I HAVE often remarked on old newsreels from, say, the 1930s. You know, people milling around in crowds, waiting for news. Like when that man came back from (mainland) Europe – yes, Europe – and stood by his plane waving that piece of paper. Or perhaps people outside Buck House, anxiously waiting news about the abdication.

Didn’t they have things to do, I wondered, or places to go to, jobs to do? I now realise I have become one of them. I hang about social media outlets, read my National and news online. And it was due to the latter, social media outlets, that I came across two frightening pictures and articles over the weekend.

One showed two crass, grotesque mannequins being dragged through the streets, meaning to show Sadiq Khan and the PM. Then there was a photo of similar makeshift “bodies” hanging from a bridge over the River Thames. Presumably both were meant to demonstrate the anger at “traitors”, but much worse, hinting at what action might follow. What have we become as a society?

A man, Muslim, a public figure, the other, a woman, equally in the public arena. MPs have been targeted, our own included. At the moment it seems any public figure is fair game from what we see in Westminster, and that too often comes from their peers. Some of the interviews with the MPs come with language splattered with a combination of insulting, demeaning words and innuendo. And then out on the surrounding streets you see and hear the public, literally in one other another’s face.

Drums, music, slogans are being used to drown out the opposition. But isn’t free speech one of the tenets of democracy? There’s the flags and placards that so easily become physical, threatening instruments. There is limited love and respect for many in the media, but the reaction from crowds when a crew admitted to being part of the media establishment set my alarm bells ringing.

Toni Morrison said: “Anger is a paralysing emotion. You can’t get anything done. It’s the absence of control”. But when that anger is whipped up, channelled and directed by someone else, then they are in control. You’re not even in control of your own anger. You don’t need to be a public figure to be the target of anger, do you? Well no, not if “you are one of them”, and “we are us”. Just so long as you are in the right gang and you stay there. But being a minority, any minority, visibly different, could make you an easy target; man woman, EU national, wheelchair, black, head covered. What is happening to us? Whatever it is, it’s not demonstrations of patriotism, or taking back control.

I fear it is the opening up and spurious legitimisation of far-right-wing extremism under the guise of “votes were cast and the outcome isn’t being delivered”. We’re doing this in the name of “democracy”. Or worse, potentially the rise of “white supremacy”. Channel 4’s Jon Snow remarked that he hadn’t seen so many white people all together for a long time. To me, it isn’t the presence we should be noting, but the absence. Crowds of people that don’t resemble our pluralistic society, the one in which we live. This isn’t Scotland. This isn’t what we want for ourselves, our children and theirs.

We have to continue to make sure that our future looks different from this. Our marches will continue as before – peacefully, good-humoured. The same with our meetings – open to all, listening to different views and opinions, drawing in more, not excluding, not turning away. Our language, passionate, but not aggressive, our accents, faces, passports varied and valued. Surely that is our Scotland.

Selma Rahman
Edinburgh

I FOUND the article “Labour MP fuming at Scotland advert” (April 2) to be an interesting insight into the Labour party’s attitude towards Scotland and its people.

How dare the Scottish Government have the temerity to market our country’s wonderful natural beauty and the high quality of different tourist experiences on offer to potential tourists?

Scotland’s tourist industry wants to attract tourists, whereas it would appear Paul Sweeney MP wishes to rubbish anything Scottish. He is supposed to represent the views of his Scottish constituents, no doubt many of whom work in the tourist industry.

I wonder, with the possibility of a General Election in the near future, if his anti-Scottish rhetoric – which may endear him to the Labour Party’s selection panel – will be popular with the electorate.

Thomas L Inglis
Fintry

SO in the votes on Monday more than 200 Tory MPs voted against every option. Of those, 24 also voted against all eight options last week, yet Murdo Fraser has been on Twitter claiming all sides need to compromise to find a way to move forward. It’s almost like a no-deal Bexit was their plan all along…

Maggie Rankin
Stirling

GIVEN that the CPS seem unwilling to pursue the individuals behind Vote Leave’s criminality, would it be at all possible for civil actions to be taken against Gove, Johnson, Banks, Farage et al? There must be a range of crimes and punishments that might be appropriate, ranging from treason to conduct making one unfit to be a director!

If a group of civic-minded lawyers went after them I’m sure crowdfunding would be no problem.

Tony Williams
Muasdale

WITH regard to Ian Blackford’s comment that “any pretence that Scotland is treated as an equal partner in the UK has gone out the window”, I would suggest this situation has been going on for decades, eg Thatcher’s time as PM. It has probably been going on for centuries. Is it not about time that Scotland revoked The Treaty (act) of the Union of Parliament 1706?

George McKnight
West Calder