I AM heartily sick of all the nonsense over coronavirus. Yes, it is serious, and we should act against it, but we in the independence movement need to waken up to the fact that Bojo is going to use it to his advantage.
What usually happens? A crisis we have never seen, a panicked response, constant fear, then a big leader steps in and saves the day, and because we are scared witless, we accept anything from him to get some rest, from shutting down parliament to states of emergency to martial law.
The real problem in this country (Scotland or Britain) is that it is run by people who have little experience of anything apart from politics, running alongside the prevailing youth cult which decides they know best about everything. What they do not have though is what us older people (I am 62) have, and that is experience, particularly the experience not to panic, because we have survived crises before.
READ MORE: Limited testing could conceal true number of coronavirus deaths
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government is sitting on its hands, but only on independence. There may soon be no more Scottish or Welsh Parliaments. We need drastic action from the SNP government to plough a different course. At the moment we are aping the British set-up in everything from not challenging vested landed interests, not challenging energy cartels, not setting a rent cap (not the toothless Rent Pressure Zone legislation), the right-wing Growth Commission, and playing by the British Government’s rules and begging for a referendum. We should be taking things into our hands.
While many readers criticise the current pan-indy movements like a Yes Alliance and Max the Yes, they are simultaneously asking us to have blind faith in the SNP hierarchy that they have a Plan B – newsflash, they do, Plan B is “refer to Plan A”. Does it not occur to the critics that if we had real leadership from the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon, we would not be looking at anything else, because there would be no need? The plan for 2021’s elections seems to be yet again “Both Votes SNP” despite the fact that a million votes were wasted last time under this strategy.
READ MORE: I'm disabled and if I am forced to self-isolate, I will starve
What is Nicola waiting for now? First it was a red line, and she got that on June 23 2016. Then it was continued mandates at Westminster and Holyrood for a referendum/independence. What now? For June, and a no-deal Brexit, or December and a no-deal Brexit? Then what? Nicola needs to abandon her devotion to Section 30 and start saying that we do not have to go that way. We are not going to float to independence.
I still believe we need a plebiscite of some kind (more likely a giant survey of some sort than a referendum, because that has become too loaded) to see just what the exact numbers are now, not opinion polls. And to be honest, it did not send a great message to London that we are cancelling our marches because of a virus. We’ll easy face down the British army, then, won’t we?
Meanwhile, the latest lunacy is shutting in the over-70s (while at the same time we have ads on the telly telling us to go and have a bite to eat with them cos they are so bereft of company). I am not over 70, but if I was, hell would freeze over before anyone would confine me to the house. What is Bojo going to do anyway? Arrest great herds of over-70s and jail them for going out?
Julia Pannell
Friockheim, Tayside
THE small amount of information we get seems to suggest that most of the coronavirus sufferers who have sadly died are people with underlying health conditions.
The press are presenting this as a LIKELY death sentence, when the facts appear to indicate otherwise.
This approach seems to be engendering panic in the populace, as evidenced by the crazy behaviour of some in bulk purchasing toilet rolls, hand sanitising gel etc etc.
This produces a knock-on effect on people who see the artificially created shortages and decide to do the same “just in case”.
Of those tested, the positives are a much lower figure. The people who actually display symptoms of illness are a lower figure again, and of those, a tiny proportion result in death.
In my humble, unprofessional opinion, I have a much greater chance of being knocked down and killed crossing the street, than dying as a result of contracting Covid-19.
Barry Stewart
Blantyre
I APPRECIATE that the existence of football clubs outwith the sphere of the Auld ‘n’ Infirm is often hard for you to appreciate, so my attention was grabbed by the headline “Sons boss offers ‘best worst-case scenario’ for SPFL” in yesterday’s Sunday National.
Please allow me to update you on two things:
(1) (The) Sons – the Dumbarton FC club nickname – is plural, so anyone with a basic grasp of grammar will (surely) know that when used as a possessive noun it should be written “Sons”; and,
(2) Ian Murray, the interviewee in your piece, ceased being manager of Dumbarton FC in May 2015.
I can only hope that basic mistakes like this do not happen in the regular and extensive coverage of your pair of favourite football clubs.
Dr Peter Storch
Argyll & Bute
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