#scottish nationalists

[feckcops]

Who’s to blame for deep poverty in Scotland?

“In the last week, another important piece of news broke in the form of a major new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The paper reveals a stark rise in levels of ‘deep poverty’ in Scotland. Some of the findings are shocking, even to those who follow research on deprivation and inequality, raising questions about how it might be tackled and who is to blame.

“The report states: ‘In the time period 1994–1997, 310,000 people in Scotland lived in very deep poverty, that is they had an income less than 40% of the UK median. That was bad enough, but in 2017–2020 (the most recent figures we use), that figure was 460,000.’ ... The research was conducted up until the pandemic – the impact of which has since been compounded by the cost of living crisis. People are finding it harder to keep their home warm (reported by 53% of working-age households), eating lower quality food (46%), and feeling less able to socialise (38%). Meanwhile, homelessness is at record levels, and the number of children living in temporary accommodation has soared. The situation is unequivocally bleak ...

“The mismatch between rhetoric and reality from what is an increasingly disconnected and image obsessed political class in Edinburgh is self-evident. The Scottish government and the SNP have nestled comfortably in a position where they can displace blame onto Westminster and evade scrutiny of their own record. In truth, despite the party’s dominance, it had expended very little political capital in the direction of working class Scots. Instead, its organising principle has been to outsource projects and service delivery to corporations and private consultancy firms. This has been camouflaged by progressive soundbites, but the lack of real reform even within the devolved context is palpable. All the while the red carpet has been rolled out for foreign capital, extracting the nation’s wealth which should be held in common, as agreements with Rishi Sunak on freeport tax havens are enthusiastically celebrated.”

#poverty #homelessness #houselessness #scottish national party #snp #scottish nationalists #nicola sturgeon #humza yousaf #workers #working class #outsourcing #privatisation #foreign direct investment #neoliberalism #capitalism #scotland #uk #politics

[worldspotlightnews]

Pakistan-origin Muslim Humza Yousaf wins race to be Scotland’s next leader - SUCH TV

Scottish nationalists picked Humza Yousaf to be the country’s next leader on Monday after a bitterly fought contest that exposed deep divisions in his party over policy and a stalled independence campaign. The 37-year-old practicing Muslim succeeds Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the governing Scottish National Party (SNP) and will take over as head of the semi-autonomous government once he wins an…

View On WordPress

#Humza Yousaf #leader #Scottish nationalists

[lavenderlyncis]

Love how transphobes and anti-indpendence people are trying to make us seem like some evil nationalists that only want independence because we're xenophobic or something

As if England isn't one of the most nationalist, xenophobic and racist countries in the world. As if there isn't a lot of fucking xenophobia towards scottish people in England. As if England isn't literally trying to block a law to help trans people

Sorry we don't want you blocking our laws just because you are tories and terfs

#like the amount of national pride in england is sickening #but when we want to have independence #suddenly we are the evil nationalists? #scottish independence #scottish politics #scotland #trans rights #uk politics #england blocking the scottish gender reform act

[cedarboots]

consumed by thoughts of flight of the heron removal of the stone of scone au

#ewen and alison: young idealistic scottish nationalists #keith: grumpy security guard with a talent for ending up in situations #the stone: just sitting there in westminster abbey. surely nothing will happen to it #i know the actual removal happened in 1950 but. wouldn't it be fun if it was the 60s #cedar barks #flight of the heron

[just-an-enby-lemon]

While it is problematic to see events based only on our experiences even more the ones related to prejudice I'll admit that England prohibition of the Scottish gender affirmative laws scares me on way more than it's transphobia and opression towards the scotish people. It makes me think that if England isn't afraid of imposing their will on a country that on papper they consider their equal how do they react towards the people and countries they don't. That on my case means would England do an U.S similar move and help stabelish dictatorships on latin america if we did something that they considered against their values or that somehow affected their control? But on a general case it goes to ask about their relationship with India or how the goverment as whole treats imigrantes specially people of color and muslins (mostly muslins of color) and many more questions and fears related to racism and xenophonia.

This situation is of course about transphobia first as England doing all that to stop my fellow trans people from having measures that could drasticslly improve their life is a clear act of hate against us (and I don't know even how to conceptualize it, Brazil is if not the one of the countries with the higher rate of trans people being killed for our gender identity, we have few representation and transitioning while legal is quasi impossible even people who support trans rights outside the comunity are mostly either uninformed or do unintencional casual transphobia (for instance when I still identifield as nb and not trans a dear normally supportive friend wished me happy woman's day), the idea of having this bill is something out of a fairy tale to me and it likely was for older scottish trans people and to finally see this fairy tale becaming reality and by popular vote as well showing that your society is learning and caring only to have it took from you must be the worst feeling ever). I'm not trying to disminish this fact or put trans issues in second place. But there is no fight if we aren't all on it and it's important to understand how systemic those prejudices are. It's important that a trans white person understand what this implies to trans non white people and to cis non white people as well. Just as it is important that cis non white people understand how this impacts the trans comunity. We need to look at all angles and stand together.

#uk politics #scottland liberation #scottland #a country shouldn't have this much power #this isn't anti english people #au contrary I admire working class english people a lot #but it's anti english nationalists and the goverment as whole #brazil is going to a human right crisis #and I may post about it because it matters #i will just look for charity links that are trustfull and accept foreing money first #as since I still don't have a job this will he the best way to help #basically we have a loot to fight for #on a positive note the fact that the scottish people were marjority on favor of trans rights is amazing #i don't identify as poc #i'm white #but when talking about specifically european and us extreme white identities I know they wouldn't see me as so #so that's why on this specific post I may have accidentaly included me as poc #i'm not i live in brazil and in here i have white priviledge simple like that #i don't understand why europe and us misture xenophobia and racism in it's labbeling but than prejudice isn't logical #serius post

[brauthaalandfc]

ok but the way that the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Bill being rejected by the UK Government has turned less into discussions over the impact this will have on trans people and more into calls for Scottish Independence is just like... ugh

#idk maybe it is the circles I operate in and the stuff I am seeing #but instead of saying how devastating this will be for trans people #I am mostly seeing people utilise that for independence calls #now I must admit that my relationship with Scottish independence is complicated #because some of the arguments people make for it from a nationalist standpoint make me 🥴 #BUT idk it makes me uneasy when the conversation is diverted away from trans people and the very real obstacles they face #and instead towards a nationalist agenda #idk idk idk #just my feelings #I am scottish btw x #probably haven’t articulated myself well here lol #pls don’t cancel me #why do I even engage in politics lol

[hierarchyproblem]

I have been saying and will continue to say that it's bad here (it is real bad!) but come on. That's like, a textbook exaggeration

#''england'' is funny here too like what are the scottish nationalists doing to excuse themselves from this spurious categorisation? #britain delenda est

[hauntedbubbles]

Ghost: *hands Johnny a tea* Here, this’ll sort ya out. Soap: I swear you fuckin’ Brits think tea’ll fix anything. Rudy: *confused* You’re both British, no? Alejandro: *kicks Rudy under the table*  *Whispers* Now you’ve done it…  Soap: *sipping tea* I identify as Scottish. Ghost: You can identify as a fuckin’ tree, mate. But it don’t change nothin’ Scotland’s part of Britain…you’re British. Soap: Geographically, aye. But that’s no’ the point!  Ghost: You know, none of the Welsh or Irish boys make as much noise about it as you… Soap: This doesny concern them! Rudy: *to Gaz* Are they going to fight… Did I miss something? Gaz: *who’s been sitting quiet* Nah mate, this is foreplay for them…I’m just glad my room’s not next to theirs… 

Some Soap Headcanons/Thoughts from a Scottish person? 👇🏼

“Fuckin’ Brits!” 

I’ve seen a lot of folks mention how odd it was, and that the writers have somehow forgotten about Scotland being a part of Britain.

Some folks have suggested that maybe this was just an attempt of them writing Soap as a Nationalist only to be countered with comments that he would have said “Fuckin’ English.” Because Scotland is still a part of Great Britain.

