Dear The National,
I would like to write this letter to the editor as it feels acceptable at this time so here it goes.
As a young Scot with high-functioning autism that grew up in West Dunbartonshire for the last 25 years, I am grateful for the experiences growing up, including the awakening I received starting from 2008 onwards. From finding out that the fiat-based economy can tank, to witnessing the horrible beginning & implementation of austerity cuts from Westminster and then finding the opportunity in 2014 not just to express my desire for clearing away litter starting in Overtoun Estate Woods in Dumbarton as the beginning of what would come in mid-August that year but to feel the opening to the world with the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and how the city will change like we’ve never seen it before. 2014 really topped the time to finally awaken the people and realise what Scotland as a nation really wanted along - to survive on it’s own with the chains finally chipped away with enough strength and the people who helped that to happen bring it back onto it’s feet. No matter what crying and virtue-signalling by mainstream celebrities (never forget that Kate Moss/David Bowie moment at the then-2014 February Brit Awards), workers’ unions, big corporations, big banks, the list goes on, we will see through the emotional lies being pushed in our faces every day up to the final battle and finally trade with everyone else as an independent country. At least, going up to the 18th of September 2014, that is what we thought would happen until the results came in the next morning: 55% No and 45% Yes. What a disaster, not for the sore losers who were greatly disappointed by the result but for those who thought staying in the union of the UK meant great benefits all day long. We would still have to make sure every law we pass, even here in Holyrood, has to be given the final thumbs up in the Royal Assent, whether we like it or not, we would still have to put up with laws we don't agree with and also for that matter had our MPs vote No on, whether we like it or not. We would still have to have nuclear weapons and British forces along with NATO on our doorstep, whether we liked it or not and we would still have the threat of devolution being taken away from us, again whether we like it not. Then came 2016 when the idea of leaving the EU came along and so set out the campaign for this rather alien idea, to leave (at least, what we were told) was a safe trade bloc which would mean losing certain good environmental, data protection, European arrest warrants and freedom of movement laws. What a travesty this is. That is until I began to see some similarities with the Leave voters that reminded me just how much had happened leading up to the original Indy vote of 2014; the same old virtue-signalling show of whining and crying by the same mainstream media shows, entertainers, celebrities, workers’ unions, big businesses and big banks that if we (the people of the UK because it was made clear from the very beginning that the vote was a BRITISH one) voted to Leave the EU, many forms of the apocalypse will hit us somewhat similar to how the Book of Revaltions tells it's readers on what to expect when the end times come. It struck so much to me as I was (supposed) to be a remain voter when the time came in June 2016. Not one single statement from the Leave side was available to see in public and on the media here. It was assured that the people would vote Remain (and they eventually did here by 62%). So let's go along with what is best for the people and give the Torys their revenge from last time. That is until l I started to do what would nowadays be considered the unthinkable towards the group think - reading from the other side of the story and thinking for myself afterwards. From reading the other side, I started to realise how much the EU is not necessarily a trade bloc but an emerging superstate with a system you would definitely, upon further inspection, not want to call democratic. In fact, you would find a certain amount of irony in this situation - people loving the way a continental undemocratic institution works but if they saw that our MSPs and MPs were only allowed to vote through or vote down laws produced only by the Royal Family and the House of Lords, both unelected institutions, with zero chance of creating any law, many of us would instantly be out on the streets protesting for more democracy instead of less, with the protests being not too far away from how the likes of those in Hong Kong and the Gilet Juanes tend to behave. So with that evidence on my side 2 weeks before the 23rd of June 2016, and finding out there are even more flaws in the laws the EU has, I did not hesitate (well, I still had the normal nerves in the polling booth) to vote Leave in the Referendum. Then, the next day, after assuming in the atmosphere that the result will be remain, I got a big surprise on that sunny morning - the result was Leave by 52% to 48%. What a major surprise that was! Many people, especially those that I knew in real life and went to secondary school with, had complete meltdowns online stating about ‘oh this is a horrible day for the UK!’, ‘We’ve entered a dark period!’, the list goes on. I even witnessed humorous examples of these meltdowns by remainers who acted like such sore losers, they not only loudly proclaimed ‘FACISM IS ON THE RISE!!’ in the streets (Since when was Brexit ever about taking away your basic freedoms and liberties?) but also crying about how Nando’s (a South African restaurant chain. Last time I remember, South Africa was not a member of the European Union) might have to leave the UK because of the Brexit vote (you couldn’t make this up). One female Remainer protestor with Minnie Mouse-like hair, motorcycle goggles and literal drawn teardrops on her face was asked about the 3 things that she feared would lose because of Brexit. Her response was as follows: Number 1 - the NHS (the UK’s own national health service, not the EU’s), Number 2 - the fact that she would no longer be able to travel to France for free (since when has it ever been that way?) and Number 3 - she wanted everybody to be united and having the same opinion (as hers? No way. Not in any kind of democracy, thank you very much). That reminds me of that time I did not take losing a trading card game called Yu-Gi-Oh! well in ASDA Dumbarton when I was 8 years of age.
