If you’re thinking in terms of “grounds” for #ScottishUDI you still haven’t got the mindset right. We do not need “grounds”. We need only the will of Scotland’s people. We don’t need to justify ourselves to anybody. We are the sovereign people of Scotland. We are accountable to nobody.
For generations, we have been conditioned to think of independence as something we must ‘win’ from England-as-Britain by passing some kind of test. We’ve been immersed in a culture in which ‘British’ is the standard. We’ve been effectively brainwashed into thinking of ourselves as inferior. We urgently need to shake off this conditioning.
The first step in that process of freeing the colonised mind is to accept that your mind has been colonised. This is not surprising given the effort made by the British state and the resources available to it. It is not an insult to say that someone has a colonised mind. It is merely recognising the reality of something which has affected all of us over hundreds of years.
Even having acknowledged that your thinking is twisted by conditioning it can be difficult to escape. And easy to slip back. The arguments of the colonised mind seem so reasonable. But only if you accept premises that only a colonised mind would accept.
Stop thinking about independence as something that would be great if only we could somehow win it or deserve it. Start thinking of independence as something that is inherently yours, but which is being withheld from you by forces powerful enough to persuade you that you are not entitled.
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Peter A Bell 
Thank you for stating the simple truth! Sadly, today’s Scottish politicians have become ‘London-centric’… and that IS putting it far too mildly, please keep up your good work!
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It would be a great help and would reduce my ire greatly if certain people on both Facebook and twitter and also face to face would stop describing our independence as a “prize” there should be no competition for our independence it is our right
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It really infuriates me that all I hear is that Westminster have to accept our democracy and can’t hold out much longer in granting a S30 order for this much vaunted legal referendum.
That and the fact our politicians see an independent Scotland as a mini UK that will follow all of the same neoliberal policies.
This is our entire political class of representative we’re talking about here of all stripes.
If these guys can’t be “De-colonised” we’re all doomed to unlimited years of frustration and hardship.
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Well, Matthew, reasonable language limits what we who ARE infuriated may write. Too many of Scotland’s people are failing to understand our present political situation; even among those of us who are busy and supportive voters of Scotland resuming its independence – there’s tacit regard that somehow, London is the senior government involved… After all, this archipelago has been – for want of a better description – brainwashed for over three centuries!
In response to If these guys can’t be “De-colonised” … perhaps, the hundreds of years of brainwashing have been more successful than we’d care to admit? London’s Empire building is/was internationally recognised; however, that organization has almost vanished… Therefore, after Scotland regains its independence, THAT will end what was known as the British Empire!
Thanks for your time,
Ewen A. Morrison
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The first rule of the colonised mind is that it doesn’t accept that it is colonised. It’s similar to the now well-established fact that tribalists are oblivious to their own tribalism. I’m pretty sure Marx said something in the same vein about the exploited recognising their exploitation.
We thought we’d normalised the idea of independence. It’s clear from comments here and elsewhere that what we’ve normalised is the British state’s conception of independence. That conception is encapsulated in the referendum question that is now almost universally accepted. The question makes independence the contentious issue rather than the Union. Thereby implying that the Union is normal.
This is not right. But if you say it’s not right the most virulent attacks come from those who genuinely believe that they are fighting for Scotland’s independence when actually the have been quite unwittingly coopted to the Unionist campaign.
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Reblogged this on Ramblings of a now 60+ Female.
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“We don’t need to justify ourselves to anybody.”
We need to be ABLE to justify ourselves to everyone. The dictionary definition of ‘justify’ – show or prove to be right or reasonable, I plump for reasonable.
The view of Scotland and its wonderful – look it up in the dictionary – history. Read this below and Marvel:
Click to access Time+Line+3.pdf
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“We do not need “grounds”. We need only the will of Scotland’s people”.
Exactly Peter. We need the “Will of Scotland’s people”. Though you appear reluctant to put the necessary work in to ensure that that “will” is currently behind your immediate call for a UDI.
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Good for you to keep trying MBP. People I know face to face said Peter gave good talks, which is why I bothered at all. Talks aren’t for me, at the National / Sturgeon Freedom Square rally, the only talk I listened to was Yousaf – that was motivating, the rest was like, hey, I’m here to people watch and have a laugh at the UJ crowd and their dog whsitles, though I saw no dogs. Plus meet a few people I know. That included Sturgeon’s speech though I daresay it was good. I was more interested in looking at the reactions of the listeners.
But this is a waste of time – the articles talk to a score of people who hate Sturgeon and think we’re a’ doomed doomed doomed, but the other 4.1 million voters would just shake their heads at the labels Peter invents for people who don’t agree with every word wot he writes. Echo chamber indeed.
“Colonised Mind” – Jings – whatever next? Bipolar either you’re a Sturgeon cultist or a member of Alba? Or a BritNat? Damn, that’s tripolar … Whoever really believes that a label is the thing it describes, a symbol is the thing symbolised or the map is the territory?
retry
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Shooting the messenger. Totally failing to comprehend the message.
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I think you’re right,and I completely agree with you that the messenger doesn’t comprehend the message – there is no message. But shooting is a bit drastic.
Meanwhile the LA on behalf of the Scottish Parliament 74.6% of us voted for back in 1997 has won another battle in the UKSC – dates for the hearing in the UKSC to hear whether the ScotParl has the right to introduce a Referendum Bill have been set – 11th and 12th October. Yes, I’m not suprised you’re excired, aren’t we all!
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Not every messenger has something worth listening to.
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Me Bungo Pony.
And there lies the problem, Peter has just explained that the colonised mind sees no wrong in its status as colonised, I guess 300+ years of colonisation will do that to folk.
However our big problem is that many indy minded Scots still believe that Sturgeon will deliver independence, for some unknown reason they just can’t see past her, or more appropriately through her. Part of the problems lies in the mind games that Sturgeon is playing with the indy masses, this has left many of them unbelieving to that she only pretends to want independence.
To move past this point, those folk must see Sturgeon for what she really is, a difficult task at best. We cannot get these folk onboard with UDI or Claim of Right until Sturgeon is exposed for what she really is. This lack of clarity has unfortunately split the indy masses into two camps, those that believe Sturgeon will take us out of this union, and those that know she won’t, you just have to look at social media and on indy sites to see the toing and froing between both camps on the subject.
We’re going nowhere as long as Sturgeon is at the helm, she’s a divisive figure in the indy camp, and although the whole indy camp would vote yes to independence tomorrow if they had the chance to, we need a FM that will as Wallace said in the movie (Unite the Clans) only then will UDI or the Claim of Right be wielded and rid us of this union.
Sturgeon must go, is the first step.
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Really? Is that right, aye? I’m just going to …. stand over here now.
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Anyways, food for thought:
https://www.un.org/dppa/decolonization/en/nsgt/new-caledonia
“In 1986, the General Assembly re-inscribed New Caledonia, by considering that “New Caledonia is a Non-Self-Governing Territory within the meaning of the Charter.“
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