On we go!
Apologies for the dearth of blog posts over the last two months. I guess most of you who read this will understand why.
I’ve never in my life been so involved in politics as I have been for the last two years. It was difficult to keep up with the twists and turns of the campaign, frustrating to hear and see the scare stories and the lies perpetuated by the main-stream media. Leafleting was heavier work than I expected, the extent of canvassing was sore on the back and feet. I met a few rude and offensive people.
The word ‘disappointment’ doesn’t adequately describe how I felt on 19th September. ‘Grief’ is more like it: grief for a lost cause which is dear to my heart, a lost opportunity. I experienced ‘rage’, over the bias of the media, the depths to which the Westminster elite were prepared to stoop. I felt ‘devastation’, that fear had overcome hope. I was betrayed by particular Scottish politicians, and a political party which I had, in the past, voted for. I felt the Electoral Commission had failed me as it had not secured a fair contest.
But, did I meet wonderful and inspiring people during the campaign? Yes, I did. Am I glad I was part of the experience? Yes, I am. Do I regret where I pitched my efforts? No, I do not. Have I picked myself up, dusted myself down and started all over again? Yes. I have – well, almost.
Which is why I went to the Women for Independence Post Referendum Meeting yesterday – held in St Matthews Church of Scotland in Perth, as the original venue was too small for the more than 1,000 women who applied to go. Was it worth it? Yes, it was. Did it give me strength? Yes, it did.
For those who weren’t present, here’s a brief summary.
The buzz from inside the venue actually permeated out onto the street. Stepping through the doors of the kirk, you were enveloped in an atmosphere and sound of welcome, safety, good will and positivity. The morning programme was ‘Women for Independence’, the afternoon one ‘Independence for Women’.
Caroline Leckie pointed out that through the struggle and referendum campaign and the anger of its aftermath, a powerful force had been unleashed. She could feel our energy, hope and optimism. Considering the presence at this meeting and the number of local groups across the country, Women for Independence has become a movement. Women have found a voice and power. We now have to decide how to use that power effectively. We need to decide what kind of a movement we’ll be, ensuring that in future we balance efficiency and democracy (an affectionate roar of laughter and approval from the audience as she described the current organisation as ‘organic grassroots chaos’). We need to develop short and long term strategies to reach out to all women who want to change lives for the better, and create a more equal and fair society en route to our eventual goal: independence.
Elaine C Smith touched on the history of suffragettes in her speech, and on how some women still don’t have independence in their own homes. She talked of the results of class division in society, the need for land reform. The stranglehold of the London media incenses her: Scottish people barely recognise themselves in most programmes. She asked that we all report and complain to the BBC and Channel 4 any examples of unbalanced reporting and thinks that control of the media is a crucial issue which must be addressed by the Smith Commission. In relation to the 50/50 Campaign, she asked us to beware of political parties taking control of the process.
She referred to a ‘sense of engagement’ which encouraged her, and mentioned an inspiring ‘Imagination Café’ in the previous campaign where women were asked to imagine the kind of Scotland they wanted to live in. She made frequent reference to recognising parallel’s with Alan Bisset’s great play ‘The Pure the Dead and the Brilliant’. She was honest and open, encouraging and inspirational. She made us laugh and made us cry, gave us courage to ‘go forth and multiply’.
There were two participatory sessions: an open mic session allowed women to share their views on achievements or failures of the campaign, in national, local or personal terms. Some of these were very personal and moving. There were also two forms to fill in about, for example, suggestions about what the national group should do, and what we personally would be able to offer, nationally or locally. These forms were collected into impressive piles… to collate all the information will be lots of work for somebody. There were two short term issues which had to be dealt with –whether we should send a submission to the Smith Commission and whether we should collaborate with the 50/50 campaign. We ‘voted’ on post-it notes. Another post-it note recorded the priorities we each wanted WfI to address.
At this point its probably worth commenting on the role of Kate Higgins who was chairing the meeting. In a typically light-hearted way she did a fantastic job of keeping all of us and everything in order, and allowing us the chance to participate in – ‘the pass along the pew’ exercise – in circumstances (ie long narrow pews) which were not designed for active participation, but rather for passive listening to a sermon. Kate even come prepared with boxes of sweeties – one each as a reward if we got things right…
Jeane Freeman’s speech reminded us that politics could be done differently and that our voices must be heard. She thought we should embrace the opportunity, not only to harness the energy and talent in our midst but also the energy and talent of those women who voted NO but might now be regretting their choice. We have become a feminist movement, and as such must reach out to all women, if we want to achieve our goal. We should plan nationally and organise locally, to tackle such scandals as ¼ of our children living in poverty in our resource-rich country.
What a day! Life goes on and so do I, at least for the time being. I’d hoped to get back to my own writing by now, but somehow or other this political business seems more important. I’m going to watch from the sidelines, listen to the debate and read what I can over the next few months. I’ll reflect on what contribution I can make to the cause of creating a more equal society and a better democracy (where have I heard that before?). Then I’ll decide where to pitch my energies. At this stage, Women for Independence sounds very attractive.
PS I sold 104 postcards of Knitting A Nation, and could have probably sold 5 times that number if I’d been able to carry them. I talked to Jean Urquhart and asked if she’d like to exhibit the map at The Ceilidh Place in Ullapool. She does! And that’s another letter to write…
Aimee.