After the result and the meltdown reaction from the day it was announced, we all went back to our normal ways hoping that this whole range of shenanigans would soon stop and the vote be accepted... but No. The same people who did their best to campaign against it and failed still whined and cried all over the media 24 hours a day, 7 days a week almost non-stop, crying about ‘Oh this is the wrong decision, I am ashamed of my country!’. To put all this whining and crying into perspective, especially for the readers of this pro-Independence newspaper who might not want to know about it given their views on the referendum have already been expressed, let me give you this scenario:
Imagine if, for this argument’s sake, the next Scottish Independence Referendum was held on September 18th 2020 and unlike the 2014 referendum, the result was the opposite: 55% voted Yes and 45% voted No.
Much of the nation celebrates with colourful and cultural street parties all over the place, especially within Glasgow & maybe Edinburgh and the surrounding areas since these cities always attract the most amount of people for pro-Indy marches whenever they are held. But in some areas, riots started by Unionists end up happening against the pro-Indy supporters. You then hear 24/7 on much of the mass media outlets many pundits, celebrities, big businesses, big banks and many of the Unionist supporting politicians not just in Holyrood but mainly in Westminster too, shouting from the rooftops about how ‘this will cause mass economic problems for years to come!’, ‘there is so much divisiveness at the moment’ and ‘Scotland is not prepared to function outside of the UK. Crashing out will be a disaster!’ and as a bonus, ‘It will take a long time to join the EU’. You’ll then also hear many comedians pandering on and on in their tv show routines about the same things, even making disparaging comments about those that voted Yes to Independence. As time goes on, even through the next Holyrood elections which will be held on 6th May 2021, much of the Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem politicians will greatly worry, as Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP & the Greens present the UK Withdrawal Act to Holyrood which will set out the main preparation plans for Scotland’s independence away from the United Kingdom on all formats. This withdrawal act will have to be done first of all with negotiations taking place with their counterparts in Westminster, the Royal family gets included for consent purposes. The problem is, because the panic continues about what would happen upon Scotland’s independence, many of those politicians in Westminster will be pressuring the MSPs presenting their withdrawal plan with ‘how to soften the blow’, meaning that there is a possibility that Scotland’s withdrawal will have to be compromised: some areas of Scottish law, including the courts, would still have to be controlled by the higher British courts, the newly formed Scottish army will still have to report directly to the British Army and/or the Royal Navy along with the RAF and British troops would still have to be patrolling our land, air and seas to ‘help us in our time of need’, Network Rail UK would still have to be maintaining our railways at our expense, our airports will still have to be under British authority or private companies that won’t comply with Scotland’s independence, our ferry services and fishing boats will still have to be subject to British sea regulations, the hotel and restaurant chains will still want to be ruled under British laws (being reluctant to accept the newly reformed Scottish regulations), our agricultural, environmental and land laws will still have to be ruled by the UK, our media would still have to be subject to OFCOM rules and regulations (heck, even the Internet gets included), our healthcare and medical services will still be subject to British services, our waters will still have to be controlled under British rule (see Water Act 2014) and regulations, some, most or all of our laws would still need to be subjected to English Common law (even health and safety laws) and all our passed bills will still need to require the permission of the British Royal Family (Royal Assent) before becoming law since the Queen/King will remain the head of state. Outraged at finding this out when the compromised UK Withdrawal Agreement is presented, the Scottish Yes voters take to meetings of all kinds and social media to shout out loud about how their vote has been betrayed and means nothing when it goes against what the establishment wants. Yet many of the MSPs want to pass it anyhow for the sake of ‘softening the blow’ because they don’t want to get the backlash, even economic-wise. Over time, many outraged pro-establishment figures push for high