Lest we Forget ...
Watching Bill Aitken, Tory MSP on the news tonight reminded me of something we would all do well to remember - the Tories are not the cute but misguided cuddly harmless creatures we've come to view them as simply because they are no threat in Scotland. They are right wing, reactionary, interested in opportunities for the most able, fairly unsympathetic to the less able. Not concerned with communities or with society as a whole - remember the "there is no such thing as society" statement from their former leader, one M Thatcher.Bill Aitken was commenting on the fact that Kenny MacAskill the SNP Cabinet Secretary for Justice has signed the government up to Patrick Harvie's bill today which simply strengthens legislation outlawing hate crimes against, for example, people who are gay or someone with a disability. I am proud of the fact that the SNP government is supporting this bill but what was Mr Aitken's response?
"Soon the only people with no protection from the law will be white, heterosexual men"!
See what I mean. It's been such a long time since the Tories were in power that we sometimes forget what they're all about. It's almost like the aged aunt you used to argue like mad with over her offensive comments but now, well she doesn't get out much, nobody listens to her anyway so you let her away with it. (Not anyone in my family you understand.)
Unfortunately the Tories may have been resting in a retirement home in recent years but the analogy ends there - we must never forget that they could always stage a comeback. And although it's more likely they'll do that at a UK level than in Scotland, there are no guarantees - let's face it, the Labour Party's not providing much of an official opposition.
Indeed the right wing policies in recent years of the Labour Party have contributed to folk with short memories remembering Thatcher as middle of the road, if not quite as portrayed in the photo above - btw I better plug the sale of these T-shirts seeing as I've borrowed their pic!
Besides, whilst Westminster has any power over us, we have to ask ourselves the question: do we want people with the reactionary views of the likes of Bill Aitken to govern our country ever again? If not then let's not wait till they're in power again to remember how awful it all was.
Alan Clayton (Comment this)
We cannot legislate on people's views, because these are things we cannot control (for example, finding Carol Vorderman attractive is not normal, and though it should be criminal, those poor bugers can't help it). It is only when certain actions are taken (eg violence), should the law get involved, and only for those actions. I don't want the police to go out and get every muslim who hates Britain and wishes it harm, I want the ones who will actually cause the harm. A man might pray that bad things happen to his ex-wife, but that should not be a criminal act.
And such token policies are symbolic of the sort of gesture politics that has taken over the country in the last ten years without really making a difference, but making a lot of big headlines.
And I'm not even a Tory.
Have a good time in Sri Lanka. (Comment this)