Tag: united kingdom

Fear Of Being Bias

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

My plan was to write a blog on both sides of the independence debate, which is currently going on in Scotland, with a vote due to take place in a few days. I was going to blog facts from either side, to make something that people can read through. I thought that would be a simple tactic, be honest and impartial. It, however, has not been that easy.

I started out the campaign, sitting in the ‘No’ camp. And thought that writing about the debate would help clarify what I thought, whilst cleaning through all the BS that occurs in politics. Since the debate was announced, I planned to write. But I couldn’t. I struggled to find information to make my writing coming across as balanced. I read books, watched the TV debates, spoke to campaigners and researched online. The ‘Yes’ information seemed to be very positive, and sold their aims with passion. The ‘No’ information seemed to be negative, and concentrating on debunking what their opposition said.

Now, that of course is a bit of a generalisation. But because I hit a dead end at the start of the campaign, I felt I would leave it for a time when things would be more ‘padded out’. So that anything that I posted, would accurately represent both sides of the debate, as this was something that I felt was missing. I left it for a while. And, then a little bit longer. And now, in 48 hours voting will be over. And I still don’t feel that I can accurate represent both sides equally. So, I made the decision to back-step. I think as the debate has gone on, I have felt my mind change as I researched more and more. It also began to dawn on me how difficult it would be to write about something that has a direct impact on myself, and try to be impartial. When something is going to affect you, your brain is always going to try and think on one side or the other. Maybe that is a fault in my writing, that I can’t seem to write past my own opinions.

But that honesty of my own opinions, is something that I have always written about in this blog. I feel that being honest with myself, makes me honest with any readers. And some of the nonsense that is passing back and forth in this debate, is just lies. And I don’t feel comfortable passing on lies and exaggeration as if it were facts that could help make up someone’s mind. And if someone is unsure, I’d re-direct them to http://www.bettertogether.net and http://www.yesscotland.net. Personally, I am still swithering, but am leaning more towards a ‘Yes’ vote. Maybe it is time for a change? The government doesn’t seem to understand a lot, and independence will hopefully do more for the rest of Britain too.

I feel like the big point I need to make is to remind people to tolerate one another. This debate on whether Scotland has created quite a large division between people. Those who believe we are better as British, and those who believe Scotland needs to do it alone. Yes, the vote is the most important thing to happen to Scotland in a generation, but every voter is only acting on what they believe will be best for us. Best for our country. Best for our future. A person who hasn’t researched online isn’t ‘stupid’, a person who wants to dream isn’t ‘delusional’. What seems obvious to one person is not obvious to everyone. Every person is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions, and should be allowed that. This vote is a democratic one. This means, that you have to allow others to vote what they want, without FEAR or INTIMIDATION.

 

I Just Dinnae Ken

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I haven’t been sleeping at night.

It is because of the impending Independence Referendum which is happening in Scotland, in under a month. It is a change for the people in Scotland to decided our future. To decide where we want our country to go next. It is a chance to show the world who we are, and what we stand for. There is just two options. Yes or No?

When the announcement for the referendum came about, I was feeling that with English relatives, I was British, and that was that. In the last several months, various propaganda have come out for both sides. Telling us why or why not to vote for independence. Great, both sides should get a say. Put across their side of the argument and let the people decide. So, because I felt like I wasn’t looking into the debate enough, I started reading up on it. Looking at the policies and following both sides of the debate on various parts of social media. I had decided that if I wanted to look at the debate equally, then I wanted to see the public faces of these campaigns. I wanted to know what the folk promoting their side had to say about things. Seemed to make sense, at the time.

However, I have found that all these avenues have just confused me. Whilst Yes Scotland and Better Together have presented arguments for their side, it has become difficult to decipher the facts from the campaigns from personal opinion and views. There is a big case of each side calling the other ‘liars’ and trying to debunk what each other says. People who have made their mind up, are so blinded that they see any other option as ‘wrong’ or ‘stupid’.

In my opinion a good political discussion should be able to be held, without superior undertones and offending any doubters. Every person is making their opinion which is personal to them, and accepting that is the first step to an adult discussion on anything. But that isn’t happening. I try to go on various forums and speak about the debate with people from either side of the debate. This seemed like a good way for people to show me how they were convinced of a particular side, and how they feel about it. But that didn’t happened. I would question what people said, to try and find out more on the main points of the debate, and I would be made to feel stupid and insignificant. To the decided voters, what their side says is obvious to them, because they believe it. Because they are already chosen their side, it may become the only option. Because it is the only option to them. It may not be the only option for everyone.

