When Will Unionists Take Ownership of Their Behaviour?

Unionist snatching flags

Does someone have to die before anyone takes notice?

An All Under One Banner (AUOB) march for Scottish Independence took place in the Borders town of Galashiels on Saturday, 1 June 2019.  Sadly, I could not be there, but the marchers were blessed with a sunny day, and there was apparent good cheer as approximately 5000 people took part.

But the day was almost seriously marred by the actions of a few unionists, including one incident that could very easily have ended in a serious, possibly even fatal accident.

As the Yes Bikers, a motorcycle group of independence supporters, approached Galashiels, they encountered a line of screws deliberately laid out across the road, on the A68 near Earlston.  Some of the bikes suffered punctures, but the bikers, some of whom were carrying children, managed to get through.  Only one bike was stopped.

This follows on from incidents in at the Glasgow AUOB March in Glasgow in May, where Yes Bikers had traffic cones and other objects thrown at them, and one person standing in the middle of the road was trying to snatch flags from the backs of bikes, which could have resulted in bikes being toppled, or the man responsible being injured in a collision.  Another unionist stood in traffic, removed his trousers and underpants, and slapped his buttocks towards the bikers.  Thankfully, both these individuals were arrested.

While the mainstream media is quick to jump on and sensationalise minor wrongdoings by a tiny minority within the Independence movement, such as alleged abusive comments on social media by “cybernats” (many of which are not actually abusive), there is a violent element within the unionist camp which is rarely reported, if it does warrants a small column inside a newspaper and has never been front page news, and which the unionist camp never seem to condemn nor take ownership for.

Incidents by unionists since 2014 have included;

• An 80-year-old Yes supporter knocked to the ground, breaking his arm, by a woman who was a member of both the Labour Party and Better Together.
• A 5-year-old boy narrowly missed when a unionist pushed a chair out of an upper storey window, aiming to hit a Yes stall, and former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars.
• A pregnant homeless woman kicked in the stomach by a Better Together speaker, who had links to the extreme-right British National Party.
• A Yes stallholder headbutted by one man, while two other men overturned his stall.
• Yes/SNP campaigners being verbally abused, threatened, and even spat upon – myself included – in public.
• Several Yes cafes and hubs being vandalised, some with their stock destroyed.
• Excrement smeared on the door handles of Penicuik Yes Café.
• Peaceful independence supporters, despite being defeated in the 2014 referendum, being beaten up by gangs of unionist thugs in Glasgow’s George Square.
• Cars with Yes / SNP stickers being keyed, and / or their windows smashed.
• Houses displaying Yes / SNP stickers or logos, or flying the Saltire, having them vandalised, and in some cases their windows broken.
• An elderly man in Edinburgh South Yes Hub recently having a bottle of water thrown at him; not over him, the actual plastic bottle was deliberately aimed at his head.

 In every single one of these incidents, nobody from any of the unionist organisations, and no high-profile individuals within the unionist movement have spoken out to condemn them.  Quite the opposite, whenever they have happened there have been unionists congratulating the perpetrators, and some saying they wish it had been worse.

I am not saying for one moment that everybody in the independence movement is an angel.  Far from it, every political movement has its hotheads and dangerous elements.  The big difference is that whenever anyone in the independence movement has done something really wrong, the vast majority of us have condemned their actions, and they very quickly find themselves ostracised by most within the movement.  This is precisely what happened when Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson was subjected to a tirade of homophobic abuse by one individual using a false name on Twitter.  Within 24 hours the said individual had his identity made public, was suspended from Yes Scotland and the SNP, and was shamed into phoning Ruth Davidson to apologise.  Ruth later Tweeted “I feel I have been treated with chivalry.”  She is welcome.  No one in this movement believes in playing the man and no’ the ball.

But there are unionists who persist in abusive and increasingly violent actions, and nothing is said or done about that.

I am not for one moment castigating all unionists as violent and abusive.  I happen to know for a fact that the vast majority are not, but most are capable of reasoned debate, or who at the least will walk away from the argument.  But at the same time, the unionist movement are not taking ownership of those within their movement who are now presenting a danger to life and limb.

And notice my language here; “taking ownership”.  For make no mistake about it, unionists, you own these actions, and by ignoring them, or claiming it’s nothing to do with you, you merely bring dishonour to your own movement.  At the worst, you are risking a serious incident where someone could be seriously hurt, or even killed.

What will it take for you to take responsibility, unionists?  A death?

In the spirit of democratic and reasoned political debate, I sincerely hope not.