The Un-united Kingdom

Any major football tournament which includes the English national team but not the Scottish one (which, no offence to Scots, is most of them) inevitably leads to strengthened bouts of anti-English sentiment north of the border. While most of this is harmless enough, usually involving supporting any team playing against England and then plenty of gloating when the auld enemy eventually (and inevitably) get knocked out, it sometimes takes on a more serious and unpleasant form. This week saw attacks in Edinburgh and Aberdeen on innocent victims, the only motivation for which seems to be the fact that they were both wearing England football shirts. What makes these incidents even more disgusting is that one was a seven-year-old boy, actually from New Zealand not England, in the park with his father (who was also assaulted), while the other was a middle-aged, disabled man who was literally dragged from his car and given a serious beating. In fact, these aren't even the only examples of England fans being attacked in Scotland during this tournament, but they are certainly the most sickening.

These assaults again help to highlight the issue of how un-united the United Kingdom can sometimes appear to be. Of course with the long history between various parts of Britain it is not surprising that rivalries have developed - certainly this is even the case between different areas within England too - but the vociferous and hostile nature of Scottish anti-Englishness is surprisingly extreme, and some would say even amounts to racism at times. Certainly there doesn't seem much difference between attacking someone because they are wearing an England football shirt and attacking someone because of their skin colour or because they wear a turban.

Of course there has been the normal condemnation of incidents such as these by Scottish politicians, football authorities and fans organisations, and it would be unfair to say that there are large numbers of Scots who would act violently towards English people. However, there is certainly a large proportion of the population who are anti-English. This, of course, is quite understandable considering the fact that England has been seen to be ruling Scotland for the last few hundred years, and one could compare it to, for example, the situation in Catalonia in Spain. It is also not just a one-way feeling, with many in England resenting the fact that the Scots are doubly represented politically (in their own parliament and at Westminster) while they also appear to receive more in state funding than they pay into the coffers.

It is hard to determine what should be done about this problem. While many Scots clamour for independence, it is hard to determine how many actually want this to happen. There are certainly plenty who would prefer to stay as part of Britain, either because they do genuinely feel part of the union or because of fears about Scotland's economy should independence be achieved. In some ways the situation bears similarities to the one in Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s, when many Slovaks demanded independence, not actually hoping it would happen, but as a bargaining tool in improving their lot within the union. However, when they were suddenly granted their 'wish' and became an independent nation, it took years for them to recover economically and politically, while meanwhile the Czech Republic has thrived.

I would certainly appreciate to hear any opinions, ideas or rants on this topic. Does Scottish anti-Englishness amount to racism? Is independence for Scotland a feasible idea? Are the Scots' grievances against the English justified? Please feel free to start a discussion if you have anything to say.