Keep in mind that “British” is often used as a generalisation by many for those living in the UK, so anyone who is strongly against the Union may refuse to associate themselves with it and strongly emphasise by affirming their  “I’m Scottish.”

Whatever Soap’s political views on the treaty of Union, signed all the way back on the 1st May 1707, matter not, because it’s purely banter. The Scots and English have history, and they’re playing with it (Especially when you consider Ghost's whole “Speak English.” stuff.)

As a Scottish person, who’s man was also born here, but his family are English, I often take the piss about his heritage…some of us are just like that, okay? 🤣

Soap’s accent.

I’ve seen it come up again and again in comments that Soap’s accent changes, and sometimes his Scottish accent seems forced…that his VA is clearly not a native, unlike Captain MacTavish’s…

Besides the fact that his VA is actually Scottish, Soap travels the world, he works closely with folks from all over, so it is no surprise to me that his accent is going to dip and change from time to time.

And the times where he’s “forcing it'' in"Alone ","Awa and Bile yer heid!” “It’s pishin’ it doon oot here.” c’mon now, he’s purposely trying to goad Ghost! 🤣 

I worked in tourism, my colleagues came from all over. I’ve grown up with American TV shows and video games. And you bet I hear an accent and have to mimic it! When folk ask me where I’m from, it’s like a default to emphasise my accent as much as possible… oh and angry and drunk… tends to rev up the accent a little more too 👀

Basically, the accent is Scottish… with extra seasoning 🤣

#john soap mactavish #ghostsoap #ghost mw2 #modern warfare #cod ghost #call of duty mwii #kyle gaz garrick #ghost riley #cod modern warfare #mw2 #mw2 alejandro #mw2 rudy

[thesquireinvictus]

The ruling class of Scotland was once broadly “Britannic,” (i.e. British Celtic) as was the ruling class all over Britain, but Scotland’s ruling class was partially Gaelicized in the early to mid Medieval era, then thoroughly Normanized in the mid and late Medieval era, then Anglicized in the early Modern. The Scots ruling class is indistinguishable from the more general British and more specific English aristocracy of today. All of the border lands and most of the general lowlands of Scotland were inhabited by a peoples which would go on to become both ethnically and culturally “English” south of the border, a border which emerged through historical accident. Most of northern Scotland was historically inhabited by Irish and Viking invaders. For as long as Edinburgh has been a proper, continual settlement, it has been a part of English-speaking (or, that is, at its earliest, “Anglish” and Germanic-speaking) Britain. The version of Scottish identity and nationalism we see today emerged in the Victorian era.

#If you want to be a Scottish nationalist fine but at least know your facts #the vast majority of Scotland is as English as England

[ayeforscotland]

Feel like we're entering a new era on how Scotland is perceived globally, and it's quite interesting being Scottish and seeing it happen. There's quite a few liberals on TikTok and Twitter 'spilling the tea' on Scotland's role within the empire, and it's always done with this condescending "The Scots don't know their own history" angle to it. We're constantly being told we don't know our history and This is, of course, then backed up immediately by British nationalists who, while not even addressing the British empire side of it, recognise that it can help skew international perception of Scotland. I think there's a lot of effort in the past few that has gone into making Scots more knowledgeable and aware of how Scotland played a leading role in colonisation. Obviously more needs done, but it is quite frustrating seeing people pretend that we're somehow all totally oblivious to it.

#AyeforScotland #Scotland #Scottish politics

[fiteandflite]

CoD fic writers, you guys are doing god’s work and ily for it BUT as a Brit I see a lot of common misconceptions / things that make me :/

1. When Soap chastises anyone for being a Brit, eg: ‘you British and your tea’. Soap is from Scotland, Scotland is British. Scotland is part of Great Britain and the British Isles. It doesn’t make sense for him to call other people Brits! He is one!

