I took a walk through Glasgow’s Maryhill area earlier today. Storm Amy had brought down a few trees, some older than my grandads da’, and a few black bins and rubble were in places they shouldn’t be. And many of the flags- the ones the racists put up- the beautiful Inclusive saltires that had been cable tied tae lamposts by utter bams naebdy likes, were hanging low and limp. It was as if the flags had decided themselves, “No way, Im no flying high fer racism. I’m at half mast for the death of democracy.” And I’m not kidding when I say that. These racist flag railings have reduced us to stupidity. The wise and the intelligent just walk on by pretending everything is OK -intimidated by the stupid. And all of this pulls us closer to the ground . Down, down into the dirt…further towards the utter stupification of Scotland, to the point these cunts start rounding us up. I’m fucking serious.
You see the headlines of stupid, don’t you? The stupid on Question Night? The stupid on our news media? All the chat about immigration, the “crisis,” the “legitimate concerns.” But let’s be blunt: most of what passes for concern isn’t legitimate at all—it’s a massive, stupifying, calculated deflection designed to distract you from the actual fuckers who are emptying your wallet and wrecking your services. It’s the old trick: point the finger at the newest arrivals so you don’t look at the wankers at the very top.
The Economic Sham: Who Benefits from the Stupidity?
When wankers moan about the cost of migrants, they ignore a fundamental economic reality: the UK has an ageing crisis. Our population is getting older, people are living longer, and the ratio of working people to pensioners is shrinking. This puts immense strain on the NHS, on social care, and on our pension system. What do the cold, hard economic figures show? That migrants, who are predominantly of working age, are a fiscal asset. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and other studies consistently show that higher net migration leads to lower deficits and debt, primarily because migrants are working and contributing taxes now, without the UK having paid the cost of their childhood education and healthcare.
If your public services are crumbling, it’s not because of the people staffing your hospitals and picking your crops; it’s because of austerity and the deliberate political choice to underfund public services while allowing the rich to pay less into the pot. They want you angry at the person queuing for a flat, not the multi-millionaire dodging much needed taxes.
The Flag-Waving Stupidity and Toxic Rhetoric
This leads directly to the divisive issues designed to replace real scrutiny. When people are struggling to pay their bills, the political establishment needs a convenient villain. They weaponise cultural politics—and that’s where you see the emergence of “Raise the flag” groups and their toxic, performative, stupid patriotism. This isn’t about pride in our country; it’s about creating fear and division on our streets, and making ordinary people of different backgrounds feel unwelcome or unsafe. Maryhill- immigrants ARE welcome. Refugees should be allowed the safety of our cracking city.
This kind of rhetoric—which targets immigrants, refugees, and minorities—doesn’t just hurt the people it’s aimed at; it creates deep anxiety across Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian communities alike. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has been forced to step in, urging the UK to curb racist hate speech and xenophobic rhetoric, even from-fucking mostly from, let’s be honest- political and public figures, following recent unrest outside hotels that have fuelled by disinformation. As commentators like Yasmin Alibhai-Brown have argued, the use of this kind of “race card” is a warning shot to all people of colour, subliminally telling them not to get too comfortable.
The Race to the Bottom of the Stupidity Bucket
And here is the ultimate betrayal: our main political parties are caught in a race to the bottom, frantically chasing the far-right agenda instead of confronting it. When one party uses language like being “overrun” and insists on an immigration “freeze,” the others feel dragged onto that dangerous ground.
Labour and the Conservatives, terrified of losing votes to the right, adopt tougher language and reactive policies, rather than making the positive, evidence-based case for immigration and tackling the structural problems like inequality and underfunded housing that are the actual cause of people’s misery. They’re caving in to a false form of patriotism that is, in reality, nothing more than thinly veiled, stupid racism. Until we force our political leaders to stop scapegoating the vulnerable and start focusing on policies that actually help working people—not just the wealthy elite—this destructive and dishonest cycle will keep spinning, and Maryhill will continue to be strewn with dead saltires.
By the way Maryhill, I ripped one of the saltires down. I’ve washed the fash off it and it’s in my drawer with the slogan, “You are Welcome Here” drawn on it for my next Yes rally. Grab yours while the stupid are paying for them.