And that is democracy. Not, vote my way or you are a moron. Accepting other opinions, and feeling secure enough to put down your opinion, and leave it. This debate has become over-run by people who appear to have not looked into any politics before in their lives. People with a ‘do or die’ momentum. There is no good or evil side. There is no suspense driving background music that comes on when you read something made-up or misleading. Life isn’t that easy. You have to look at all options and decide for yourself, and try not to get discouraged or bullied by those who belittle you. It is having the belief that the voters will make the right choice, and to go with that choice, whatever your personal feelings. The main thing, that people remain united, try not to fall out with people with different views.

I apologise at this stage, because I realise (as usual) that I have rambled. I needed to get out my feelings about this vote, because I hope to start afresh. Over the next few weeks, in the run up the referendum vote, I hope to post directly from both Yes and Better Together. I hope to clarify the vote for some undecided people, like myself, and make sense of this mess. I want to make it clear that whilst interested in politics, I have no formal education or experience in this field. I just want to paint a picture of the debate, without the posturing, and in the process calm myself down about this impending vote.

Riot! Riot!

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Spending another morning watching the news, feeling greatful that I live in a small town in Scotland. The riots that have gripped various parts of England. These are riots, which don’t have the expected mood of ‘normal’ riots. By this, I mean rather than protesting and shouting at police, they are burning down shops and looting on a level never seen in the UK.

The people doing the looting, are described as being young people (teenagers/ early 20s). People who seem to show a complete disregard for their surroundings. What makes people want to torch their own community, and destroy lives? The protests originally started because a young guy was shot by police in Tottenham in London. The peaceful protest that occured afterwards, was to march to the local police station. As with many peaceful protests, others appear to have hijacked the cause, and started to riot.

I don’t claim to know the ins and outs of this, but I feel the need to show my own thoughts on the situation. First off, no matter what the reasoning is behind the disturbances, they are wrong, and should never, ever be tolerated. People’s lives have been destroyed, and now people are being killed to protect their own property. I feel for the people affected, and is it mindless. The shops being targeted have ‘high value products’, like phone shops or sportswear shops. The shops are being destroyed, and some have been set fire too. With people losing businesses generations old within a matter of hours.
I do think there is a lot of issues obviously needing tackled. Yes, the government do appear to have failed to help certain areas in the UK, but is there really any reason to react in such a way, that people are scared to live in their own home. I think that there is a distinct lack of respect in communities. The problems started in my generation, where kids rights were deemed more important than the law. You couldn’t keep kids after school, because they’d miss their bus. Parents who punished their kids, could be threatened of cruelty. The boundaries that people had became blurred, as no big sense of authority was present. Police are now scared to lose their job, if they act harshly. They are the LAW INFORCERS. If you break the law, the police have every right to smack you with a baton if you act like you are endangering others.

But arresting the people responsible isn’t going to fix what are underlying issues. Over the last 10-15 years, the destruction of Youth Centres to build supermarkets and private housing has destroyed what community was left. It is happening in every city in the UK, hearts of communities teared out so that the big corporations and richer commuters move in. Why should everything representive of the people who have intruded on these communities not be destroyed? When you think about your own community, the towns and cities near you, you know of old factories, apartment blocks, community centres being flattened for new housing and supermarkets. You can understand why people are getting upset and annoyed. The poorer classes are moved out the way so that people with more money can move into their Identi-kit houses.

The housing developers are circling, to build their new estates around my town. It leaves other local things in question, as sport fields, parks and community centres look to be the site for the new developments. I can see the areas I spent my childhood being taken from the people who have lived here for generations. The local people, are being shunned for the council to make money selling of land for houses. That makes my blood boil. And this is happening on a large degree in almost every town in the UK. When you look at this way, you can maybe understand why people feel helpless. Why they want to make those who have money and what they don’t, suffer.

I in no way condone the looting, just saying that they are no different from anyone else. But if people are feeling like they are giving the people who are destroying the communities, grief, maybe it make more join in. These riots have been a long-time coming, and people are shocked at the damage being done, but not too shocked at there are disturbances occuring.

Help the people affected, make the offenders see who they have hurt, make them apologise. But, don’t mark every youth in poorer areas the same. Don’t start a class (race) war of ‘them and us’. Don’t think that this will simply go away in a few nights.

Please look after each other out there.