ENLIGHTENED, cosmopolitan.
We’re the nation that joined hands at the opening of our new parliament and sang heartily of equality and A Man’s a Man for A' That, and which prides itself on its warm welcome.
At least that’s what we like to think.
Recent events, however, have revealed troubling signs of a deep-rooted cancer apparently present among some of our own representatives.
Yesterday’s suspension of Dumfries and Galloway Labour councillor Jim Dempster for Islamophobic remarks aimed at Transport Minister Humza Yousaf is just the latest in a very disturbing stream of unsavoury comments and acts carried out by our politicians which share a common theme of intolerance.
In January Scottish Labour suspended South Lanarkshire Council Labour Group Leader Davie McLachlan, after former leadership candidate Anas Sarwar revealed he had been told: “Scotland wouldn’t vote for a brown Muslim Paki”.
Mr Sarwar also revealed another senior Labour member said she had withdrawn support after seeing his wife wearing a hijab.
Bad enough, but there has been a glut of similar unsavoury incidents which add up to make ordinary citizens wonder just who some of our representatives really are.
Earlier this week shamed former Scottish Government minister Mark McDonald returned to parliament to sit as an Independent after being found to have deliberately exploited his position to harass at least three women. And former Dundee councillor and aid to a senior SNP MP, Craig Melville, has now been convicted of sending racist text messages to his married lover.
Last month, Labour MP Hugh Gaffney was reprimanded after making “deeply offensive and unacceptable” remarks about the LGBT community and Chinese people at a Burns supper in Edinburgh.
They, however, are just the ones that are caught out. Who knows what else is going on?
Racist, sexist, homophobic. Not particularly welcome qualities for those elected to represent a multi-cultural nation which likes to think of itself as celebrating all cultures and creeds.
Their ignorance revealed, for some it’s a slap on the wrist and their names popped onto the list of candidates for the next diversity training session.
At this rate, they’re going to need more chairs
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