In a video reminiscent of a sketch from the 1990s, we see Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, a blonde, lesbian woman wearing a hijab, speaking about solidarity with “faith groups” following protests in the wake of the attempted beheading in Belfast. The video symbolises everything that is wrong with Western politics in general, and Scottish politics in particular. We abase ourselves before an aggressive religion while simultaneously erasing our own culture and faith, in the belief that it will eat us last. But the working class in Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom will not care for such comic stunts.
The video shows Gilruth with a colourful scarf tied as a hijab, seated together with imams and other “community leaders”, as they are called here in Britain. The overwhelming majority are, naturally, men. Gender equality has, strangely enough, not progressed very far within Muslim faith communities. Gilruth, who is married to a woman, proclaims that Scotland is a
“tolerant, peaceful and inclusive country, therefore it is so important at this time, when we are seeing an increase in division within our society, that we support all kinds of faith groups to ensure that we can continue to have a peaceful society. The Scottish Government stands in solidarity with our faith groups, who are experiencing increased discrimination and intolerance.”
Last week, protests broke out in connection with the horrific attack on Stephen Ogilvie, who was the victim of an attempted beheading in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ogilvie was originally from Scotland, where he had also previously been attacked, although under different circumstances. Ogilvie, who is reported to have learning difficulties, lost an eye and suffered other injuries when 30-year-old Hadi Alodid from Sudan attacked him with a knife. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the days afterwards at several locations in Glasgow and surrounding areas.
Discrimination against whites?
The response from the Scottish Government is, naturally, focused on reconciliation and the downplaying of lines of conflict – at least that is what they imagine they are doing. Diversity is a strength, and multicultural Scotland, as one large happy family, will succeed in the future – or so we are told. In an authoritarian manner, we are commanded to be forgiving, while no demands are placed upon the faith communities referred to – namely Muslim faith communities. According to Gilruth, it is they who are experiencing discrimination and intolerance.
But dissatisfaction over the fact that some people express dissatisfaction – namely those protesting against violent attacks – is not intolerance and discrimination. Discrimination on the basis of religion, skin colour or sex is already illegal in Scotland, as it is throughout the Western world, except if you are white, Christian and male, in which case it is perfectly acceptable to be disadvantaged. Those who attempt to obtain assistance through municipal employment training programmes discover this, writes The Telegraph. These programmes are reserved exclusively for ethnic minorities.
Such practices are naturally racist and ought to have no place in the United Kingdom, and are yet another example of the divided society into which Britain has developed. This did not happen overnight under Keir Starmer, but is the result of decades of poor political leadership. Both white British working-class boys and girls perform worse at school than any other ethnic groups. They are deprioritised and forgotten because they do not belong to a fashionable victim group. In practice, this demonstrates what happens when intersectional feminism, or wokeism if you prefer, is allowed to guide social development.
Loyal to Islam
The same dynamic was on display when Henry Nowak was stabbed and bled to death in handcuffs while the murderer received sympathy from the police because they believed he had been subjected to racism.
Thus, when Jenny Gilruth dons the foremost symbol of political Islam, the hijab, and proclaims that Scotland supports “faith groups” (that is, Muslims), it is because she wants us to know where her loyalties, and those of the Scottish Government, lie. Matters are becoming increasingly tense in Britain. Experts such as David Betz believe we are dangerously close to conditions resembling civil war.
The question therefore is: do interventions such as Gilruth’s video stunt increase or decrease the risk that precisely this may happen? Is only one side expected to bend, or should demands be placed upon both sides – with the British working class on one side and the immigrant population, primarily the Muslim population, on the other? Gilruth’s admonitions will be ridiculed by a segment of the population that has long felt neglected. They are not fascists or neo-Nazis, although such elements undoubtedly exist among those taking to the streets in both Belfast and Glasgow. Above all, they are frustrated by everything they have lost.