2. ‘Oh but Soap is a Scottish nationalist he doesn’t consider Scotland part of Britain bla bla’ if that’s your interpretation of his character, fine, but his issue would still be with the English. Ireland and Wales aren’t the ones that fucked Scotland up, his nationalism would be against England. So it makes more sense for him to say ‘fuckin English and their superiority complex’ or smth like that.

3. That being said, Soap would 100% identify as Scottish, NOT British. He is British, but would leans heavily on his Scottish pride. Nuances idk.

4. Scottish people also drink a lot of tea, it’s fuckin cold up there, mmm warm leaf water

5. Slight side note but when Soap complains about the weather in Manchester? Like I feel him, fuck Manchester, but again. Soap is Scottish. Weather in Scotland is often several degrees colder than in the South.

6. Overuse of British slang. Ofc the lads use quite a lot, but some of it, like ‘buggered’, is very old fashioned. Maybe Price would use it, maybe. By all means use slang, but not every other word

7. Overuse of phonetic dialogue. Similar to above. Use it for some words that are very heavily accented, but not every single one. This goes double for American writers, I’m watching you.

That’s all I can think of atm. But honestly if you’re writing fic based on characters from another country, it’s hard to get all the finicky nuances, and 90% of the time it’s really well done. So like, you’re amazing. Keep writing.

#cod #modern warefare ii #modern warfare iii #call of duty #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #kyle gaz garrick #john price #fanfiction #cod fanfic #writing tips #ghostsoap #soapghost

[hadeantaiga]

Firstly: get dunk'd, transphobe.

Secondly, nice source, dipshit:

I have to do everything, don't I?

Let's talk about this source before we even read this article, because it shows how poor your rhetorical analysis skills are - or how unwilling you are to practice those skills, or perhaps just how willing you are to ally yourself with racist, nationalist, far-right reactionaries if they also happen to be transphobic.

Wings Over Scotland is a far-right, nationalist, reactionary blog run by Scottish "video game journalist" Stuart Campbell. It is not an unbiased news website - it's some dude's personal blog, and he created it because he hated that mainstream news in Scotland wasn't spreading the far-right rhetoric he wished it would.

And this is what you used as a "source". Fucking laughable.

Now let's get into the actual blog post. I refuse to call it a "news article", because it's not. This one was written by a nobody named "Mar Vickers". At the bottom of the article, Stuart claims Mar has "extensive experience in equality law". I can't seem to find any indication Mar is some sort of lawyer or scholar; all I can find is a link to his twitter - sorry, I mean his "X":

https://twitter.com/mar2vickers

You can tell this is the same Mar based on the content of his tweets. He's also transphobic garbage, surprise surprise. He has a backup account on "gettr", because it seems like his twitter gets suspended frequently - which says a lot. Gettr is a clone of twitter that caters to right wingers who get suspended and banned on Twitter for constantly violating its hate speech policies. So. You know. Though these days, X is the safe-haven for far-right reactionaries, so honestly that's a red flag period.

As a summary: Mar doesn't understand surveys or their limits, he doesn't define what a "sex crime" is, he doesn't know what the Rorschach test is, and he's bad at math. He plays with numbers like he's some sort of population statistician, which he's not. He draws conclusions that are completely nonsense, because he's not asking the relevant questions.

Basically, he states that over the past few years, the ratio of trans women in jail for sex crimes to compared to the general population of trans woman is now higher than the ratio of cis men in jail for sex crimes compared to the general population of cis men. Ok, but why did these numbers change? He doesn't ask why. He just assumes these trends are natural and reflect the behavior of cis men and trans women, rather than the increased transphobia in England and Wales that he and his buddy Stuart have been fueling.

I absolutely don't doubt that trans women are incarcerated for "sex crimes" (which he never defines of course) at a higher rate per population than cis men. It's the same reason people of color are incarcerated more per population: bigotry. "Wow, this population of people who society hates sure gets sent to jail a lot. That's probably a reflection of their true nature, and not a reflection on society at large!"

#transphobia #transmisogyny

[gothhabiba]

For Hobsbawm and Ranger, historicizing tradition means finding the historical means by which a tradition was first invented and then naturalized as tradition. Tradition is sharply distinguished from custom [...]. Custom simply refers to a set of practices that combine flexibility in substance with formal adherence to precedent [...]. Tradition, on the other hand, is a set of rituals and symbolic practices that are fundamentally ideological rather than practical. Tradition, as Hobsbawm uses it, is bad, because it is usually a kind of modern ideological mystification which is installed as a constant by the elites and governments whose real interests are thereby served. To show that traditions are invented is in effect to show that traditions are not true, nor real, not legitimate.

[...] The clearest example of how the "invention of tradition" ploy can go wrong can be seen in the article by Hugh Trevor-Roper, "The Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland" (Hobsbawm and Ranger 1983, 15-41). Trevor-Roper begins by arguing that the kilt, the tartan, "the clan, and even the bagpipe, rather than being signs of great antiquity and cultural distinction, are "in fact largely modern." If these things existed before the Union with England at all, Trevor-Roper asserts, they did so only in "vestigial form," and as signs of "barbarism." Trevor-Roper goes on: "Indeed, the whole concept of a distinct Highland culture and tradition is a retrospective invention. Before the later years of the seventeenth century, the Highlanders of Scotland did not form a distinct people (15)." And so Trevor-Roper proceeds to demonstrate, with convincing historical flair and wit, the recent vintage of Scottish national culture.

The only problem with Trevor-Roper's argument is that while Hobsbawm debunks mystification in general as well as in the particular forms of its manipulation by states, ruling classes, or colonial powers, Trevor-Roper debunks the the necessary claims of Scottish nationalists — necessary because of the hegemonic terms that became set in the eighteenth century for nationalist or populist political aspirations — that Scotland had its own authentic traditions, epics, and histories. Indeed, Trevor-Roper's argument has a genuine colonial ring to it, for, in recounting the invention of clans and kilts and the forgery of the great epic Ossian, it uses smug notions of authenticity and historical privilege to contest what appear to be absurd claims about Scottish customs and traditions. At the same time, and with similar colonial resonance, Trevor-Roper uses his historical mastery to conceal his own moral position, one that appears to justify, at least to support, the unification claims of the British state. The effort to historicize tradition and custom can thus both expose the mystifications of cultural hegemony, and be appropriated by them. When historical methods are used as if the methods themselves are exempted from historical scrutiny and critique, history becomes a way of deauthenticating everything but its own authority, denigrating difference and displacing the categories and logics of historical discourse.

– Nicholas Dirks, "Is Vice Versa? Historical Anthropologies and Anthropological Histories." In The Historic Turn in the Human Sciences. Terrence J. McDonald, ed. pp. 17–51. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. pp. 21–2.

#quote #readings #history #colonialism #nationalism

[llyfrenfys]

In which I try not to be That Guy TM when it comes to Irish ancestors: An exploration of ancestry, diaspora and culture

Because of The Horrors TM in my life atm I've been looking into my biological family tree. I'm adopted but estranged from my adoptive family and I never met my biological family since I was adopted just short of my 2nd birthday. I've been tracing my ancestry for about 3 years now and it's genuinely quite stress relieving to me. It's also fun and challenging from a research standpoint - putting together my own family tree gave me the skills to write articles like this one I wrote in 2022 about historical Welsh queer people, for example.

Lately, I've been finding out more about my Irish ancestors while an adoptee (and thus not knowing any of my biological family) - but also doing this as a Celticist and tired of people doing the 'my sister's friend's cousin's father's mother was Irish' thing. This has created an almost unbearable tension between curiosity at my own ancestry while trying not to be That Guy who finds out about one (1) Irish ancestor hundreds of years ago and is weird about it.

Especially since mine are quite distant ancestors - my great, great, great grandparents were born in Dublin and in a tiny village in County Down called Dunnaman (near Kilkeel). However, they were Irish Catholics and emigrated to Liverpool in the 1870s - all of their subsequent children and grandchildren were born in Liverpool and all of the above + great grandchildren were raised Catholic - including my grandmother (who died before I was born). So there was an obvious attempt to maintain that heritage. There's even evidence my great, great, great grandmother at least spoke Irish (which, as she was born in County Down, would have been Ulster Irish).

