Poll: Scottish independence - yay or nay?

[SilentCom]

I'm American, I don't really have an opinion over Scottish independence. I guess whatever is best for the people (both Scottish and UK) and have the least negative consequences is the best.

 

[My Name Is Brandon]

FRRREEEEDDDOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Red Spy]

In case you hadn't heard, the SNP just got a metric f***tonne of votes at the recent elections and it's looking likely there will be a referendum on Scottish independence:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13330641

I'm personally against independence. I consider myself to be quite patriotic in some ways (although not in a blind, idiotic way like citizens of SOME countries we could mention...), but I think this would be a bad move. Why? Well first off, I think it would really knacker Scotland's economy! Really, there's not enough infrastructure in place for it to support itself. This is probably all due to being part of the UK and the UK's economy being centered in London, but the damage is done now. Building a prosperous country would be damned difficult at this point.

There are other problems to think about as well, like how people would react to the setting up of border controls, what Scotland would do with its standing armed forces, and even just what would happen when they get cut off the national grid!

A lot of people will be against it for ideological reasons, although frankly I think they're preposterous. I can't think of a good reason to deny people who want it their right to self government (particularly when England doesn't really get anything out of it, as it's a bit of a money-pit). Still, if you disagree with me please write your views in a post, I'd be interested to read them.

The brunt of the Irish economy was based in belfast and the surrounding area, we gave that up for our independence.

That doesn't mean the Irish are stupid it means sometimes people just want to be free, Scotland has a heritage just as big as the Irish one and there's people wanting to protect and gain that.


Sorry lads sometimes independence isn't about wether you can sustain yourself but more about wanting to support your own rule.

I said it before I'll say it again : Look at Ireland

It's a nice cockup... but it's OUR cockup
[sub]PS if Scotland goes independend scat free can we get compensation payments for the hit the irish country has taken cause the brits felt like hugging belfast and all the industry there? [/sub]

Nice idea, I'm fairly sure those Scot's who are currently on NHS care lists will be very happy about their nice cockup when their government is no longer able to afford their methods of treatment (at least to the standard they receive now), or maybe the potential for power cuts and increased costs in natural resources, and how the resulting tax hikes from their own government to try and cover the loss of funds from the seperation might just be muted by the glorious split.

Ireland is facing economic ruin, even after the full backing of the EU and continued intervention of the UK. It's often vacant or even uncompleted housing estates offer a grand view of Irelands current climate, and more of the model on what-not-to-do than role model.

If you still feel England is a colonial power bent on rule over all nations within our reach, please update your archaic view on us, we released a Facebook status last week denouncing that.

Could you also elaborate on how not being part of the UK will have a marked effort on preserving heritage? I'm interested in hearing a well thought out arguement disproving how the removal of funding from less essential areas such as heritage conservation and awareness to cover the deficit in cash flow to try and juggle healthcare, housing and industry might be somehow be good for a nations culture.

You do know I'm not backing the scottish need to ce-cede from the british state

Right?

Anyway there's a reason why Ireland can't support itself and it's called belfast, don't you ever wonder why the british claimed that bit of land PARTICULARLY (You know dropping protestants there in higher lvl functions)

But that's not what I'm here to discuss.

The way it preserves heritage my friend is simple .

The ample fact of being able to say " This is Scotland and we're proud of our nation"
Overules any kind of sentiment you could try to supercede with

It's not my opinion it's the way simple minds work and shamefully those are the minds that channel this world

Besides the higher concentration of Irish Unionist's within the North East of Ireland, one of the main areas of Protestant settlement which would begin as far back as 500 years ago? You seem to forget the Unionist saying of "not an inch" when borders and border control were decided in 1921, or let's not forget to mention how the Unionists were so staltwart at remaining as part of the Union to go as far as bringing over 20,000 weapons from Germany in 1914, threatening to war with a volunteer force based in Ulster. Besides that, I don't believe I do know, now that you mention it.


Saying something is very easy my friend, believing in it is a much harder task. People find comfort in the norm, the practical and the freedom to not have to worry about lifes uncertaintees when they know the Government has their collective backs makes for a much easier ride. They may find it much harder when these freedoms, the ones you believe they somehow improve on, are lost in the time it takes to flick a switch. People don't like change, but such a dramatic change over such a short period of time; the loss of options in education (do Scotland believe they can maintain free University tuition without backing?), industry (that isn't lost to the UK or cheaper elsewhere) and healthcare (self explanatory), won't do a whole lot of good when people realise they are progressing backwards. But I'm fairly sure their 'simple minds' will just ignore all that.

Anyway, you ignored my point: how does one maintain any heritage or promote & encourage 'what it means to be' Scotish when all funds go toward trying to keep a country that already suffers economically afloat? You're opinion seems so wise, I feel like I must hear the answer.

I think it's high time you attempt to explain what your convoluted meaning on freedom is, because as it stands a drop in standards, higher taxes and costs generally (but we can ignore the limitation this puts on what a consumer is then able to buy), worse prospects for the people and even resentment to their own 'liberators' for bringing this about sounds like a very strange definition.

Kind sir, thank you for showing me that not everyone is batshit insane.

I honestly don't get some of these people, so obsessed in outdated stereotypes they've become all they can see.

It's actually quite entertaining and sad at the same time. All I can say is I've got some dam great Irish friends, from both sides of the border (and some on this site), and thankfully not all like this. I'm also not sure where the 'freedom' arguement comes into it either, as it stands Scotland has a higher income due to the UK and has it's own parlament, and so more funding to do with as it pleases (including the heritage awareness he has chirped on about).

No you failed to see my point

People will take pride in what they want to take pride

And you have failed to take in mine: consequence.

People take pride in the perfect concept of what could be. People lose this when they find they've been promised a Golden Goose, but get a rotten egg.

 

[zehydra]

If Scotland wants to do it, then let Scotland do it. Not my country, not my issue.

 

[J-dog42]

My grandfather is Scottish and so I have a certain affinity with the country. However, in this day and age, especially with the current economic situation it makes very little sense overall. I mean, the total land area of the UK is less than New Zealand (where I am) and we couldn't survive on half a country. They definitely should stay as they are.

 

[Mandalore_15]

I consider myself to be quite patriotic in some ways (although not in a blind, idiotic way like citizens of SOME countries we could mention...

Oh gee I wonder what country he could possibly be talking out of his ass about.

Hey, prove me wrong buddy. Besides, if you've got no interest in the UK, why are you even on this thread?

 

[Canid117]

I consider myself to be quite patriotic in some ways (although not in a blind, idiotic way like citizens of SOME countries we could mention...

Oh gee I wonder what country he could possibly be talking out of his ass about.

Hey, prove me wrong buddy. Besides, if you've got no interest in the UK, why are you even on this thread?

Because if you guys can come on every thread about the united states and call us a bunch of ignorant fucks then I can come on here and take issue with your passive aggressive jabs.

 

[Mandalore_15]

I consider myself to be quite patriotic in some ways (although not in a blind, idiotic way like citizens of SOME countries we could mention...

Oh gee I wonder what country he could possibly be talking out of his ass about.

Hey, prove me wrong buddy. Besides, if you've got no interest in the UK, why are you even on this thread?

Because if you guys can come on every thread about the united states and call us a bunch of ignorant fucks then I can come on here and take issue with your passive aggressive jabs.

You don't even have any proof I was talking about the US. There are plenty of other countries that would also fit the description, so you're basically making a assumption based on your own views of America...

 

[TimeLord]

[HEADING=1]NO![/HEADING]

As in; No, it won't work because Alex Salmond is a thicko and thinks that if we defect from the UK then England will let us keep all the oil fields.... which they won't, because they are England's anyway. Scotland owns maybe 2 oil fields and then we are doomed. England will also take Trident... because it's theirs. Salmond seems to think that we can sell the oil we have and generate all the power we need with renewable sources. Which would be fine if we had any, but we don't.

If my country is short sighted enough to say yes to independence then I'm abandoning my lovely Scotland and moving to Australia.

It's also worth pointing out that the SNP won't have a referendum on this now because only a 3rd of Socts support it. So he wants "time to convince the country".

 

[gellert1984]

If the Scottish vote for independance then give it to them properly, by moving anything remotely British south of the border, especially those cushy governemnt jobs.

Edit: they can keep Gordon Brown though.

 

[FalloutJack]

No no, you wrote it wrong. It should say Aye or Nay.

My answer: AYE.

 

[rabidmidget]

I will side with whatever action keeps the price of scotch lowest.

 

[SeaCalMaster]

As an American, I don't feel like I really get to have an opinion on this.

That said, I wouldn't be incredibly surprised if national borders disappeared completely within my lifetime, so this seems a bit pointless to me.

 

[spectrenihlus]

As an American, I don't feel like I really get to have an opinion on this.

That said, I wouldn't be incredibly surprised if national borders disappeared completely within my lifetime, so this seems a bit pointless to me.

Nation borders will never disappear ever. The EU has tried that whole freedom of travel between countries and it has failed completely.

 

[InfiniteSingularity]

Hell yeah - fuck the monarchy

 

[InfiniteSingularity]

Yes - there's no reason they should be unified as different countries in the same union or whatever. It doesn't make sense. It's more of a symbolic act rather than a practical one, and it makes sense.

Also if it means they're a republic, that's bonus points - fuck the monarchy

 

[snowpuppy]

from a third party point of view I think it is a bad idea. this would make everyone (U.K) weaker as a whole. I won't do your vote though because I am Australian.

 

[Thimblefoot]

Nay, as a Scot, I like being part of the UK. There is no point in destroying hundreds of years of good history and relations (along with many other things) for pretty much no goddamn reason other than Alex Salmonds ideas of "FREEEEDOM". Plus, we are REALLY not as self sufficient as we would like to believe, the UK is good for us. Many Scots have delusions of grandeur.

Will never happen anyway, most people don't want it. The percentage to make it happen would also have to be higher than 50%, and it will likely not even get that high.

 

[ThisIsSnake]

If they do vote to separate it would probably go down as one of the worst political decisions in history. They'd be close to a third world country.

 

[thylasos]

If it was actually wanted by the majority of Scots, I'd be grudgingly behind it. As it is, I don't reckon they are.