by Rab Bruce’s Spider

I’ve generally taken the view that, while political debate is fine online, there is no point in entering into discussions with some people, or getting involved in arguments about which individual did or said something stupid, because such arguments distract us from the more important issues. By and large, I’ve managed to stick to this, but a couple of things have happened recently which have made me think twice.

First of all was the Food Bank Nurse. I have no intention of making personal attacks on her. For me, the real culprit in the affair was the BBC. Whether the Nurse helped them willingly or not is beside the point, as is the issue of whether she was entirely truthful. Whatever her motivation, she helped the BBC achieve their aims, which were to attack the SNP, deflect scrutiny from the Tories, and to create another CyberNat bullying media story. They achieved all three, aided by far too many Yes supporters repeating unsubstantiated allegations about the Nurse and, in so doing, making us all look silly because, as the media delights in telling us, every Yesser is directly controlled by Nicola Sturgeon and we are all equally to blame for the actions of those who were too quick to spread rumours rather than wait for facts.

Since the programme aired, I’ve seen several anti-SNP posts on social media trumpeting the CyberNat bullying angle. I resisted the temptation to become involved because such discussions are rather petty when the greater issue of Scotland’s independence is concerned, and I have no wish to become involved in a slanging match.

The second event was a Tweet by the odious Katie Hopkins who, in the wake of the Manchester bombing, called for a Final Solution to the problem of Muslim extremists. Yes, she really did use those words. Naturally, her comments were approved by some of the more xenophobic among her followers, while some people reTweeted it to highlight her despicable viewpoint. Others urged people not to spread her vile views and insisted the best thing to do is to ignore her. That’s what I decided to do.

The thing is, I’ve had some time to consider whether ignoring things like this really is the best thing to do. There is no doubt that engaging with Trolls is pointless, but the BBC and Katie Hopkins are not your average Trolls. One is the State Broadcaster which is intent on beaming State propaganda into every household in the UK, while the other is a very high profile individual whose role is to pump out vicious and divisive comments in order to stir up the xenophobia and hatred the Right Wing media love so much.

The thing is, there comes a time when you need to stand up to bullies. Simply shaking your head when you see people endorsing the views of individuals like Hopkins or believing the BBC’s version of political analysis, isn’t going to change things. Perhaps we should highlight this sort of thing as a warning to others and, with luck, to persuade them that they are being misinformed and driven towards a political stance where hatred of foreigners is the accepted view.

No doubt everyone will have their own opinion on what is the best way to counter such things, but I’m certainly caught in two minds now.