Friday 4 July 2008

Chippy Scots

What is this obsession with us Scots? I watched Question Time tonight and there's all this debate about whether or not the Scots and English like each other. And now I'm watching This Week and the chat is all about the same thing. But we're okay because Michael Portillo said he's a bit Scottish himself and he apparently has "great admiration for the Scots". Why? He didn't say and that's because he doesn't mean a word of it, it's just one of those patronising things you say when you're feeling superior. "Many of my best friends are black you know" - that kind of thing.

He's just added his considered opinion - oh no, wait a minute, that wasn't an opinion, it was stated as fact - that: "they" (us, the Scots) "have a terrific chippiness".

"I don't think they're THAT chippy are they?" chips in Diane Abbot.

"Oh yes, they're certainly chippy but it's the smaller nation thing isn't it?" declares Mr Know-it-all before going on to prove his point by telling us that the "Catalans are awfully chippy vis a vis the Castillians".

Feeling kinda chippy myself now but would like to point out that recognising the injustice of a situation where a much larger neighbouring country has more say in your nation's affairs than you do, is not chippy, it's just smart. And it doesn't make us chippy, it simply makes us determined to restore justice. Which is precisely what Scottish Independence is all about.

Patronising comments from people who reckon they can sum up the character of an entire nation are extremely irritating. Still not sure I'd say I am now feeling chippy. Pissed off is more to the point! At least Sandi Thom made sense when she pointed out it was just as likely there were chippy Welsh and English folk as chippy Scots!

No comments: