Saturday, 27 December 2014

Kevin's postcode nationalism

May I be so stupid as to comment on a throw away piece by Kevin (kerrr-chhing!!! 400 words, where's ma cheque) McKenna in The Observer, on Sunday 21 December 2014? A reasonable piece in many ways, though this commentator isn't quite sure why a piece that praises Glasgow Council should end up naming the villains of the piece as the Lab-Con alliance, whatever that is.
What I want to comment on is this part -



This is the most lovely convenient tosh. And it illustrates beautifully the foolish mindset of the Nationalist. Because Nationalism of course can only exist if we can partition people and their ideas with boundaries. So - there's a line across this island where the, morally bankrupt values of neoliberalism hold sway. Now Kevin knows that he can't draw this lovely line along the border as much of Northern England doesn't cleave to morally bankrupt neoliberalism either (but supposedly the majority of the English (booo hiss!!) do, of course). So, Kevin, loudmouth genius has constructed a line. The McKenna line. Like Sykes-Picot - certainly drawn with as much thought.
But.... errr.... south of the line there are plenty radical areas (Brighton and Bristol to name but two) and North of line plenty morally bankrupt neoliberalist areas (Milngavie and Morningside anyone?). In fact, people with totally distinct and opposing views can live in neighbouring houses! And their views can change over time! I'm a bit lost here.
Don't worry Kevin with details, please. He has a Nationalist Project to put his shoulder to. Leave your intelligence at the door.    




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