To be triggered by the sight and sound of Nicola Sturgeon

[Ladytremain]

Since lockdown started I have found that it creates a feeling of dread and anxiety in me every time I hear her voice or see a photo of Nicola Sturgeon or watch her on TV. Same with Boris to an extent, but less so due to Scottish restrictions being more relevant to me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hear her speak or see her without these horrible feelings coming back: feeling of bleakness and worry about what she’s going to say next. I think I’ve just come to associate her voice and face with bad news. There’s also part of me that has a sense she’s enjoying the level of control she has over the nation. I just don’t think I’ll ever be able to listen to her again without being transported back to these horrible times. I know in my rational mind she’s just doing her job, but I still feel a strong aversion due to the messages she’s delivering

I am not an SNP supporter.

I am pro independence.

I didn't go trawling for it. It was posted at 9.27am. I posted it at 9.41am. That would be done impressive trawling! It, quite literally, popped up as a notification on my phone.

In posting the shetnews article, I wasn't trying to say nobody in Shetland wants independence. I'm demonstrating that the current actions of the council, that are being reported as Shetland exploring independence, are misreprenting what is actually happening.

I love that you are SO insistent that I have no knowledge of Shetland.

Du's a peerie scar wide o da mark, but hits heid me gaffin. Born ida annexe, an me for, grandfok and great grandfok wir aa born an bred in Shetland tae. Du wid hae tae geng back a lang wye tae fin a soothmoother in me faimily tree, but dey ir dere.

@BidensWingWoman

I am not an SNP supporter.

I am pro independence.

I didn't go trawling for it. It was posted at 9.27am. I posted it at 9.41am. That would be done impressive trawling! It, quite literally, popped up as a notification on my phone.

In posting the shetnews article, I wasn't trying to say nobody in Shetland wants independence. I'm demonstrating that the current actions of the council, that are being reported as Shetland exploring independence, are misreprenting what is actually happening.

I love that you are SO insistent that I have no knowledge of Shetland.

Du's a peerie scar wide o da mark, but hits heid me gaffin. Born ida annexe, an me for, grandfok and great grandfok wir aa born an bred in Shetland tae. Du wid hae tae geng back a lang wye tae fin a soothmoother in me faimily tree, but dey ir dere.

You're an independence supporter without being an SNP supporter. You're certainly doing well with the cut and pasting though. You certainly give plenty of hints within your earlier language use - just one memorable example was where you claimed not to know anything about Shetland. But 'tis the internet...

I'd also like to point out that some of the Scottish universities were so concerned about the spread of misinformation on the internet leading up to the last independence referendum that a memo went around encouraging academics in relevant fields to contribute to the debate, as it was felt to be at a particularly low level. I'm not sure whether it was successful as the vicious vitriol encountered in political discussion online tends to deter most educated professionals, but the misinformation spread by organisations such as Wings over Scotland and its ilk was particularly pervasive.

Its something that I've always borne in mind, and can probably justify in terms of my funding to a certain extent, but you are now wasting my time with your nonsense. Now I could also be lying about my expertise, so I would invite anyone to ask me any questions on here about the legislative settlement in Scotland and potential EU membership, in terms of adding to the breadth of understanding of the area.

What I'm taking from this though, is that the SNP are really worried about any possible stirrings of dissent in Shetland and Orkney, which they have mostly ignored thus far (notwithstanding Sturgeon's popping up everywhere the Unst Show at the last bi-election) and are quite likely trying to make their usual clumsy attempts to quell it.

Sorry, where did I claim to not know anything of Shetland? Was it on a different thread? I don't advertise it on here because it's a small place and I don't want to be 'outed'.

What am I cutting and pasting?

Oh, I think I know what you are referring to. I said I don't know about Orkney.

That's hardly the same thing!

Want to check your facts @annie335

@GreenlandTheMovie

What I'm taking from this though, is that the SNP are really worried about any possible stirrings of dissent in Shetland and Orkney, which they have mostly ignored thus far (notwithstanding Sturgeon's popping up everywhere the Unst Show at the last bi-election) and are quite likely trying to make their usual clumsy attempts to quell it.

Question is why are they so worried?

• ever smaller bits breaking off kind of shows a potential absurdity in their argument?
• risk of other bits following suit e.g. borders and Edinburgh?
• where's the oil again?

@BidensWingWoman

Sorry, where did I claim to not know anything of Shetland? Was it on a different thread? I don't advertise it on here because it's a small place and I don't want to be 'outed'.

What am I cutting and pasting?

You didn't. Its littered throughout your posts, but just one example is where you refer to Shetlanders in terms of "they". Someone who was as connected to Shetland as you claim would use the phase "we" or "us", or even "we all" but psychologically, if you distance yourself from a group of people it is because you are not part of that group.

But there are many other examples throughout your posts which I can't be bothered to extrapolate.

As I say though, its the internet, so go ahead.

I use they, because I am talking about people that still live there. While I have spent the vast majority of my life there, I don't live there at the moment. It's still home though.

Honestly, do you think in the space of less than twenty minutes, as someone that you claim to know nothing of Shetland, I would come up with information about babies being born in the annexe?

Sorry if the fact that I'm born and bred in Shetland doesn't fit your narrative.

@BidensWingWoman

Oh I'm not saying it's professional. But in certain circumstances it's understandable. And Richard Leonard and Ruth Davidson are two of those circumstances... 😉

They are her opponents. Its disrespectful and unprofessional to say some people deserve which is the implication of what you said (joke). She was a solicitor wasn't she - she wouldn't have done that in court. It says a lot about a person that she isn't bothered to give her opponents the respect they give her.

