THE weaponisation of public debate and language used in politics continues unabated.
, as they try to avoid being held to account for their record, and the increasingly hysterical tone of the right-wing press, are major drivers.This trajectory can be identified in Scotland and a public landscape where, across a range of issues, the tone has not only got more siren and intolerant but is filled with outlandish, over-stated and deeply problematic voices.
This situation also touches on the rise of rentier capitalism and a growing section of the population using property to provide an income or supplement their pension. Linklater asked: “Is this really what the Scottish Government wants? Our form has yet to be completed. I may be about to join the criminal class.”READ MORE:There are two levels to this. There is the Scottish landscape where the Airbnb issue sees commonalities with the trans rights debate. In both the Scottish Government has enacted legislation and not in the most enlightened way, misjudging complexities and concerns.
For example, the woman who made the “pogroms” remark claimed the crisis of rented housing was due to post-Thatcher “right to buy” councils breaking their word and not “rebuilding replacements”. In reality, councils were legally and fiscally prevented from doing so.