HAILING from a large McKenna family from the East End of Glasgow I suppose I should be welcoming Kevin McKenna’s weekly championing of his very narrow definition of the working class. Instead I find myself more and more frustrated that he simply doesn’t know or chooses to ignore the reality of what being working class is about ("The SNP has a big problem with the working class", The Herald, August 29).
For fifty years of his life my father crawled into 18-inch coal seams to earn money to keep his family. He won medals for taking part in rescues in mining disasters. He chose to spend the few shillings he had on buying books rather than the “Buckie” Mr McKenna seems to think is a manifestation of the working class. He invested in his children’s education so that his sons would have alternatives in life. His council house had a piano and he sacrificed other things to arrange piano lessons for his daughter. He had a dream that his family would enjoy a better life than he ever had. He was a humble man but would have regarded the goals he set himself as being achieved.
Am I, now to feel ashamed because I became a company director? Should my brother deny being a university professor or my sister a senior schoolteacher? Should we deny my father’s sacrifices in order to fall in line with Mr McKenna’s narrow views on who is working class?
The ludicrous comparison Mr McKenna makes between football and rugby supporters only goes to show how out of touch he is. When friends treat me, I sometimes attend Celtic Park. I also from time to time attend an international rugby match. I notice no difference between the nature nor the noise of the crowds. I have friends who buy season tickets for various stadia. They are working men or retired working men but they do not fit into Mckenna’s ludicrous narrow definition.
My definition of working class is quite simple. There are those who work or would if not deprived by age, illness or opportunity. Then there are those who choose to live off the backs of those who work. The latter are often found in marble palaces.
I think if Mr McKenna chooses to take off his blinkers he will find that the SNP is much more in tune with the working class than he presently is.
George Kay, Burntisland.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel