Thursday 18/9/2014 -- Notes

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Subject: Thursday 18/9/2014

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Words associated Scotland from Current TBI website dated Sunday 13/10/2013=Sheffield

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Date Posted: 01:30:16 10/13/13 Sun

Yes or no, vote Big Issue
.From The EditorPaul McNamee Sep 23, 2013 Share on printShare on emailShare on stumbleuponShare on twitter. ..."Two big films are being released that tell of very different Scotlands - and may influence the referendum"

A change is gonna come. Oh yes it is.

You may have heard something of this in recent days. On September 18 next year a referendum will be held that will influence all our futures.

And though the question will only be asked of those living in Scotland, and though the question is curiously open-ended (Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?), the yes/no response will sound out across Britain.

At present, ‘No’ looks likely. Though ‘Yes’ people insist it’s all to play for. Neither side has got into the nitty-gritty yet of bothering too much with things like facts and information about how lives will be changed. There have, though, been merry japes about border crossings.

Increasingly, the two camps will deliver a number of platitudinous remarks that lack substance, hoping they are winning the battle for their sideIncreasingly, the two camps will deliver a number of platitudinous remarks that lack substance, hoping they are winning the battle for their side. However, something out of their control may well have more of an influence.

In the coming weeks, two big films will be released that tell of very different Scotlands. One, Irvine Welsh’s Filth, looks full-on, funny, venal, challenging in many ways, taking a particular view of Scotland to the world.

The other is Sunshine on Leith – uplifting, heartwarming and something our critic last week called the best film of Scotland since Gregory’s Girl. While neither is real, they both cleverly render how Scottish people are – funny, gallus, smart, single-minded.

The question that arises is whether the Scottish people are happy to have this identity continue alone or in opposition. And for the rest of Britain we should think seriously about whether this part of the wider British personality is one we’d be happy to lose.

Identity and sense of place are incredibly complex elements that are difficult to deconstruct – and even more difficult to reassemble.

Whichever way the wind blows, there will still be establishment pomposity that The Big Issue will prick for our readers and vendors. We will remain a voice for the disenfranchised, the dispossessed and those infuriated by the mainstream.

In fact, vote BIG ISSUE. Vote early, vote often!

If you have any comments please email me at: paul.mcnamee@bigissue.com or tweet @pauldmcnamee

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