profile court cases in the highest courts possible, even trying to take their case to the EU Courts being that desperate, to try and take the chosen result away from the people and hand it over to the politicians. Heck, the cherry topping on the cake for them perhaps might include having the courts recognise that the referendum was just an advisory referendum, not a legally binding one. They want to have not just the Holyrood MSPs to have their say but ultimately their recommendations as a consultee be passed onto the British Parliament and the Royal Family who ultimately will have the final say on Scottish Independence and what only they feel should happen. If the UK Withdrawal Act offers up complete independence from the UK, the MPs for House of Commons, House of Lords and then the Royal Family will vote it down and the deal with have to be negotiated again back to the start in Edinburgh. This would inevitably cause the departure date from the UK to be delayed over and over again as the new deal ‘must’ be sorted out. A very hopeless position for Sturgeon to push her independence plan without the permission of London. So Sturgeon then sets out her plan, since the UK Withdrawal Act went pear-shaped, to leave the UK and trade with other countries, including trying to join the EU, on WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules, therefore meaning complete independence from the UK. Cue the instant insanity from economists and the mainstream media as well as many politicians in both Holyrood and Westminster who scream, “No No No No! You can’t leave without a deal! It’ll be the worst thing for you ever! You won’t be able to sell cars anymore, companies will pull out of your country, you’ll get food shortages, medicine shortages, TV & Radio shortages, Games Console shortages, gardening shortages, the ports will not work well, you won’t be able to construct your infrastructure properly, you won’t be able to take care of your roads in the winter and your economy will crash! Just do the right thing and accept a deal!”. At this point, you’ll never know, some of the SNP and Green MSPs might easily believe the lies the mainstream media and economists put out there and be tempted to collude with the Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems to vote to prevent a No-Deal scenario. Heck, this might even make Westminster the main authority in deciding when we leave the union of the United Kingdom, not us! Considering that many of the Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem MSPs might likely be representing the areas that voted Yes, many of the general public will be calling for their de-selection and then subsequent by-Elections in order to find someone who will get on with the job but if leaving the UK on WTO terms is ruled out, then they very well may be too late.
Now fast track back to what is happening today on the Brexit side and the exact same thing has happened in Westminster to stop a No-Deal Brexit happening, even if the EU Withdrawal Bill will technically mean you haven’t left the EU physically but you can only just say you have left the bloc. In effect, the vote has been betrayed and there is massive frustration amongst the British population who voted in their majority to Leave the EU in 2016. The Scots, who voted remain by 62% in 2016, might be celebrating right now in the name of ‘fighting back against a dictator and an economic disaster’ but they seem to have missed what they don’t realise they have consented to: if in doubt any independence referendum is held in the near or far future, the establishment will have seen Brexit as an excellent example to do everything it possibly can to sabotage the result and get their own way instead of letting the people have their way. The pro-Independence community will remember very well that Nicola Sturgeon has said countless times, since the results of the 2016 referendum, that ‘Scotland is being dragged out of the EU against it’s will’ but what has happened very recently is that not only has Sturgeon & her party succeeded along with many other political parties to stop Brexit but ultimately, she has cost herself and the SNP & the Green Party’s main reason for why Scottish Independence should happen. You know why? Because when the next independence referendum is held, Westminster’s perfect counter-argument in the debate will be, “well, Sturgeon, you got exactly what you wanted for Scotland by using the British Political System so what is your problem with us again?”. That’s something to really think about if we, as a team, need to present a better convincing argument for getting on board for Scotland’s Independence Day and I really sincerely hope, as a pro-independence supporter by heart, this can be achieved.
With regards,
Jonathan Rainey, aged 25
from Silverton, Dumbarton
