Scottish independence: Unionists must stop using the word ‘nat’ as an insult

The Nazi Party’s name was an abbreviation of the German Nationalsozialist and the historical association is hard to entirely dismiss. However, its use is explicit at times, too, and some Unionists have gone as far as to Photoshop Nicola Sturgeon into a Nazi uniform.

Others have altered the word “nat” to “gnat” in reference to the small insect, with the connotations here being that independence supporters are part of a small, albeit annoying, minority.

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Then there are those who have combined both to call independence supporters “gnatz”, which is arguably even more sinister than “nat” alone. Horrifyingly, the word “natz” is also frequently used by Unionists, and I feel like it’s a huge insult to everyone who suffered during the Second World War.

Such words are almost always thrown around by social media users hiding behind anonymous profiles. While things get heated on both sides of the independence debate, there is – to the credit of nationalists – no equivalent insult in their dictionaries.

Even if you take the fact that the first three letters and the regime they sound like out of the equation, the negative connotations of “nat” are seeping into mainstream media, where bells and whistles are also added to the term.

Iona Fyfe (below) recently tweeted her views on Scotland’s political climate and independence. She has as much of right to an opinion as any Unionist but The Express labelled her a “close-minded” “nasty nat” – all while taking her words out of context.

Yes, papers can be political, but there needs to be a line between what is and isn’t acceptable. All she did was express an opinion, which there was nothing nasty about.

Fyfe told me: “There are so many comments saying the likes of ‘young lassie has been brainwashed by the nats’. As if I, a woman of 24 years of age, do not have the brain power or agency to form my own opinions about my own political stance. It’s insulting.”

But the hatred directed at Fyfe and other Scottish creators typically doesn’t even require us to mention independence. I promote the Scots language and argue it should be recognised as a language – a view shared by Unesco and the Scottish Government. I have been consistently labelled a “nat” even though I am largely promoting one of Scotland’s indigenous and vulnerable languages outside the country.

With Nicola Sturgeon planning a second independence referendum in 2023, I fear that the abuse levelled at Scottish creators could get worse if the referendum happens.

The irony of this is that Nazi Germany stripped people of a right to any opinion that opposed the regime, which is is what some Unionists are doing to those who promote what makes Scotland different from the rest of the UK.

That’s why the word “nat” should be dropped from Unionist dictionaries, especially when it is altered to spell “gnatz” or, worse, “natz”; at the very least, journalists in support of the Union shouldn’t use it for cheap alliteration to incite further hatred toward Scots creators.

Arguments for and against the Union are inevitably going to dominate the political landscape over the coming months, and while everyone has a right to an opinion, these disturbing historical comparisons should be left out of the debate.