The problems with uncritically throwing oneself at an ancestor's nationality:

Now, not all North Americans of Irish (or Welsh, Scottish, Italian, Scandinavian, German etc.) descent do this - but there's a very vocal set of North Americans of Irish descent who find awe and interest in their ancestry - which is actually quite a positive thing! - however, due to either temporal or cultural disconnect, they may end up doing or saying things (and not necessarily with bad intentions) which can have a negative impact on the Irish and the Irish language (or [nationality] and [language(s) associated with that nationality].

I'm reminded of the time an American commented on a Welsh language rights post I made in support of Welsh speakers, but they accidentally ended up using a white nationalist slogan by mistake. It can be a minefield - and with regards to Ireland specifically, mistakes like that can be so much worse. To literally give my own (mild) example, today I decided to relearn Irish (since I haven't spoken any in years since being taught basics at undergrad) and picked up a blank notebook I bought at Tesco the other week, while completely forgetting the inside cover of the notebook was orange. I was planning on decorating the notebook anyway and painted it a different colour. While I know that nobody would really hold it against me if I didn't change the colour, I just know that walking around with an orange notebook filled with Irish I'm relearning because of interest in my Catholic ancestors could be a confusing set of messages, at the very least. If you don't understand why this is, look up the meanings of the colours on the flag of Ireland.

Which is to say, even those of us in Northern Europe who have significantly greater physical proximity to Ireland than North America (and therefore should know better) still can and do get things wrong. And not just benignly wrong like in my case.

The tendency for some North Americans of Irish descent (Canada isn't exempt from this) to conflate Irish ancestry with a contemporary connection to the modern countries located on the island of Ireland as a whole can have results ranging from 'a bit weird' to 'jesus fucking christ'. As a Celticist, I've seen far, far too many Americans of Irish descent try to weigh in on modern Irish politics without any background knowledge or tact at all - and naturally they stake their claim on modern Irish politics entirely on the premise of having distant Irish ancestors. Or, even worse, things start to get all phrenological.

'Irish blood' and the nonexistence thereof:

'Irish blood' is continually evoked by some to validate their sense of 'Irishness' and the obsession with '[insert nationality] blood' is a distinctly North American phenomenon- likely related to or an offshoot of the concept of 'blood quantum', in which enrolment into some Native American nations and tribes is determined by how much 'Native blood' a person has. Notably, many people who would ostensibly have been described under this system as 'full blood' were registered by the US as 'half blood'. This is a method of genocide intended to wipe out tribes and nations by imposing strict measures of who does or does not qualify to enrol into a tribe or nation. This concept seems to have been extrapolated over time (in a North American context at least) into the idea of descent from other nationalities' being measured in a similar or adjacent way. This is how you end up with some North Americans declaring they are '1/8 Italian and 1/4 Irish' on their dad's side etc. While in Europe (where these nationalities hail from, crucially) this practice is seen as a really weird way to describe your ancestry. In general, it's simply 'my 4 times grandfather came from Spain' or 'my great great grandfather on my dad's side came from Finland' etc. if it comes up at all. For various political reasons, many Europeans with descent from multiple other European nationalities may choose to omit to mention descent from certain nationalities, especially if in recent history there has been conflict between their birth nation and an ancestor's nation. The most famous example of this is literally the British royal family changing their surname from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the more 'British sounding' Windsor in 1917 due to the onset of the First World War.

Where it gets really weird (and also very offensive and rude) is when cultural stereotypes get invoked alongside the whole 'blood' thing in usually quite damaging and/or disparaging ways. I've seen way too many North Americans of Irish descent claim they're alcoholics because they have 'Irish blood' or even worse, claim it's normal to domestically abuse their spouses because of it!! (Genuine thing I have seen btw). Same goes for claiming to be a naturally good chef because of 'Italian blood' and so on. As a general rule, people from the place where your ancestors were from don't generally like to be inherently be considered drunks or prone to violence due to their nationality. Or have weird and inaccurate idealisms projected onto their language or cuisine.

