-away in Ellon has become quite a hit with my uncles!)<br /><br />I can definitely identify with your youth in Argyll, as it was similar for me in Aberdeen: maybe three Asian kids in the whole of primary school (and none of them in my class), then meeting a black kid for the first time at secondary school where ethnic minorities were more prevalent, but still very much the minority. I remember seeing a new black family moving into my area a few years ago, and it just seemed a bit odd, and that was when I first realised that the black kid I knew at school was still the only black person I could think of in Aberdeen. Who knows though - when the North-East eventually catches up with the rest of the country in terms of multiculturalism, maybe it'll also start getting the same problematic attitudes. I hope not, though.<br /><br />As I say though, I could be wrong. In the past 4 or 5 years, perhaps there's been a mass influx of Polish immigrants and they've been taking all the manual labour jobs on farms or something like that.Doug Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15017218581660887134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-40413085331001869202010-05-11T10:33:03.171+01:002010-05-11T10:33:03.171+01:00I'm interested in hearing any explanations of ...I'm interested in hearing any explanations of the phenomenon from those who may have a sense of the area. I don't think I've ever been to Banff or Buchan in my life, so my sense of the textures of its life, beyond generalities, is rather faint. In particular, I had rather assumed that immigration and racialising attitudes in that corner of Scotland would be something of a non-issue. When I was a young Worrier in Argyll, for example, I don't think I encountered any ethnic minorities - except for the odd Irishman or Englishman or Kiwi. Indeed, it was around twelve before I'd ever met, never mind spoken to and been friends with anyone who wasn't "white". <br /><br />Maybe the East differs from the West in this respect. Still, I'm sure any of my more silver-haired readers encountering your comment Doug Daniel, might rather take exception to the notion that ageing brings false-consciousness while the ever-renewing youth all see clearly!Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-88074233824118338392010-05-10T12:26:08.405+01:002010-05-10T12:26:08.405+01:00As a North-East loon, I find this somewhat embarra...As a North-East loon, I find this somewhat embarrassing, but nothing to be particularly worried about, and I'll explain why. I would say most of my family live in this constituency. They mostly come from farming backgrounds, where the only people you come into contact with are other North-East farmers, and I'd be very surprised if such a thing as a non-white North-East farmer exists. As such, the idea of living with other colours or creeds is still a fairly new concept to the older generations. When talking about people of other races they still use terms that the rest of the country stopped using 20 years ago, but not with the malice or hatred that someone from Barking or Oldham might intend - they think it's like calling an Australian an Aussie or an American a Yank; a slang term, rather than a racial slur.<br /><br />There's no excuse for it, of course; but it's important to understand the reasons behind it so we don't jump to the conclusion that the North-East of Scotland is set to become the new hub of racist activity. It's just full of old people who don't know any better being taken in by all the stuff on the news about immigration, and it's a well known fact that people get more right-wing as they get older. The things that the BNP stand for don't really apply there, so they don't quite understand what they're voting for. Younger generations are more informed, so once these old people leave this mortal coil, so too will their outdated ideas.<br /><br />I might sound like I'm being rather blasé, but there really aren't any gangs of skinheads waiting to rise in Buchan. It's just your stereotypical racist grannies, grandads and eccentric uncles, who forget that they actually get on really well with the few immigrants they interact with in their life. A typical quote I hear from one family member who works with a man from Bangladesh: "He's from Bangladesh, but he's actually a really nice man". It makes you cringe at the implicit idea that it's amazing this man from Bangladesh should actually be as nice as anyone else, but if you grow up with it, you know they don't actually mean any harm - they just don't know any better.<br /><br />There's a very quick fix though - ban the immigration-obsessed Daily Mail. That's where my dad gets most of his silly ideas. With any luck, an independent Scotland wouldn't even sell Tory papers, so old people wouldn't get confused by this most English of obsessions.<br /><br />It's entirely possible that I'm wrong and there really are proper racists there, of course...Doug Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15017218581660887134noreply@blogger.com