Updated 9/19
Dear Scotland,
You know what? England sucks. England doesn't deserve you. England has disrespected you, insulted you, discriminated against you for centuries. It's pretty awful.
And I understand the reasons for voting yes. Because the worst people in the world are urging you to vote no, as Edroso says. Because you can punish those people—Cameron and Osborne—
But you should vote no—for England.
Because they need you in ways they don't begin to understand. They need you to protect them from decades to come of Tory government. Look what happened to the Labour Party when you abandoned it for the SNP!
Think of them as a revolting, stuck-up, deeply irresponsible brother. What would your mum say? Just give up on them? You're their conscience!
What, he was mistaken? OK, never mind.
Update 9/19:
Called it on Wednesday—sort of—
Good work, Scotland. You won't regret this. Well, you will, probably, every day. (David Cameron will continue to believe it's all about him: "As I said during the campaign, it would have broken my heart to see our United Kingdom come to an end.") But you did the right thing.
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| Eilean Dornan Castle, Skye. Via. |
You know what? England sucks. England doesn't deserve you. England has disrespected you, insulted you, discriminated against you for centuries. It's pretty awful.
And I understand the reasons for voting yes. Because the worst people in the world are urging you to vote no, as Edroso says. Because you can punish those people—Cameron and Osborne—
Iain Macwhirter, a columnist for The Sunday Herald newspaper, called Mr. Osborne’s visit a turning point in the campaign. Why is “Project Fear” not working? he asked. “Why have so many Scots refused to heed the warnings of press, politicians and banks?” His answer: “Well, in a nutshell, George Osborne happened.”
Campaign song form 2010—alas, it didn't work.
But you should vote no—for England.
Because they need you in ways they don't begin to understand. They need you to protect them from decades to come of Tory government. Look what happened to the Labour Party when you abandoned it for the SNP!
Got us New Labour, indefatigable neoliberal Blair, and the Iraq War, you did! What would they do if you abandoned the entire country?The sense that Scots were being governed by an administration in London that they did not choose was the main reason Mr. Blair’s government agreed to hold the 1997 referendum. What Mr. Blair did not anticipate was that a Scotland with its own Parliament would also turn away from the Labour Party, if not to the same degree.
Before 1997, the Scottish National Party was little more than a fringe voice of romantic protest. In the mid-1990s only one in four Scots voted for the party, while more than 40 percent supported Labour. But the opportunity to govern Scotland transformed the nationalists into a mainstream political force, winning elections in 2007 and 2011 and building up a large majority.
Think of them as a revolting, stuck-up, deeply irresponsible brother. What would your mum say? Just give up on them? You're their conscience!
Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,Also, as Dr. Johnson noted, you don't have any trees.
Scots, wham Bruce has often led,
Will ye use yer feckin head?
For unity!
"A tree might be a show in Scotland as a horse in Venice. At St. Andrews Mr. Boswell found only one, and recommended it to my notice; I told him it was rough and low, or looked as if I thought so. This, said he, is nothing to another a few miles off. I was still less delighted to hear that another tree was not to be seen nearer. Nay, said a gentleman that stood by, I know but of this and that tree in the county."
Johnson: Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (The Samuel Johnson Soundbite Page)
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| Pine marten, Sterling. Via. |
Update 9/19:
Called it on Wednesday—sort of—
Looks like the No vote was consistently underestimated in Québec 1995 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_referendum,_1995#Opinion_polling
Good work, Scotland. You won't regret this. Well, you will, probably, every day. (David Cameron will continue to believe it's all about him: "As I said during the campaign, it would have broken my heart to see our United Kingdom come to an end.") But you did the right thing.