I was a great admirer of Dennis Canavan years ago when he fought on the left of the Labour Party for the causes which meant so much to us both. I also think that the party made a big mistake when they refused to endorse his candidature for Holyrood. That as we now know set in train a series of events which saw him make an equally bad mistake by leaving the Labour Party, thus beginning his sad descent and bringing him to the sad place he is now, ensconced as he is now with egomaniacs, political shysters and hidebound single issue zealots in the reactionary cause of nationalism. From Socialism to nationalism for a potentially great left wing crusader is a tragic journey, very very poignant. He gave his enemies what they wanted, his resignation, if ever there was a man whom I thought would stand and fight and never give in for what he believed in it was Dennis. I could never however be unkind to him though because he gave so much and suffered so much as well in other ways.
I was watching home made films and photos of the independence rally and saw Dennis speaking, the picture was taken from behind and to the side of him. There in much profusion in front of him were the vivid flying colours of various organisations waving in their enthusiasm; he can still move a crowd can former Labour MP Dennis Canavan.
My heart went out to him though when I saw with horror that he surely could not avoid seeing the bright yellow banners of the Flemish Nazis who had come to show their support for the snp, no surprise of course when you consider the snp's history but, Denis Canavan! being cheered on by Scottish Nationalists and Flemish Nazis and fascists, Dennis Canavan!
OK lets be generous; it was after all an old and much loved comrade I was watching, did he see them? I'm afraid so, did he know who they were? I don't know but their presence was well trailed, did he mention them? I don't know. If he saw them; knew who they were and did not mention them what then? I will out of respect for what he once was reserve my judgement but in all my time in politics it is one of the saddest sights I have ever witnessed. I want so much to see him beaten in this struggle and beaten heavily and I never thought I would ever hear myself say that about Dennis Canavan and that made it a very sad day for me.
37 comments:
Is this blog a joke? It's hilarious!
By the way here is a link on how to use a semi-colon properly: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon
JC
Does a misplaced semi colon render you incapable of understanding the post? If you understood the article where are your comments on it's content?
You are a moron aren't you?
Time you got new specs Terry, or learned to recognise your flags when you are talking about them,or perhaps even Belgian politics!
The Flemish flag, slightly similar - in so far as it features yellow and black - is not the flag of Vlaams Belang.
Nice try but wrong again.
Is that a defence of marching shoulder to shoulder with Fascists Mo. What will you justify next?
Are you saying all Flemish folk are Fascists now ?
SDL are supporters of the Union.....I'm not sure that makes you and Capt Darling(Tory) fascists.
Running Man said...Friday, September 27, 2013 12:06:00 pm
Saturday provided evidence of what we all knew, the snp are happy to march shoulder to shoulder with the Nazis and fascists, this is not surprising despite attempts by apologists like you covering for them. You were just following orders weren't you? You are a squalid bunch of racists and bigots.
Blogger Running Man said...Friday, September 27, 2013 11:57:00 am.
Where did you get that idea, another lie?
Those who were there on Saturday were self declared Nazis and collaborators like you welcomed them.Proud to be Scottish aren't you?
You are a disgrace to the Labour party.
Anonymous said...Friday, September 27, 2013 2:23:00 pm.
Why? If that's not too difficult a question for you.
Just came across this blog thanks to a link from Wings over Scotland in their comedy section!
I WAS there, proudly Scottish, proudly Socialist and I have NO idea where you get your bizarre ideas from.
I can only imagine that the poor fools misguided enough to vote for you have never listened to anything you've said, or maybe they're all looneys too. What an embarrassment. All the usual horse here, SNP this SNP that. For clarity coonsilor, YES Scotland is much bigger than the SNP, please try and get some more imaginative smears as we non-SNP types are tired of being branded with yellow stars by morons like you.
Wings over Scotland is written by cretins and read by cretins and you are a piece of crap who doesn't have the guts to identify himself.
Self Declared Nazi's...really , you manage to smear the whole of Northern Belgium in one ignorant rant.
You know nothing of Belgian politics but its no surprise as you know little of Scottish politics either.
SDL are staunch supporters of the union. Google is your friend.....Maybe you are after all an undercover SDL man.
Is your daughter still ghost writing for you on here and in the Herald Terry ?
The switching styles and ideas points to that or some bi polar affliction.
It appears that you have given up trying to get the better of me and you have to invent an excuse, you are pathetic.
Aye of course when you get to edit out the questions you can;t answer then of course its an imagined boost to your ego....
Any apology yet for your ignorant rant on Belgian politics ?
oohh wait, you need to let the comment through first....
Not sure why you continue the blog ? Is it part of your estate inheritance ?
Running Man said...Saturday, October 05, 2013 8:15:00 am
All I said was that the snp and a bunch of Nazis and fascists were happily marching together which is true.
Your party has a Nazi tinge to it and you seem to be right at home with that, time to shine up tour jackboots.
Blogger Running Man said...Saturday, October 05, 2013 2:05:00 pm
I stand by everything I said about people like you and the Nazi fascists whom you were pleased to share a platform with in Edinburgh.
It usually comes to this with you people after a while with nothing to show for engaging with me but bruises you are obliged to cry foul and make claims which are impossible to prove or disprove it's desperation and cowardice.
