Gaslighting Scotland
Published in The Herald and The Scotsman, May 15th, 2024 and in The National, May 17th.
Rishi Sunak labels as “extremists” Scots who want to end the disastrous union with England.
This is classic gaslighting, a form of emotional manipulation that occurs in abusive relationships. The abuser misleads and lies to the abused, making it question its own judgments and reality. Gaslighting occurs over time. In Scotland’s case, it’s gone on for 317 years, embedding a chronic sense of inferiority and deficiency within its collective psyche - the “Scottish cringe” - resulting in dependency upon its UK abuser.
Colonial powers rely on gaslighting to subjugate their colonies, and the UK has had more experience than most other nations on the planet in perfecting this particular technique.
Gaslighting behaviours include:
Lying habitually, telling the colony that it is too wee, too poor and too stupid to survive without its protection. It never backs down even when confronted with evidence that contradicts its lies.
Discrediting the colony, calling the colonised “extremists” who are undermining the superior values of the colonial power, when those “values” are domination and exploitation of the colony. It feigns concern but spreads rumours that the colony is unable to make decisions for itself.
Shifting blame, faulting the colony for faltering public services when it knows full well that the colony doesn’t have the power to create money, or control its resources or economic policy.
Using caring words as weapons - “the precious union,” “broad shoulders," “better together," “I’ll always be there for you” - to quell unrest and paper over the cracks.
And supplanting the colony’s history, hiding its constitution, removing its languages and suppressing its culture, imposing its own history, constitution, language and culture in their place.
The UK is the extremist and the sooner Scots wake up to this reality the sooner we can end this failing union.
Leah the BIGGEST problem we have is the MEDIA, if Scotland had an honest media we would have been independent in 2014, or even before that if we had politicians who genuinely believed in Scots SOVEREIGNTY, unfortunately we have neither , we have politicians who have never challenged the media for their lies and misinformation , even when they are engaged in live interviews they allow the interviewer to spout BLATANT lies and misinformation without the merest hint of challenge, those same politicians have been very intermittently talking about Scots SOVEREIGNTY but that is all that they do (TALK!!!) and even when they do raise the issue it is not about OUR Sovereignty it is about their Sovereignty, as was highlighted and exemplified by Sara's talk at the first ALBA conference , the membership were ecstatic and excited by her announcements but Alex Salmond obviously felt threatened by her honesty and determination that the Scots PEOPLE are SOVEREIGN so consequently Sara ,SALVO.SSRG,Liberation.Scot , must be sidelined and ignored
If we were organised there would an immediate response, to this extremist nonsense.
Such as, "Rishi Sunak brands BNP and England First as extremist." (The break up of the UK is under threat from both)
He/they would have to deal with a subject that they would prefer to leave in the shadows, or ignore it and risk loosing votes from that right wing faction.