Aren't there any positives?

It wouldn't be fair to make a post like this without mentioning some of the positives that can come from interest in an Irish ancestor. Like I mentioned at the start of this post, I myself felt inspired to relearn Irish because of my own Irish ancestors. I was taught the Connacht dialect at undergrad, however, since my ancestor was from County Down, I'm going to try and learn Ulster Irish instead. One doesn't need Irish ancestors to learn Irish of course - when I learned I wasn't aware I had any Irish ancestors. But being inspired to learn Irish because of an ancestor can't hurt and directly increases the number of Irish speakers in the world (provided you keep at it). This is a net positive for the language as a whole.

Similarly, people who have educated themselves on Irish politics because of their ancestry and genuinely learned something are also a positive thing to come out of discovering Irish ancestors. In my experience, these people are the kind of people I enjoy talking to about being a Celticist because they actively want to learn and respect the cultures being talked about. Which is huge to me!

Conclusion:

As a Welsh speaker whose national identity is more-or-less Jan Morris-esque, my Irish ancestry is an interesting facet of my ancestry I simply didn't know about before. And being an adopted person, I can sympathise with the general sentiment of a lot of white North Americans of feeling disconnected or alienated from any ancestral heritage. The conditions which create That Guy TM as described above rely on that sense of alienation to propagate a very ineffective, tactless and often very insensitive approach to Irish and other European cultures. But the important thing is that that approach can be challenged by people genuinely interested in their ancestry who are also conscientious of the living versions of the cultures their ancestors hailed from.

For me, that means learning Irish in a dialect my ancestors are likely to have spoken. I also visited the library today to check out some books on the Irish emigration to England and the sociopolitical reasons behind that emigration. I know the broad strokes, but the details are desirable to know to get a better idea of the why and how the country of my birth had a hand in creating the conditions which led my ancestors to emigrate in the first place. I think the world would be a better place if people took the time to understand the history and politics of ancestors which don't share their nationality.

As always, reblogs and thoughts are welcomed and encouraged!

Thank you for reading to the end - and if you'd like to support me, please see my pinned post. Diolch!

#long post #Ireland #Irish #Gaelige #Celtic Studies #Celticist #Irish diaspora #Irish americans #blood quantum cw #racism cw #(just in case) #ancestry #geneology #family history #I've probably made typos but it's 11:40pm and I need to go to sleep

[werewolfetone]

Sincerely the average "pro scottish independance" tumblr user would explode instantly if they ever met a scottish nationalist in real life

#I say this as someone who more or less supports it. none of u would survive #jory.txt

[scotianostra]

On December 25th 1950 four young Scots liberated the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey.

Here is a report from The newspaper The Guardian of the story that was enfolding.

“Scotland Yard had no further news last night of the Coronation Stone, the Stone of Scone, or the Stone of Destiny as it is variously called. There is "absolutely no trace” of it, but the police are still busy all over the country - especially on northward routes - looking for it. The stone was stolen in the early hours of Christmas Day from Westminster Abbey.

One theory is that the thieves - or from the point of view of certain Scotsmen, “liberator” - hid in a chapel overnight in readiness for their coup. They had first to prise the stone out of its housing under the Coronation Chair, which is behind the high altar. Then the stone - which weighs four hundredweight and measures roughly 26 inches by 16 inches by 11 inches - had to be carried round to the Poet’s Corner door where, presumably, it was loaded into a car. The police are looking for a man and a woman in a Ford Anglia car which was seen near the abbey in the small hours of the morning.

Descriptions of them have been circulated, and the police say they speak with Scottish accents. It is taken for granted that the stone has been stolen by Scottish Nationalists. The stone, which is rectangular and is of yellowish sandstone, has two rings let into it and normally lies behind a grille under the Coronation Chair. In 1940 it was buried in the abbey and the secret position marked on the chart which was sent to Canada for safety.

