Hope or Fear?

Bus-stop on Byres Road yesterday. 

Only one day to go and the people of Scotland will decide on one of this most important of all political issues: self-determination. This referendum is not at all about ethnic identity. If it was, I wouldn't have a say in it, not being a Scot by birth. Actually, the fact that only residents are allowed to vote, regardless of their ethnic origin, while Scots who do not live here are not has caused much opprobrium, mostly to anti-independence supporters, who will accuse the pro-Indy side as 'nats' in the same breath, and never see the irony!
There is nothing nationalistic about independence: it is about self- determination, de-centering, moving away from an anachronistic, unfair political system, away from a  Union which still nurses illusions of imperial grandeur and indulges in bouts of war-mongering, towards a fairer, more egalitarian, nuclear-free society.

Bairns, Not Bombs. Independence will mean a
nuclear-free Scotland. 

 I can see why people would vote No: long habit (300 years is a not a negligible time), emotional attachment, and fear of the unknown - fear that has systematically been played upon, exploited and cultivated by the establishment en masse: UK government, media, banks, big business, even celebrities fell over themselves to convince 'the Scots' (I'd give anything to dive into their heads and see the mental image they had of 'the Scots') that they love them and please, please don't go. On the other hand, diametrically opposite this over-sentimentalised, almost saccharine attitude, the leader of the No campaign looks and sounds like the accounts manager of Grunnings [1], banging on non-stop about money, pensions and currency, and looking disgusted and sarcastic when hope, imagination, or radical ideas about self-government are brought into the discussion.
At the PostGraduate induction party today at uni, in which I was one of the hosts, the buzz was certainly pro-independence. There is no choice for me, really, but I understand that for some people it is a very hard one, and I respect that. 
But 97% of the eligible population has registered to vote. Regardless of the result, Scotland will never be the same again: people take this thing seriously, and rightly so. Even if they decide to say No to Independence - saying yes to fear and being bullied at the hands of a ruthless establishment at the same time - things will never be the same again. Within the next few years - and particularly if there is a Conservative / UKIP government in the next elections, which seems highly likely - this discussion will be revived. And there will be a resounding Yes then. But I'll be voting Yes this time round too. 


[1] Grunnings: fictional company selling drills in which Harry Potter's awful Uncle Vernon is director. I still can't understand how J.K. Rowling found it in her heart to side with those people. But I suppose they are her friends now. Oh well. Sigh.