Despite Trump and Brexit there are still Reasons to be Cheerful
Despite Trump and Brexit there are still Reasons to be Cheerful Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, January 26th 2017 A haunting refrain echoes around the globe. The world, many emphatically say, has gone to pot what with Trump, Brexit, terrorism, ISIS, the march of the far right, fake news, alternative facts and more. This miserablist take on modern times has a familiar refrain in Britain. It states that the country has gone in entirely the wrong direction these last 30 to 40 years. ‘Margaret Thatcher / poll tax / Tony Blair / Iraq war’ has become a spellbinding, intoxicating description
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The Myth of ‘Divided Scotland’
The Myth of 'Divided Scotland' Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, July 16th 2014 One of the most oft-repeated descriptions of Scotland at the moment in the heat of the independence referendum is the problem of ‘divided Scotland’. A Yes victory will leave a ‘deeply divided Scotland’ claimed Better Together chief Blair McDougall (Better Together, June 8th 2014), while a pro-independence website declared in response, ‘A deeply divided Scotland will be the result of a No vote’ (Arc of Prosperity, June 9th 2014). Much cited recent polling shows that 38% of Scots believe divisions will remain whatever the referendum outcome, while 36%
Telling Glasgow’s Stories and the Culture of Miserablism
Telling Glasgow’s Stories and the Culture of Miserablism Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 15th 2011 Glasgow is a city rich with stories, myths and folklore. It has gone from being ‘the second city of Empire’ to branding itself as ‘the second city of shopping’ – statements which show the continuation of Glasgow swagger, ambition and belief – for all its undoubted problems. Glasgow has throughout this experienced constant change and adaptation, of coming to terms with decline and proclaiming renewal. Often this has involved a simple backstory of counterposing a caricature of ‘old Glasgow’, of traditional industries and an omnipotent
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