Society is now less democratic
BOB McDougall (Letters, August 21) claims it is an “embarrassment for Scotland that the accounts of the abuse heaped upon BBC reporter James Cook and others outside the Tory leadership hustings in Perth should have reached the world stage”, and I would agree with him that it’s not good. I would also agree that politicians need to “look in the mirror” (as your headline says), but just not in the way he suggests.
In particular, perhaps a degree of perspective is required? Was “abuse” really “heaped” upon Mr Cook? OK, he was called a “traitor” as well as a “liar”, and while such language makes no positive contribution to any debate, I would hazard a guess that Mr Cook has heard these words before without much upset. But perhaps what is really needed is to put this into a wider context to nail the proposition that this is somehow unique to the Scottish independence movement and debate.
David Bailey notes in “Decade of Dissent” that “protest tactics [are] becoming more commonplace and familiar, and as democracy has arguably become less open to popular input”. This latter point is particularly important, given the constitutional and legal changes that have been made, and are being made by the present Westminster Government to insulate itself from social and political conflict (for example the Elections Act, and reports that it wants to limit Judicial Review). However, by isolating itself in this way it makes Government less open and at the same time makes society less democratic.
It is also important to note, given the abuse heaped on the independence movement so joyfully by our opponents, that the protest in Perth was organised by Perth Against Racism, and attended by anti-racists, trade unionists, welfare campaigners, climate change activists as well as pro-independence supporters, some of whom were expelled from the SNP long ago. All of these groups, I think it’s fair to say, have cause for serious complaint against the current Conservative Government.
Politicians need to consider the consequences of putting themselves apart from and above contemporary political debate in society.
Restricting any formal voice for the community can only lead to
Government being an increasingly direct target of a range of popular struggles, demands and discontent. Alasdair Galloway, Dumbarton.