Running Man said...Saturday, October 05, 2013 2:02:00 pm
I have dealt with this crap already Adolph. Don't you just pine for the good old days when you could just shoot people who disagreed with you?
No need to shoot the like of you Terry, you're eating your way to an early bath.
What about the fact that the founder of the so called Belgian fascist party was a renowned anti fascist who was part of the Belgian resistance.
In the Edinburgh demonstration the snp were marching side by side in harmony with fascists, it was a love in of weirdos, Nazi Flemish fascists and their snp comrades.
Did you think that the snp's true character could be hidden for ever? Are you ashamed of what you are? Try burning some books you will feel better.
What an absolute fucking moron. seriously, how have you stayed alive so long?
Its not true. You read it somewhere. that does not make it true. you are fat - that IS true- your photograph is the evidence.
However the nazi slur, however commonly used, is not true, as there is NO evidence.
I've lived so long because the people who talk tough like you always turn out to be complete shit bags,Nazis, fascists and snp cretins.
Anonymous said...Saturday, October 12, 2013 12:07:00 pm
When it looks like a fascist rat, sounds like a fascist rat and smells like a fascist rat and it is wearing snp regalia it is usually an snp fascist rat.
I model my figure on Alex Salmond's.
Could you not be doing something more enjoyable for you; like beating up some old Jewish grandmother or burning some books?
Watch that ticker Terry
Running Man said...Tuesday, October 15, 2013 4:32:00 pm
If the bullet's got you name on it there is no point worrying. That helps me to deal with what is important and not worry too much about idiots.
Dennis Canavan is ten times the man you ever were, councillor. He was forced out of your party because he was enough of an independent (nasty word in your book, eh?) thinker to openly disagree with the bland Blairite consensus that you and every other spineless Labour apparatchik swallowed without a peep. Your criticism of him is contemptible, doubly so because of the transparently false regret. You exemplify the dull-witted party machine hack that's the curse of this country.
Anonymous said...Sunday, October 20, 2013 3:27:00 pm have enough respect for Denis Canavan not to use him as you are cynically doing now. My remarks about him were fair and honest and genuinely sad, and you are a piece of crap.
You are a piece of crap? That's what you're reduced to? I can understand why you might be sensitive about being reminded of how in 2005 you encouraged people to vote for a government that had invaded two sovereign states in collusion with an imperial US president, but don't try to take the knowledge of your own hypocrisy out on me, little chap. All I did was point to your moronic "my party, right or wrong" mindset.
Anonymous said...Sunday, October 20, 2013 9:36:00
When someone speaks to me the way you do and acts the tough guy while hiding behind anonymity, they/you are a piece of crap, very snp in fact.
Who's acting the tough guy? All I did was point out your rank hypocrisy. Ouch. I can tell that stung. I repeat: Canavan is his own man, and anyone should admire him for that. You, on the other hand, have never had an original thought in your life. Why do wee men like you get so angry when someone points out their shortcomings?
Anonymous said...Monday, October 21, 2013 5:05:00 pm
It’s just that I'm not impressed by people who talk like you while hiding their identity. You are no better than an anonymous telephone heavy breather, a right weirdo. Canavan is his own man and he is a shell of what he once was, you can see it in his downcast face as he looks around at the crap he is now associated with. How did he feel when he looked out at the audience as he spoke at Calton Hill and saw the fascist banners waving? The old Denis Canavan would never have marched with you, he would have tried to stop you marching. You people are the scum of the earth.
Well, my job requires political objectivity. Hence my anonymity. If you dislike that, then remove the option for anonymity from your blog.
As far as Canavan being downcast or a shell of the man he once was is concerned, you know exactly why that might be and you know that politics has nothing to do with it.
Your last sentence is interesting. I don't think Canavan would ever have wanted to stop many people marching, and certainly not a social democratic party built around the idea of civic rather than ethnic or linguistic nationalism. Which, bluster as much as you like, throwing words like racist and fascist around in a completely meaningless way, is what the SNP is. But you seem like the type who believes that expression of opinions you dislike shouldn't be allowed. And, weirdly, that approval of authoritarianism you advertise is one of the real characteristics of fascism, wouldn't you say? Your narrowmindedness isn't down to strength of conviction-it's a symptom of the intellectual weakness that refuses to question received wisdoms and ingrained beliefs because you're scared to abandon certainties. That's clear to anyone who reads your blog.
Anonymous said...Tuesday, October 22, 2013 6:01:00 pm
“Well, my job requires political objectivity. Hence my anonymity”
I can sympathise with that because my name is not really Terry Kelly, I’m actually a secret agent and if I told you my real identity I would have to kill you. I have never said nor would I ever say anything unkind about Denis Canavan I have great affection and sympathy for him, I know what you are suggesting and you are a malicious moron, a typical nationalist in fact. I believe that expressions of opinions that I dislike should be challenged not disallowed.
The snp far from being a party of civic nationalism are bound together by the glue of anti English racism. When the Laugharendum humiliation hits them their sinister ethnic bile and hatred will bubble over and it will not be safe to walk the streets in Scotland if you have an English accent.
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