Economist Mocks Scottish Independence

The London based 'Economist' magazine has created controversy and outrage in Scotland over its front page map of how it sees an Independent Scotland http://newsnetscotland.com/index.ph...-magazine-labels-scotland-as-skintland-in-map Place names have been altered to suit the mockery e.g. Edinburgh becomes 'Edinborrow', Aberdeen is 'Aberdown' and the Outer Hebrides is 'Outer Cash' (out of money).
The complaints were not confined to Nationalists as this article shows http://www.scottishtimes.com/scottish_independence_insult
A positive take on Scotland has appeared on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/5ilverback/status/191261085603610625/photo/1
The magazine did the same thing with the US in January 2011 - how did that go down with you? Did it cause any outrage? Is the 'Economist' actually read in America?
P.S. The word 'Skint', used in the map, is slang for no money

 

Typical London based humour, I'm sure sometime in the past insulting terms about English towns have been used by Scottish media. Or maybe it's an evil English plot to piss of as many Scots as possible so more of you will vote for independence. Not that the majority of the Scottish population are so feeble minded as to let a would be humorous magazine cover influence their vote over an issue of such long term importance to their lives.

 

Don't think much of London humour if that was typical. Why would the Scottish media, now or in the past, do any such thing.

just a complete misreading of the situation and the reaction it would have in Scotland

Scots will vote on the day for various reasons. Ridicule & mockery from South of the border will not help the Unionist cause. Unionists have either kept silent on this or have stated displeasure at the map. The 'economist' is supposed to be a serious magazine so, I suppose we should not be surprised when this attempt at humour falls flat.

 

Who said it was to help the Unionist cause? Strikes me this cover was just pandering to the stereotype of Scotland that a lot of English people seem to subscribe to.

 

I doubt very much it was done with the aim of helping the Nationalists although I think that that will be the result.

Totally agree.

 

Sound to me like they don't really care if it angered Scots. Want to get them back? Write letters to them telling them all about their mother's unsavory pasts.

As for the Economist article, I read the magazine from time to time ...but not faithfully... and can't recall the particular article you mentioned. I may have the issue somewhere, but more likely than not I have already gotten rid of it.

I also don't recall sending them any letters about their mothers, but it's never too late.

 

I believe in the last thread were we chatted about an Independent Scotland I warned you that the Media would start to play games, well looks like it has started

 

Yes it would look like it. Having said that, we are becoming used to it as dodgy stories and anti SNP spin is the norm with the Scottish media - including the supposedly impartial BBC.
The magazine certainly received a lot of publicity because of its front page. I wonder if sales were positively affected.

 

Honestly, even if I had seen the article, it wouldn't have bothered me. It sounds to me like there is at least a hint of truth behind the mocking, therefore, if the article did indeed mock America, America probably was ripe for it.

Was there any outright lies in the mocking, or was there any truth behind it. The Economist is a serious magazine that reports on serious issues, but it's cartoons often reflect general truths about serious issues in a humorous way... well, humorous to those not being mocked lol

The best revenge? Prove them wrong. If you can't, then try to look at it as a "free" evaluation of your economic system. Governments sometimes spend huge amounts of money on "expert" opinions that show them where improvement is desirable. You could even send the Economist a statement that resembles a bill they could have sent out for the "evaluation" with the words "PAID IN FULL" on it. Don't forget to add a smiley face.

 

This is a link to the article: http://www.economist.com/node/18010469 Hope the link works

 

Thanks. Nope, I don't have any issues with the map at all lol

I also think the article itself was a welcome straightforward address of some of America's key issues. Ususally the partisanship here in America prevents any real discussion of the issues in public. The general atmosphere is one of debate, so any straighforward comment becomes lost amid countless counterclaims and spin.

 

I found 5 American blogs which commented on the January cover of The Economist. All of them were neutral or positive:

"Some of the state names are fairly clever."

"Very clever and amusing."

"Touché, well-respected British magazine. Touché"

"Which sad state do you live in? Things aren’t so bad here in Washedup. Except for the rain. There’s always that damned rain…"

"The Economist has a funny map on its cover this week. It shows the troubled state of our Union."

I also found one blog which seems to be written by a Mexican libertarian writing in English, who simply quoted the online version of the article in its entirety, illustrations and all, giving no citation for its origin.

I can see why Scots wouldn't take kindly to the jab from south of the border, but from what I can tell, people in the US just shrugged off the similar cover (those who were even aware of it). I don't think that the Scottish map cover will help the Unionist cause in the slightest, and may actually harm it a bit. Maybe there's a pro-independence graphics editor on their staff?

 

Here is an example of how low the Unionist press has sunk in its attempts to denigrate and defeat the SNP http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/snp-activist-caught-up-in-fake-leaflet-row-1-2237995 This non story actually was the the lead one in the online edition of this so called newspaper.

 

Ah, ever-vigilant is The Hootsmon !

 

Thing is if you keep it up for long enough what is been said will begin to be seen as gospel by many, this is how a good propaganda campaign gets under way. Try reading the sun/star editorials at times