In Defence of Russell Brand.....Ahm Voting YES!!

Just back in the hoose after a wee bit 'guisin' - oh the ignominies an impoverished Rock n Roll Genius has to go through tae earn a bob or two!! I have to tell you the 'guisin' didnae go well....I don't think the locals appreciated my a-capella rendition of 'Clash City Rockers'! Now, a man, even yin who's stony broke, can only take so many doors slammed in his face before he begins to discern the game's up the pole, so in a fit of malcontent I opted instead tae turn over a few bairns and asset strip them off their Halloween takings......this didnae go so well either ; my escape from the angry mob of enraged parents was only effected by lying low in a thicket of brambles for half an hour and then making a dash across Carrick Knowe Golf Course in the murky dark, dodging witches n bogles n teenage ne'er-do-wells smoking blow!! And tae think, ma rightful place is sitting next to wankers like Bono at an endless stream of Award Ceremonies, quaffing free booze whilst various hangers-on and groupies tell me how cool I am!!

Anywayz, aw that's by the by, so whilst my heart rate lowers I thought I'd Ruminate & Belly Ache aboot matters abroad in the cultural ether of Her Majesty's Sinking Ship Britannia ; what aboot yon Russell Brand! I must say at the off that I consider Mr. Brand to be about as funny as a kick in the hee-haws but find myself firmly in the camp of those who agree with him and his contentious remarks regarding voting in the latest 'New Statesman'.  I also thought his performance on 'Newsnight' was stellar in the face of Paxman's churlishness. Tae a dyed-in-the-wool outsider like the
S t O N E d H o l y b L o G G e r who has spent most of his dreary existence on the periphery of artistic inclusion and economic opportunity, I found Mr. Brands statements about disillusionment, disenfranchisement & despondency to be a pretty obvious statement of fact.....so also, I suspect for a sizable chunk of those who have grown up and reached voting age as Margaret Thatcher's and then Tony Blair's ideological shift to the right, created the Britain of today.

As the ideological jackboot of 'Neo-Liberalism' and the insanity of Friedman style economics continues to sell us down the river to the highest bidder and Britain is pickpocketed by thieves and con-men, is it any wonder that people think turning up every five years to make a mark on a piece of paper isn't really gonna solve the problems they face day to day?! It ain't Democracy, is it?....not by a long chalk!! As corruptions are exposed and the 'people at the top' (y'know the ones, the ones who traditionally commanded respect from the poorly educated and unhygienic riff-raff like me n you!) are revealed as money grubbers and swindlers, can it really come as a surprise that people are thinking 'what's the fukn point of voting for any of 'em'!! Yes, of course, the establishment likes the apathy and brainless cynicism ; it means they don't have to work at courting votes, but why should I or you have to vote for anyone who doesn't really represent what you think but is merely less of a dimwit than the other tosser?? Democracy?? Methinks NOT, hombre!! Robert Webb can tell everyone he's rejoined the Labour Party and scream about George Orwell and concentration camps but this doesn't cut the mustard as a coherent response in my book. Embarrassing, really! Interesting to see what Russell makes of it........

In this age of Information Superhighways & Tinternet Cyber-Communities, is 650 dullards, liars, pocket-liners and cheats sitting in a room in central London really the best we can do in representing 'the people'?!?! Is a room full of thieves and self-seeking careerists Democracy in action? Is a Parliament of public schoolboys sniping at each other like,,,welll...errrr...schoolboys really the best on offer?! Is our '1st Past the Post' election system really serving the people or merely propping up an ossified structure of authority woefully out of step with  the Britain happening outside it's Neo-Gothic walls and utterly disinterested in its camp costume dramas and mediaeval pantomimes?!?! Is 750 arse lickers, pensioned off Old Boys and out-of-touch and out-of-date Lords & Lords Spiritual in our 2nd Chamber Democracy at it best??!! Is a system that has at it's head someone who's semi-mythical power is based on hereditary and who's been fucking who for centuries past really something to we can proudly show off to the world?!?!

Speaking as someone who, like Mr. Brand, has never voted in his life, I have to tell you that I will most assuredly be crawling outta the woodwork to exercise my democratic prerogative next September to put a big, fat, fukn tick in the box marked YES for Scottish Independence!!  I have a idea that we can do a better job than Westminster of constructing a nation where people feel included, a society that affords all its citizens social justice and a democracy where people feel their voice can be heard. This get out clause is unfortunately one not open to Russell Brand but I'd like to think he's welcome to come and live in a Scotland where a voice as eloquent and impassioned as his own could make a difference. We stand at a vital crossroads not only for ourselves but for future generations; maybe that 'Revolution in Consciousness' that Russell spoke so cogently of can be the motivation behind voting for the 1st time and voting YES!......and realising we can leave tired old established orders behind and create new paradigms!!!

Who was it that said 

"Thoughts Can Set You Traps

Down Blind Alleyways & Cul-de-Sacs

...but Minds can Learn - Minds can Grow

Minds can Overturn & Overthrow the Frame!!

Oh, whae widah thocht it......IT WIZ ME!!! Did Ah mention Ahma Rock n Roll Genius?!?!

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