Following the various elections in Britain, I can’t say I’m terribly pleased. Sentiment aside, I’m not a huge fan of the nationalist parties in Wales and Scotland (though I gave money to Plaid Cymru once, a long time ago). I am disheartened by Tory gains in Wales (especially in my brother’s old home of Carmarthen, where the Labour member was ousted over her vegetarianism in a largely agricultural constituency). Though it was pretty bad for the left throughout England, I am relieved that the Conservatives remain irrelevant in Scotland.
I am especially saddened that Tommy Sheridan, a long-time hero of mine, won’t be in the Scottish Parliament. The self-destructive infighting among the far left is an old and depressing story, and the endless splits among British socialists have left them entirely out of Holyrood. Bad night for the Greens too, alas.
This weekend, I’ll be pulling for Segolene Royal in France, Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, and the Cal Golden Bears rugby team as they go for another national title at Stanford.
UPDATE: I called the fight correctly, which wasn’t all that impressive since most folks predicted De La Hoya would be too slow and too old. We bought the PPV at the last minute, just as Mayweather entered the ring. It was worth the $54 tab to watch these two masters go at it. Oh, and Cal did win the rugby title. But the French have chosen Sarkozy, in their infinite wisdom. Thank goodness theirs is not a parliamentary democracy as is Britain’s. Sarkozy will find it hard to push his rightist agenda through the charmingly sclerotic system, but still, expect some whopping street demonstrations in Paris over the next year. Next year is the fortieth anniversary of soixante-huit; if Sarkozy gets too aggressive, look for a rerun.
I understand that the Scottish Nationalist Party is pretty problematic. But I’ve got to stick up for the Plaid. They’re left-wing as well as being pro-independence. They’ve also got more ethnic minority representatives than any other party (including the first Welsh Assembly Member from an ethnic minority).
They’ve got a pretty awesome history. They organised , that’s some hard-core anti war/pacificism. The language revival that has been achieved, is amazing. I have cousins who do all their education and take their exams in Welsh and the street signs are billingual.
I hear you, Maia, which is why I have a lot of sympathy for Plaid (and gave them a small donation). They are much more authentically progressive than the SNP, and yes, I saw the election of Mohammed Ashgar as a remarkable thing. I suspect he speaks pretty good Welsh.
And people should check out Maia’s summary of the Welsh results here
You enjoy boxing? I wouldn’t have expected that. Somehow, the idea of two fighters being forced to inflict permanent brain damage on each other until one is beaten into submission seems to conflict with your overall pacifism and social justice image. There was an interesting discussion on twisty’s website regarding football some time ago. Basically, football was taken to be another harmful expression of the patriarchy.
Interesting that while the US seems to be trending leftward recently, many European countries are doing the opposite.
I do have many qualms about boxing, John. It’s an area where I could probably stand for some growth, along with my passion for American college football, which is nearly as violent. But watching two multi-millionaires who were given other options in life pound at each other is qualitatively different from, say, delighting in bullfighting. If only the boxing gloves were all synthetic leather…
Looks like the French are finally coming to their senses.
“I do have many qualms about boxing, John. It’s an area where I could probably stand for some growth, along with my passion for American college football, which is nearly as violent.” - Hugo
That would actually be a good topic for discussion. I’m quite serious—I’d be on that thread because there are even gray areas for myself that I’ve tried to flesh out over the years.
Believe it or not, on martial art forums, the ethos of fighting, politics, whether or not it should be a sport or confined art in the dojo, the legalities of self-defense, and other hot areas of debate are an ongoing matter in argumentation among those corners of cyberspace.
Keep it in mind, whether it is in regards to your stance on pacifism and the vicarious thrill of watching a boxing match, the lawfulness of self-defense, or even football (the latter of which I’m not as interested in. Sorry).
Thank you thank you thank you for noticing France. I’m studying abroad in Bordeaux, and nearly all of my regular blogs from back home (UCB, go bears…and go co ops, I lived in Casa Z) are completely devoid of anything on the election here. It’s too bad that Sego didn’t make it, but she was a fairly horrible orator, and the french adore a witty person. Sarko is a lawyer by trade, so he handled himself better in debates. I’m curious to see how france reacts to their own choice in the assembly elections.