She is a capable politician so someone should tell her to can it. Even Trump managed to restrain himself from a passive aggressive eyeball roll.

If you think Ruth Davidson and Richard Leonard give Nicola Sturgeon respect, you've not been watching the same first ministers questions that I have.

To be honest, Ruth does seem to have improved a bit more recently (although I don't watch it as much as I did a few months ago so don't have as much to go on).

Indeed, that was they point of my post.. although I tried to keep it light and see that it wasn't clear.

@BidensWingWoman

If you think Ruth Davidson and Richard Leonard give Nicola Sturgeon respect, you've not been watching the same first ministers questions that I have.

To be honest, Ruth does seem to have improved a bit more recently (although I don't watch it as much as I did a few months ago so don't have as much to go on).

Indeed, that was they point of my post.. although I tried to keep it light and see that it wasn't clear.

Its politics - you can give your opponents a very tough time. That is normal. What is not normal is roll your eyeballs at journalists or your opponents. Which was part of the original question.

Would you like it if every time Nicola Sturgeon spoke the whole audience did the same or yawned or I meet her and roll my eyes instead of listening?

No. She should stop it. Her performance is juvenile and actually pointless since its annoying people.

Giving them a tough time is not unreasonable, but even my mum (who had a LOT of time for Ruth Davidson and none for Nicola Sturgeon before covid) was seriously taken aback by how Davidson spoke to Sturgeon. Not what she said. How she spoke. Honestly, that took some doing.

But feel free to continue to claim it only goes one way. It doesn't, but I suspect you won't ever see that.

As ever you have only provided a vague assertion? What did Ms Davidson do that was so terrible? She is not immune, is she?

And what about those journalists? Do they deserve the eyeball roll? You haven't answered that one. Or are they "opponents"?

That's funny, but I feel your pain OP. Especially because I used to really like her. I was a fairly fervent remainer and the day after the Brexit referendum, she gave such a great and heartfelt speech that I actually cried a bit!
Now I just think she's awful, so I find her both depressing and disappointing, a bit like an old lover where you wonder what you saw in them

I don't know anything about the journalists. I don't watch the press conferences when they start asking questions to be honest. I might have it on in the background at that point, but I'm not watching to see any rolling of eyes. Having seen how journalists can behave though, first hand I wouldn't be surprised if some deserved it.

As far as details go - you are asking about stuff I was watching last summer. Sorry I honestly don't file that kind of crap in my head to refer back to, I don't really expect to need to. I don't plan to go and watch them all back for the sake of this discussion, and, lets face it, it wouldn't change your views anyway.

Okay - how about this - Nicola should be able roll her eyes at questions from journalists?

They deserve it or no?

Grateful also if you give me the Sturgeon criteria operating here - how stupid do you have to be to get an eye roll? Very stupid? A little bit stupid? Just annoying?

Any insight so we know she's being a reasonable person and has been slighted or offended by her opponents.

You are really invested in this, I can see that.

I'm afraid though, I actually am finding this line of questioning really tedious. As I've said, I'm not a supporter of SNP, and I'm not sure how I seem to have ended up as the defender of NS on this thread.

I couldn't give a shit if every party leader rolled their eyes when they got asked stupid questions to be honest. When people regurgitate questions that have been answered before, for example. Yeah, don't care.

@thefallthroughtheair

That's funny, but I feel your pain OP. Especially because I used to really like her. I was a fairly fervent remainer and the day after the Brexit referendum, she gave such a great and heartfelt speech that I actually cried a bit! Now I just think she's awful, so I find her both depressing and disappointing, a bit like an old lover where you wonder what you saw in them

It's brave of you to admit to changing your mind. I admire you for that.

I never cared for the SNP or any of its leaders. It seems to me to be a party of professional offense-takers. Founded in bigotry. The driving principle behind everything it says and does is plain old fashioned Anglophobia.

=

I'm going to have a bingo card and watch the next broadcast - and sorry Biden, I reckon the reason you've quit is because actually, you can't really admit you reckon that anyone who doesn't agree with her deserves contempt. In effect you have said it and that's why I spent the time - you seem actually invested but claiming not to be. I think her attitude is slowly poisoning public life in Scotland. It will stay the same once independence comes (or not).

Eye roll - one point
"Email me directly on that" - one point
Westminster - one point
Independence - one point

etc

You can think what you like. I think that a discussion about eye rolling in politics is fairly irrelevant when there's much bigger things going on. Like covid and brexit and independence. And yes, I do agree with her on two out of three of those. Covid is much more nuanced, and I think she's done well on some things and badly on others.

But I have an intense dislike of the new education system, that one of my children had to suffer. The schools were woefully underprepared. I think, in comparison with what I have seen of England (which is admittedly limited to the people I know there, so is very limited) we are doing okay with the NHS generally, but as always there's a lot of room for improvement.

So clearly I deserve my own contempt!

But we weren't discussing those things.

BTW I think instead of a bingo card, you should consider shots...

I've never seen her roll her eyes - happy to be corrected if anyone wants to put up a link. I've noticed she does this eye blink sometimes - like she's trying to get her head around someone's logic - maybe a bit exasperated - but certainly not the worst behaviour i've seen from a politician. I think she conducts herself professionally and with grace.
will give you a tip LexMitior, please don't ever watch Prime Minister's Question Time. Think you might implode as it'll be far too much to handle for someone with your delicate sensibilities.

I think Nicola's contempt for anyone questioning her is portrayed well in Janey Godley's videos.