Lesley J

😀

[Annemarie Ward 💜 @Annemarieward]

😳 @JohnSwinney telling the Easdale brothers to “watch their language” rather neatly illustrates the very attitude they're complaining about.
He's the @ScotGovFM of Scotland, not the nation's headmaster. His job is to answer criticism, not to expel people who express it in terms he finds disagreeable.

I've experienced this culture myself. Challenge a policy, question a funding decision or expose an uncomfortable truth, and suddenly the conversation becomes about your tone, your language or your attitude. Anything, it seems, except the substance of what you've actually said. It's a remarkably convenient way of avoiding difficult questions while making the person asking them the problem.

Democracy is not simply the right to vote every few years. It also requires the freedom to challenge those in power without fearing that your livelihood, funding, reputation or opportunities will suffer as a consequence.

And that is where my criticism of the SNP goes considerably further than its apparent dislike of dissent.

My concern, informed by my own experience, is that criticism can carry identifiable institutional consequences, while compliance and political conformity can bring equally identifiable advantages.

That is a far more serious allegation than a government being thin-skinned, and it deserves proper scrutiny.

The Easdales have the resources and public profile to challenge the government openly. Many smaller organisations, particularly those dependent on public funding, do not enjoy that luxury. For them, the perceived price of speaking out can be enough to ensure silence.

A government doesn't have to ban criticism to discourage it. It merely has to create an environment in which people believe there is a price to pay for speaking their minds.

So perhaps, rather than lecturing his critics about their manners, the First Minister might reflect on why people feel compelled to use such strong language in the first place.

Democracy isn't a classroom, Mr Swinney. The electorate aren't your pupils, and disagreement isn't a disciplinary offence.

[Lesley J @lesleyj1967]

@ArgyleBecky But what did she actually say they wanted to do?

[Lesley J @lesleyj1967]

@StephenFlynnSNP It’s not the point - it’s the rules! Try doing a bit of research or just be knowledgeable

[Lesley J @lesleyj1967]

@BBCSport Could have been worse

[Andy Bhoy @Andybho27665205]

Fukin Wow!😳🍀😎

[Tadhg @TadhgHickey]

The @gbsumudflotilla sets sail tomorrow with a strong Irish contingent 🇮🇪 It also includes a legal suppprt boat filled with human rights lawyers from Ireland, South Africa, Canada & Britain. The boat is named after eminent 🇵🇸 journalist, Shireen Abu Ahkleh who was assassinated by the occupation. Wish us well. Humanity united 💚

[Lesley J @lesleyj1967]

@Montreal_Celtic Earning the brown pound my son says

[Lesley J @lesleyj1967]

@FK2468 @Montreal_Celtic It did! Only the plebs have no access to hot water.

[DaddyNeedsCoffee 🇺🇦 🚴‍♂️ 🎨 🇪🇺 @DaddyCoffee73]

I stand with @jessphillips… National treasure 👍 Share if you agree.

[Lesley J @lesleyj1967]

@IPhillips79 He was a gentleman

[Lesley J @lesleyj1967]

@AGCeltic2 I don’t sing some of the IRA songs. Also the green brigade seem to have their list of songs and sing them no matter the state of the game. not that long ago we went a goal down and they didn’t do something to gee up the team or encourage the crowd to sing

[Lesley J @lesleyj1967]

@BhoysAbroad I have already had words with the ticket office. They refused my request for the manager to contact me to explain the process. I’m awaiting a response from JPT

[. @jdpoc]

"We put food on your table."

"Well, we teach your kids, look after you when you're sick, clean your streets, empty your bins, deliver your shopping and your mail and care for your parents. We pay our fair share. Why shouldn't you?"

- @amarymclaugh on another platform.

[Ragged Trousered Philanderer @RaggedTP]

Today is the day when all the tax-dodging celebs appear on our televisions telling poor people to 'give what you can' so that the government can shirk its responsibilities for the most vulnerable in our society.

[Lesley J @lesleyj1967]

@CelticGossip Not for me! He’d get hacked up and down the park just as he did before with no protection from the officials

[Habib Khan @HabibKhanT]

A group of women rallied in London in solidarity with Ahoo Daryaei, the Iranian activist detained after protesting university harassment over hijab rules. She is now in a mental institution, likely facing torture.

[NHS Million @NHSMillion]

We’re trying to get as many followers as Nigel Farage so we can show those who want to privatise the NHS just how many people are prepared to fight against it.

Please take a few seconds to help by following us and reposting this.

[Darya Safai MP @SafaiDarya]

Look at the face of bravery.

The last news about Ahoo was that she was taken to a mental institution.

After that, there was no news about her.

Say her name!

#AhooDaryaei