Sorry for being an idiot but I am kind of confused as to the whole situation in Scotland. I no that they just voted to remain part of the UK but what is going on now?? And who is doing all of the spray painting??? Once again sorry for being dumb.
Honestly, don’t worry, even people in the UK don’t know what’s happening because we have shocking media censorship over here.
Okay, so for the last two years, Alex Salmond (now former first minister of Scotland) and the SNP and all the grassroots Yes campaigns, have been campaigning for the Independence of Scotland from the Union of Britain. Now this isn’t the first time this has happened, we had a referendum in the 70s, and it was swinging heavily towards a Yes vote for independence, but Margaret Thatcher and her cronies got their claws in and put in (now) illegal measures to ensure that didn’t happen. We got basic devolution powers later, which allowed us to form our own government with EXTREMELY limited powers. The Yes campaign did a brilliant job, but because the media in the UK is entirely right-wing biased, the fear mongering got to people and Independence was rejected 45-55. And while it’s not what I wanted, that is a very promising result, meaning people are getting more informed.
This is were it gets weird.
So the No (or pro-union) campaign won the referendum, but because the vote was counted by area they “lost” the vote in certain areas. One of these areas was Glasgow in which a majority voted to leave the Union. Glasgow has a long history of violence, but it has done VERY well recently in remaining peaceful, and the Yes campaign has never once acted violently in their campaigning so it seemed like the result of this referendum should be reacted to peacefully.
In George Square (largely regarded as the unofficial HQ for the Yes campaign) which is right next door to the single busiest shopping street in Glasgow, a few Yes campaigners were out there today protesting/campaigning peacefully.
The NO campaign has been constantly associated with notoriously violent groups. The Orange Order (A protestant extremist organisation, at their first rally they through a glass bottle at a twelve year old girl and have shoved and punched Yes voters) and the Rangers Football Club fans (incredibly religious and violent group).
During the peaceful Yes Protest in George Square, hundreds of Unionists carrying Union Jacks and singing “God Save the Queen” and Rangers football club songs marched towards them, shoving and harassing passing innocent Yes voters. The majority of them are middle aged men, and have been seen spitting at women wearing Yes badges and calling them Scum. The police arrived to form a barrier, which antagonized the Unionist, and they charged at the Yes protesters.
Usually I’m not the biggest fan of the police, but right now they are doing a top-notch job of at least not allowing this to break into a massacre. I have heard reports of Yes voters being stabbed, beaten up and attacked with hammers. Yes voters are being told not to wear their badges and to take their posters down to avoid harrassment and vandalism.
Here’s some eyewitness stuff
I’m going to post this publicly, please reblog. To anyone in Glasgow tonight, please stay safe.
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