Some thoughts on the loss of Alec Salmond, almost a week since he passed.
To be honest, it's taken days to put the type to screen.
This is my opinion.
I do not pretend to speak for the movement.
And aye, it's a long read. And a difficult write. Put the kettle on...
I wasn't a personal friend of Alec. It may be that some of the folk who read this, were. To them, my profound sorrow, strength, and love.
Yet, the shock is palpable. The terrible, weird, unsettling shock.
It says much about the man and his impact - on the YES community at large, and on our whole country.
Grief? Like being punched in the stomach. Punched in the heart.
Loss? My mind hasn't quite come to terms with the idea - the absurd idea - that we'll never hear nor see this man again, in all the futures of our struggle.
Perhaps some of that is selfish. In its own way. The arrogant assumption that our movement will simply always have Alec. The big gun. Our weapon of mass destruction - on all matters of unionist hypocrisy, stupidity and lies.
I now avoid the TV of our 'traditional broadcasters'. But it wasn't always so. When the likes of BBC Question Time featured Alec Salmond, I watched anyway.
Why? Because he was Alec Salmond. You simply knew the man would deliver. You knew that - despite the framed set-up by BBC Scotchland (and others) - he'd wipe the f***ing floor with them. And he'd do so, laughing.
A talisman of the YES movement. The talisman.
Erudite. Supremely confident in the midst of any chattering, unionist gaggle. Clever. Cunning. And calm.
In watching Alec Salmond, I knew I'd never be a politician. His immense intellect and alacrity aside, I could never remain so still, let alone jovial, surrounded by colonialist liars. All of them trying to convince me that living in a voiceless state was just fine. That it made perfect sense to pass the big decisions, all decisions - the material stuff that impacts me and mine - to the corporate swindlers and often loathsome ideologies of another country.
His reach, always, for the right thing to say - the perfect thing to say - at the optimal moment - to the right muppet - flawless.
And human. Capital H.
Regret. As is always the case, when you lose the irreplaceable. I met and spoke to Alec several times. TV specials. Gatherings. Marches. He was ever giving of his time. The last time I saw him - in the last Glasgow AUOB march - he was as gregarious as ever. But, somehow - in search of something. A little adrift.
I wish I'd just asked for a wee moment, told him he was a legend. And, as an SNP member, told him how important he is. Still. To me. To the movement.
I didn't. 'Next time' I thought, 'he's busy talking to yon lad..'
Regrets indeed.
I'm not going down the Alec V Nicola rabbit hole. The bulk of this post shall not be a blind sacrifice to stupidity and accusation. There is nothing to be had from it. Nothing at all.
Sadly, I've already heard a few YESsers remark that their only committed trajectory in the YES movement, following Alec's death, is to get 'revenge'. And that revenge will be gathered, irrespectively I suppose, amidst a sea of YESsers of different beliefs, castes, opinions and world views. It's exhausting.
Let me offer my thanks from the #AngloState gutter press in advance. You're the gift that keeps on giving.
I can't think of a less meaningful gift to the memory and achievements of this man than anger, and personal vendetta. Enough.
This isn't a denial of wrongdoing. Neither is it an assumption of wrongdoing. I have no right to suggest either. This post doesn't speak for Alec's friends and family. Or for Alec himself.
I'm simply a firm believer that the truth will out. And that this isn't, in any case, the battle any of us should be donning our armour for. I've written previously about this.
This is about unfathomable and unexpected loss. And the fact, the very real fact, that there's only one enemy to defeat here. The goal Alec devoted his life's work to. Can you put a name to it? Good. Hold on to that...
Do I believe the apparatus of the #AngloState stitched him up. Aye. He was too dangerous. They've done more besides, and since. To Alec. To others.
And yes, I also believe that many people likely made mistakes, hemmed by the reality of governance, by the repugnant media landscape Scots are forced to exist alongside - and even by their own hubris, their own fears, their own goals - inside the context of that stitch-up. All of them imperfect human beings, just like Alec himself.
I do not believe, for a moment, that Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP Government at large were purposefully gathered around a cauldron with successive Tory PM's - cackling and concocting wicked potions, and Alec's destruction, in their 'shared love of the union'.
Some of the stuff I've heard is right up there with the very worst, and profoundly stupid, conspiracy theories. I tend to log those alongside flat earther crazies, moon hoax howlers and the ravings of creationists.
I myself am openly and deeply, deeply critical of SNP media strategy. Or lack therein. But I never see anything approaching a 'plan' from these folk. Least of all a plan that considers how we can come together. This is our movement. Not yours. Not mine. Ours.
Because when we come together, we win.
Let me state once again - Westminster intelligence and media operations? That's a thing. An actual, real thing. There are people on these isles who et to work - to actual strategy - to protect their 'British' project, their desired #AngloState. You best understand that reality. That ugly, brutal work.
And, understand - they're not soothsayers. Instead, they'll work to optimise different potential outcomes. As long as all of them offer advantage to them, to the state.
I remember my closest friend remarking, during the MeToo movement (a legitimate movement) that Alec and Nicola need to be careful - so very careful - as the spooks will try and exploit this - scheming, salivating, seeking advantage.
Not because there was any reason to suspect a single thing. But because we live and breathe in their domain. It doesn't matter what the truth is. It's about what people believe. List their weapons...suspicion, fear, intimation, smear.
All their vile press had on Alec, for decades, was that he was 'smug' and/or 'full of himself'. That's all they had. It's shorthand for '...this man is a threat, this man is making a fool of us...'.
These people were rifling through the bins of Alec, and others, for years. To pretend otherwise is fantasy.
Remember Alec Salmond for who he was, and what he accomplished for Scotland. For nearly taking a nation to political independence and a far better place. With Nicola Sturgeon. Not for how they want you to remember him.
They seek to ruin us all. Divide and rule is the imperialist's modus operandi. It's ever been so, from the Romans to the British project. It's easier than ever with social media.
And when Alec was accused, when their media had him guilty and walking up the gallows (right on cue) I swear I could feel those #AngloState eyes on Nicola Sturgeon. Would she really back this man up, as FM, with these charges - amidst the MeToo fever? Unionism would win, either way...
Fellow YESsers - do you understand? Do you? Options. Outcomes. Strategy. The cold reality is, we could learn a lot from the abhorrent, deplorable wraiths of the Anglo-State media apparatus.
I am consistently astonished at the lack of smarts from YESsers happy to add to the Chinese whisper factory surrounding Nicola Sturgeon. Every week it adds a new tabloidesque layer. Yet these same folk offer nothing - not a morsel - to the idea that maybe, just maybe, the black heart of this union might have something to say about Alec Salmond. About Nicola Sturgeon. About the very real threat on their doorstep.
That threat?
Us. And our movement for political independence.
Vindication isn't revenge. It's clearing someone of blame or suspicion - proof that someone (or something) is right, reasonable, or justified.
And Alec Salmond was delivered just that. By the courts. That's enough for me. More than enough.
I firmly believe if Alec could choose one or the other, it'd be winning independence. Every. Single. Time. Of course it would.
More than anything, as he strived for in life, he'd want us to win.
Deep breaths, people.
The heart bleeds, that we won't be able to see Alec - the morning after political independence is achieved - toy with the squawking mass of media and political sock-puppets. And on their own rancid, ridiculous, caving, colonial landscape.
To watch their content playbook crumble. To see the panic in their eyes, as they struggle with their new reality.
The eyes weep, that the little dream - mentioned in previous posts - will not come to fruition. At least, not as originally imagined.
The dream that, suddenly, unexpectedly - and to the abject horror of said state - those ex-friends would bring the movement together - together. For the greater good. A dream that mortally struck the #AngloState. The dream that buries them. The dream of solidarity.
If that had transpired, even after everything the colonial press and media had thrown at us, it would have spelled out one thing. They were going to lose, and lose big.
I was never embarrassed to offer this scenario, however naïve. I'm not interested in debating personalities. I want to win. I want me and mine out and away from this voiceless, demented and dangerous 'union'.
But while Alec has passed, the scenario hasn't.
Flowers grow from bomb craters. And the YES movement has everything to live, thrive and fight for. But it will require change.
To begin with, we need to treasure what Alec has left us. That's his gift. A trove of moments, of faultless political performance, of profound oration. Empathy. Meaning. Forever fighting for the common weal - because that's what a politician should do. Just that.
Hold these moments close. And after the reality of his loss has sunk in, watch them, absorb them - don't look away.
Instead, study them. Reflect on his cadence. His strategy. His intellect. His delivery. He's left us a manual on how to deal with unionists and the marked hypocrisy and lies of this shoddy guise called 'Britain'. Absorb these moments. Be grateful for them. Learn them. Be able to call on them.
And, beyond that, grow further. Our movement needs to take stock. To pivot and change. We need to do more. This is key.
Why? Bear with me.
Because, even with Alec in his prime - it wasn't enough. That's the reality.
Alec was a Pele on their media pitch. A consummate and professional player. A rare joy to watch.
But we shouldn't have to bank on fielding Peles. Because our cause is right, just, and more critical with every passing day. The stakes are too high.
Economic robbery. Nuclear weapons. Energy theft. The backing of right-wing, murderous armies. The sickening prospect of sending OUR sons and daughters to die in whatever war the £ and these corporate mobsters require. Social justice. The increasing division between rich and poor. An NHS under assault from Tories and red Tories alike. Mute in front of a climate catastrophe. Our very voice torn from Europe and further afield.
On and on and on and on and on it goes. Quite simply, it amounts to the dissolution of Scotland as a country. It leads to the #AngloState they have every intent on realising. It affects each and every one of us.
And, while the demographics suggest increasing numbers of young Scots look set to opt for political independence, be wary - this is also threatened by Westminster - via numerical offset.
We have no means to set laws that gift citizenship, and voting rights, after a set time of habitation in Scotland. And, critically, we have no control over our own immigration profile, which should surely be fixed to the common weal?
Normal nationhood would let us create just that. But we are not a normal nation. Our nationhood is denied, by another.
Aye, friends. Alec - for all his brilliance, for all his accomplishments - wasn't enough, in and of himself. How could he be? How could we assume as such, even from a single person of Alec's abilities? In a sense, how could we ask that of anyone? Of Alec? Of Nicola? Of future leaders?
In fact, we need to address how and whether we play on their turf, on the arenas they create, at all. Full stop.
The representatives of the #AngloState are not our friends. Stop pretending as such. Why, in the name of God, would the SNP / Alba send anyone to breakfast vox pops on the BBC? To nauseating 'lunchtime specials' with vacuous clowns like Jeremy Vine? To answer aggressive, loaded questions from hostile establishment media cronies, to a framed and fixed agenda? To try and shout over the 4 or 5 other unionist guests? Why?
Newsflash, my friends. You've nothing to answer for. Nothing at all. Scotland is demonstrably being robbed, ruined and reduced by Westminster. We don't need to answer a damned thing. And our reps don't need to, either, on our behalf.
Alex Salmond was a political gentleman. He had friends, as we all would have seen, across the political spectrum. And, in a normal political institution, that's admirable. And a testament to the man.
But the union isn't a normal political institution. Not nearly. And, since 2014, the media strategy of the Anglo-State has changed wholesale in its dealings with the YES movement. It's more demented and ruthless than ever.
Now, we need a new media strategy, a new rule book, with new fight. We need our own arenas. We need to set our own stage.
I would say to the YESser of 2024, and the YESsers coming up - we need to take Alex with us - all his brilliance, all his guile - but honour his legacy by understanding how our strategy and approach needs to change.
We need street fighters with smarts. Because smarts isn't enough, by itself, in dealing with this enemy. It's simply too important to bobble on as we are. And it's not working, anyway. Those stakes - representative democracy, political freedom and the common weal - are much too important. They are everything.
I've already banged on about this in another post. I'm not going to repeat all of that again. Read, if you care to:
https://x.com/warriorbadger/status/1753344888090062998…
Suffice to say, there is a way to beat Westminster. But, it requires change in us. In our activists. And in our political reps. In @TheSNPMedia
@TheSNP @AlbaParty @ScottishGreens @The_SSP_
Especially with media strategy. As I've commented on before.
"We require that:
- our leaders show some solidarity
- they begin to work and act together
- they do so with some aggression, and guile
- they do so with a zero tolerance policy for this media landscape (refuse interviews, insist on parity in debates)
Critically, the broader movement needs to challenge their media saturation with one voice. Harness the professional creatives and talent across the broader YES pool. Ideas and solutions. And never stop. Get organised. Be relentless, as they are with us."
We need a covenant...
We need a covenant by which to play their game, and to set the standards we set ourselves in how we play that game - until the day is won...
And, if you can't align to that solidarity - that relentless focus - if you're too busy squabbling - then you're not for independence, and you're not helping. You're a little dancing doggie for the hacks and assassins of the #AngloState media apparatus. That simple.
We need to filter and stop such nonsense. And a covenant is also a sieve. Thankfully, there are many among us who are now stirring to that goal. To action. To solidarity.
We need to take what we've learned from this man, and put knuckles on it.
Friends, when the morning after the momentous day before does transpire, I shall be raising the finest of malts. Haudin' it tae the sky, and toasting all those YESsers - friends, family, loved ones - who are now no longer with us. I'll be saving the biggest dram for Alec.
And smiling. And greetin'. Lots. Tears of joy, and of gratitude.
Alec got ever sharper, cleverer and effective throughout his career in Westminster and beyond. He grew. He evolved.
We need to do likewise.
The best tribute we can leave this man? It's one where we turn our despondency to deeds. Our sair hearts to accomplishment. Where our shock awakens us fae slumber. Where we bring our sorrow to a single focus of purpose and solidarity.
Where we get as clever as Alec Salmond, and grow even beyond that guile. Collectively. We owe him that. For all our sakes.
There aren't sufficient words, Alec.
My thoughts and thanks are with you on your final journey, with your family and friends who loved you, and with the many scores of YESsers who will accompany you.
Norman MacCaig on remembering Hugh MacDiarmid.
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