Apologies for the dearth of blog posts over the last two months. I guess most of you who read this will understand why.
I’ve never in my life been so involved in politics as I have been for the last two years. It was difficult to keep up with the twists and turns of the campaign, frustrating to hear and see the scare stories and the lies perpetuated by the main-stream media. Leafleting was heavier work than I expected, the extent of canvassing was sore on the back and feet. I met a few rude and offensive people.
The word ‘disappointment’ doesn’t adequately describe how I felt on 19th September. ‘Grief’ is more like it: grief for a lost cause which is dear to my heart, a lost opportunity. I experienced ‘rage’, over the bias of the media, the depths to which the Westminster elite were prepared to stoop. I felt ‘devastation’, that fear had overcome hope. I was betrayed by particular Scottish politicians, and a political party which I had, in the past, voted for. I felt the Electoral Commission had failed me as it had not secured a fair contest.
But, did I meet wonderful and inspiring people during the campaign? Yes, I did. Am I glad I was part of the experience? Yes, I am. Do I regret where I pitched my efforts? No, I do not. Have I picked myself up, dusted myself down and started all over again? Yes. I have – well, almost.
Which is why I went to the Women for Independence Post Referendum Meeting yesterday – held in St Matthews Church of Scotland in Perth, as the original venue was too small for the more than 1,000 women who applied to go. Was it worth it? Yes, it was. Did it give me strength? Yes, it did.
For those who weren’t present, here’s a brief summary.
The buzz from inside the venue actually permeated out onto the street. Stepping through the doors of the kirk, you were enveloped in an atmosphere and sound of welcome, safety, good will and positivity. The morning programme was ‘Women for Independence’, the afternoon one ‘Independence for Women’.
Caroline Leckie pointed out that through the struggle and referendum campaign and the anger of its aftermath, a powerful force had been unleashed. She could feel our energy, hope and optimism. Considering the presence at this meeting and the number of local groups across the country, Women for Independence has become a movement. Women have found a voice and power. We now have to decide how to use that power effectively. We need to decide what kind of a movement we’ll be, ensuring that in future we balance efficiency and democracy (an affectionate roar of laughter and approval from the audience as she described the current organisation as ‘organic grassroots chaos’). We need to develop short and long term strategies to reach out to all women who want to change lives for the better, and create a more equal and fair society en route to our eventual goal: independence.
Elaine C Smith touched on the history of suffragettes in her speech, and on how some women still don’t have independence in their own homes. She talked of the results of class division in society, the need for land reform. The stranglehold of the London media incenses her: Scottish people barely recognise themselves in most programmes. She asked that we all report and complain to the BBC and Channel 4 any examples of unbalanced reporting and thinks that control of the media is a crucial issue which must be addressed by the Smith Commission. In relation to the 50/50 Campaign, she asked us to beware of political parties taking control of the process.
She referred to a ‘sense of engagement’ which encouraged her, and mentioned an inspiring ‘Imagination Café’ in the previous campaign where women were asked to imagine the kind of Scotland they wanted to live in. She made frequent reference to recognising parallel’s with Alan Bisset’s great play ‘The Pure the Dead and the Brilliant’. She was honest and open, encouraging and inspirational. She made us laugh and made us cry, gave us courage to ‘go forth and multiply’.
There were two participatory sessions: an open mic session allowed women to share their views on achievements or failures of the campaign, in national, local or personal terms. Some of these were very personal and moving. There were also two forms to fill in about, for example, suggestions about what the national group should do, and what we personally would be able to offer, nationally or locally. These forms were collected into impressive piles… to collate all the information will be lots of work for somebody. There were two short term issues which had to be dealt with –whether we should send a submission to the Smith Commission and whether we should collaborate with the 50/50 campaign. We ‘voted’ on post-it notes. Another post-it note recorded the priorities we each wanted WfI to address.
At this point its probably worth commenting on the role of Kate Higgins who was chairing the meeting. In a typically light-hearted way she did a fantastic job of keeping all of us and everything in order, and allowing us the chance to participate in – ‘the pass along the pew’ exercise – in circumstances (ie long narrow pews) which were not designed for active participation, but rather for passive listening to a sermon. Kate even come prepared with boxes of sweeties – one each as a reward if we got things right…
Jeane Freeman’s speech reminded us that politics could be done differently and that our voices must be heard. She thought we should embrace the opportunity, not only to harness the energy and talent in our midst but also the energy and talent of those women who voted NO but might now be regretting their choice. We have become a feminist movement, and as such must reach out to all women, if we want to achieve our goal. We should plan nationally and organise locally, to tackle such scandals as ¼ of our children living in poverty in our resource-rich country.
What a day! Life goes on and so do I, at least for the time being. I’d hoped to get back to my own writing by now, but somehow or other this political business seems more important. I’m going to watch from the sidelines, listen to the debate and read what I can over the next few months. I’ll reflect on what contribution I can make to the cause of creating a more equal society and a better democracy (where have I heard that before?). Then I’ll decide where to pitch my energies. At this stage, Women for Independence sounds very attractive.
PS I sold 104 postcards of Knitting A Nation, and could have probably sold 5 times that number if I’d been able to carry them. I talked to Jean Urquhart and asked if she’d like to exhibit the map at The Ceilidh Place in Ullapool. She does! And that’s another letter to write…
Aimee.