The sneaking suspicion that someone, somewhere, is having a good time.

[f4f3]

A little bit of politics, most of it Scottish...

I was listening to Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Minister talking on the radio  this morning about a report on prostitution in Aberdeen, and some thoughts about the SNP Government sort of crystallised. The report was around the impact of a new Government policy of "zero tolerance" for prostitution, which involved abolishing "tolerance zones" and introduced a new offence of soliciting, allowing police to arrest kerb crawlers. My position on prostitution is as complex as the issue, but at first glance, I'm broadly in favour of both measures - it seems common sense that if something is a crime for one party, it's a crime for both, and that  if something IS a crime then allowing it in one area and not another is contradictory. Unfortunately for common sense, the results of the study showed that prostitution in Aberdeen has now spread outside its "traditional" areas, and that it has become bigger business - men are being propositioned outside nightclubs and pubs, instead of having to go looking for the service. So a well intentioned intervention has backfired, and I would have expected MacAskill's response to be along the lines of "Well, this has had good affects and bad affects, we'll be looking at revisions, mumble mumble". In fact, however, he came out with a dogmatic "Prostitution is evil, women need to be protected against kerb crawlers ("daughters, wives and grannies", I think he said) we must punish, punish, punish..." I could almost see the flecks of spittle at the corners of his mouth.
It seemed disproportionate, somehow. 
Another SNP policy initiative at the moment is aimed at problem drinking in Scotland, and would make it illegal for anyone under 21 to buy alcohol in a supermarket. Students, soldiers, married couples - anyone under 21. You can still drink in a pub, or buy a take-away from a pub, but not a supermarket. Again, people have tried to point out that this is a little disproportionate, and have been accused of not caring about the problem. Similar proposals are on the way for taking cigarettes off shop shelves and putting them under the counter. 
The one appearance of Alec Salmond at Westminster this year that I can remember was his flight down to vote in favour of shortening the time limits for legal abortion. 
These are all small things, maybe, but I'm getting a whiff from them of something that blighted Scotland for more than a century, something that has been defined as "The sneaking suspicion that someone, somewhere is having fun."
As much as I think independence is the rational path, I really don't want to live in a Calvinist Scotland.   

Comments

[anthrokeight.livejournal.com]

I do appreciate the point you make with "having a good time" as an index of the presence of Calvinism.

I do wish to point out, as did the marvelous Sam Bee on the Daily Show, that abortion rights are never about a good time. It's not even something I particularly want associated with sex-as-a-good-time, since all too often the circumstances that lead to women seeking abortion services weren't good.

And also, no buying booze in supermarkets if you aren't 21? Are you freaking kidding me? That's so not right.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Yup, I was being a little careless there - I intended to associate Salmond's flight to vote for restricting abortion with a Calvinist as fundamentalist Christian, rather than as killjoy. My mistake.

[psychochicken.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I can imagine me getting used to, if not altogether coming around to, the idea of independent Scotland but not under what is effectively a protest party, and certainly not under Fish boy. Scotland needs to be run by people who want what's best for Scotland, not to get one up on someone else.