I think what this guy writes is utterly brilliant. Okay, I acknowledge that his mother always got me to change his shitty nappies (she could handle wet nappies, but smelly ones made her sick) and that makes me feel I am entitled to claim some credit when he produces something good. But seriously, all prejudice aside, has anyone ever written, and has any of you ever read, a better commentary on move on ? Angus Coull wrote : Some No supporters seem to be struggling to move on from the referendum. They seem to be spending their time desperately trying to persuade us Yes supporters that we need to move on from the referendum - not realising that by continuing to bring up the referendum they actually reveal their *own* inability to move on from it. Of course, what they actually mean by move on is shut up about independence. But in a democracy, people dont just shut up because theyve narrowly lost 1 vote. They continue making their case in preparation for the next vote, as is their democratic right. The truth is that most Yes supporters have already moved on from the 1st referendum - were mainly focussing on the next battle in the independence struggle, namely the Westminster elections of May 2015. It is actually No supporters that are struggling to move on from the referendum. They seem to be suffering from this delusion that the 19th September 2014 is supposed to be frozen in time and continue on a loop like some kind of nightmarish British version of Groundhog Day. They havent yet come to terms with the reality that it was only a temporary event and only a temporary setback for the Yes movement. They are struggling to come to terms with the Yes movements continued existence and continued growth. So if you know a No supporter who is struggling to move on from the referendum, there are 7 things you can do to help them: 1. Remind them that events are only temporary, and there is no such thing as a settled will because human beings often change their minds. Indeed, you can give the very referendum the No supporter is dwelling on as an example of this. Yes were in the lead just 1 week before the referendum, thereby proving that opinion on this can change in the space of just 1 week, never mind 1 year or 1 decade. Encourage the suffering No supporter to move on from their delusion that the referendum result had any permanence to it. 2. Remind them that it is in the nature of existence that people who disagree with you and say things you dont like wont just stop saying those things because of narrowly losing 1 vote. Indeed, some people lose votes over and over again in Scotland by a landslide and even that doesnt stop them saying what they think - the Scottish Tories, for example. 3. Encourage the No supporter in question to breathe in deeply when they see the continuing mass-rallies in support of independence and hear about the huge growth in membership of pro-indy parties. Just remind them again that the referendum was only a temporary event and that therefore subsequent events which they might not like as much are to be expected. Encourage them to accept this continued expression of different opinions to their own as just part and parcel of life. 4. Remind them that Groundhog Day was not actually a documentary. It was fiction. 5. Cheer the troubled No supporter up by reminding them that the temporary nature of events works both ways, and might benefit them at some point in the future. For example, when Scotland does vote for independence in the future, they will still be able to make the case for Scotland giving up its independence and returning to being ruled from London. I mean ok, hardly anybody will listen to them, but still, its something for them to know theyll be free to try. 6. Remind them of the more useful things they could be doing with their time instead of the utterly futile task of trying to persuade independence supporters to shut up about independence. For example, they could take up a new hobby like coin-collecting or water-melon measuring. Or at the very least, they could maybe bring some entertaining *variety* to their futile task of trying to persuade people who believe in something to stop talking about it. For example, they could maybe spend Mondays trying to convince independence supporters to stop talking about independence. But then they could spend Tuesdays trying to persuade the Pope to stop talking about Catholicism. And maybe Wednesdays trying to persuade Liberals to stop talking about Liberalism and so on. Trying to persuade Jehovahs witnesses to stop talking about Jehovah might be especially entertaining - you can maybe work in some Life of Brian quotes, surely to the merriment of all concerned 7. And finally, remind the No supporter that while the 1st referendum was only temporary, and only delayed the horror of Scotland becoming a normal, grown-up country that always chooses its own governments, they will at least always have the memories of that wonderful day on 19th September 2014 when roughly half the country was so miserable that the big street parties were cancelled, and most of the other half of the country were, well, not really all that happy either. With these 7 techniques, you can finally help a No supporter to move on from the 2014 referendum. Well, maybe.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 01:23:59 +0000
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