Thursday, June 09, 2005

To be a Scotsman

What's going on here then? I hope the blancmanges were watching.
We really do live in interesting times.

There's a story from in the Press and Journal, Wed 8th, 2005, (sadly, the story isn't online) which gives a good illustration of why I worry about the possibility of Scottish independence.
The article is about a Burger King poster used in Hungary which translates as "Burger King is where a Scot takes you for a meal becasue it's so cheap". OK, Burger King is one of those companies I boycott for various reasons, and the slogan doesn't seem particularly funny to me, but it doesn't really bother me much.
The same cannot be said for SNP MSP Bruce Crawford:
"This advert is by no means idiosyncratic [as described by a BK spokesperson]. It demeans the people of Scotland. I hope Burger King in Hungary do not produce any more of their so called idiosyncratic posters demeaning Scotland... This advert is clearly an unfair representation of the Scottish people and needs updating".
He also descibed the advert as a "slap in the face" to the people of Scotland.
I'd say this little episode probably tells us two things.
a) Mr Crawford is taking this advert a bit too seriously. 1
b) MSPs don't really have enough useful things to be getting on with.

Relax guy, it's just a joke. As is this:
Q) Do you know how copper wire was invented?
A) Two Scotsmen were arguing over a penny.

Oh, I've demeaned my country. Outrageous! 2

1: There are lots of valid reasons why MSPs might want to complain about Burger King marketing stragegies. The above just isn't one of them.
2: Please don't misunderstand, I am proud of my country. I am particularly proud of our ability to laugh at ourselves. If only all nations would take the time to do this more often, I feel the world would be a better place.
3
3: This was supposed to be a post with no serious points in it at all. The footnotes put paid to that idea.

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