It is believed to have left the abbey only once, when it was taken across to Westminster Hall and used for the installation of Cromwell as Lord Protector in 1657. It has been “attacked” before and was once slightly damaged (in 1914), when a bomb was placed under the Coronation Chair during the woman suffrage agitation. Twenty-five years ago, Mr David Kirkwood was given permission to bring a bill for the removal of the stone to Holyrood Palace, but the bill went no farther.

The Coronation Chair is the oldest piece of furniture in the abbey, and has been used for 27 coronations. It was damaged by the removal of the stone; part of it was broken and a strip of wood from the grille was found lying on the floor. Scotland Yard sent a number of CID men, including fingerprint experts, to the abbey and have circulated a description of the stone.

There is no official confirmation of a rumour that a wristwatch was found near the Coronation Chair, but it has been stated that freshly carved initials “JFS” have been found in the gilding on the front of the chair. It seemed evident that the intruders were amateurs, for they made little attempt to hide their tracks. Whether or not they will make straight for Scotland with the stone is doubtful, though one Scottish paper said this morning that the stone might already have crossed the border.

It should not prove a difficult object to hide once it can be taken out of the car which is carrying it, and the police of the two countries are likely to find themselves with a difficult job - not so much in finding the culprits but in finding the stone. If anybody is brought to court either on a charge of stealing or of sacrilege, the case should produce some fine legal and historical points.“

In addition to numerous road blocks, a special watch was kept at docks and airports, while hundreds of CID officers checked hotels and B&Bs in the North of England. Following the delivery of an anonymous petition promising the “return” of the Stone – on condition that it would remain in Scotland – to a Glasgow newspaper, Special Branch officers soon started making enquiries about student political bodies at Glasgow University.

The liberators were indeed Scots, four students from The University of Glasgow, from the University of Glasgow (Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart, travelled to London, entered the Abbey in the small hours of Christmas Day and nabbed the Stone from beneath the coronation throne. They dropped it by accident and it broke in two. They loaded the Stone into their car boot and brought it back to Scotland – despite roadblocks and police searches.

The four became notorious for the daring heist and in Scotland they achieved nigh-on hero status, while in contrast the English were somewhat bewildered. All four of the group were interviewed and all later confessed to their involvement with the exception of Ian Hamilton. The authorities decided not to prosecute as the potential for the event to become politicised was far too great.

At the time, the leader of Scottish Covenant Association, Nigel Tranter commented

“This venture may appear foolish and childish on the surface, but it will have the effect down South of focusing attention on Scotland’s complaints. It takes a lot to get any news of Scotland’s national existence into the English Press, and this sort of thing is the only type of Home Rule story that gets a break in the English newspapers.”

Mungo Murray, 7th Earl of Mansfield and Lord of Scone, the spiritual home of the stone waded in with how he would be “extremely reluctant” to hand the Stone “to the English authorities,” assuming it should be returned to his property at Scone Palace. “In view of the fact that the Stone undoubtedly pertains to the line of Scottish kings, it belongs to the King as King of Scotland, not as King of England,” he said. “In the future the Stone should be kept at Scone or Holyrood instead of Westminster.”

Despite their best efforts, the authorities on both sides of the Border were unable to trace the Stone, at least until April 1951 when – draped in the Scottish Saltire – it was ceremonially deposited at the site of the high altar within the ruins of Arbroath Abbey. The Stone was accompanied by two unsigned letters, one addressed to the King, the other to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, described as “successor to the Abbots of Scone” and therefore the Stone’s “natural guardians”.

It would be a further 43 years before a UK Government agreed that the Stone. when not required for use in such ceremonies, I covered this in depth on St Andrews Day.

Church-bells across Scotland didn’t ring out in celebration – as portrayed in the 2008 film, The Stone of Destiny – yet Ian Hamilton and his friends nevertheless showed how what had seemed permanent and immutable could be changed.

The Stone of Destiny will again be on the move and will be the centrepiece of a new £26.5m museum, in Perth. Construction work on the new museum at Perth City Hall is due to start in February, with it scheduled to open in 2024. The third pic shows an artist impression of how it might look.

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