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How Scotland became a 'culture war' lightning rod
The so-called 'culture war' has impacted politics across the globe. Populist outsider candidates and traditional political parties are, more than ever, using ideological wedge issues to appeal to voters and criticise the values of their opponents.
In recent years, Scotland has been the focus of such debates, becoming something of a lightning rod for several right-wing and libertarian culture warriors who have criticised the Scottish Government for pursuing what they feel are radical 'woke' policies and curbing liberties.
But what are the issues that have made Scotland part of the global culture war? Ferret Fact Service explains.
Significant battles of the 'culture war' have been largely fought online, with the globalised nature of the internet allowing for debates and disinformation around issues such as reproductive rights, race and civil liberties to reach around the world.
Humza Yousaf's racism speech
Former first minister and SNP politician Humza Yousaf faced criticism in Scotland and across the UK during his time as first minister , but it was a relatively low-profile speech made three years before that catapulted Yousaf into the global online culture war.
While justice secretary in 2020, Yousaf made a speech in a Scottish Parliament debate entitled 'Showing solidarity with anti-racism'. It took place in June that year, just weeks after the murder of Black American George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Floyd's death sparked a series of protests across the US and the rest of the world, and brought the Black Lives Matter protest movement to global attention.
In his speech, Yousaf described his anger that racism still persists across the world, and referred to experiences of racial abuse he had faced as a Scottish Asian, since becoming an MSP.
He argued then that Scotland was not "immune" to racism, and referenced the "unconscious, the subtle, the overt, the institutional and the structural racism".
To underline his point, he went on to list senior positions across Scottish public life that were then held by white people.
Claim Humza Yousaf made anti-white speech is False
He said: "Some people have been surprised or taken aback by my mention on my social media that at 99 per cent of the meetings that I go to, I am the only non-white person in the room.
"Why are we so surprised when the most senior positions in Scotland are filled almost exclusively by people who are white? Take my portfolio, for example. The lord president? White, the lord justice clerk? White, every high court judge? White, the lord advocate? White, the solicitor general? White, the chief constable? White, every deputy chief constable? White, every assistant chief constable? White, the head of the Law Society? White, the head of the Faculty of Advocates? White, every prison governor? White.
"And not just justice. The chief medical officer? White, the chief nursing officer? White, the chief veterinary officer? White, the chief social work adviser? White, almost every trade union in the country, headed by people who are white. In the Scottish Government every director general is white. Every chair of every public body is white. That is not good enough."
This section of his speech has been clipped up and posted numerous times on social media, often accompanied by the suggestion that Yousaf is being an anti-white racist. It formed part of a lengthy speech which ended with the Glasgow Pollok MSP repeating the final words said by George Floyd as he died, ending with "I can't breathe". This phrase became a rallying call for protests against police brutality following Floyd's murder.
The debate in its entirety was posted on the Scottish Parliament's YouTube channel on 10 June 2023, and Yousaf used a portion of the speech, including the list of senior positions, on his social media channels two days later.
This speech began to get traction in Scotland and the UK a few weeks after it was posted online. It was featured in a number of YouTube clips and on...
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The so-called 'culture war' has impacted politics across the globe. Populist outsider candidates and traditional political parties are, more than ever, using ideological wedge issues to appeal to voters and criticise the values of their opponents.
In recent years, Scotland has been the focus of such debates, becoming something of a lightning rod for several right-wing and libertarian culture warriors who have criticised the Scottish Government for pursuing what they feel are radical 'woke' policies and curbing liberties.
But what are the issues that have made Scotland part of the global culture war? Ferret Fact Service explains.
Significant battles of the 'culture war' have been largely fought online, with the globalised nature of the internet allowing for debates and disinformation around issues such as reproductive rights, race and civil liberties to reach around the world.
Humza Yousaf's racism speech
Former first minister and SNP politician Humza Yousaf faced criticism in Scotland and across the UK during his time as first minister , but it was a relatively low-profile speech made three years before that catapulted Yousaf into the global online culture war.
While justice secretary in 2020, Yousaf made a speech in a Scottish Parliament debate entitled 'Showing solidarity with anti-racism'. It took place in June that year, just weeks after the murder of Black American George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Floyd's death sparked a series of protests across the US and the rest of the world, and brought the Black Lives Matter protest movement to global attention.
In his speech, Yousaf described his anger that racism still persists across the world, and referred to experiences of racial abuse he had faced as a Scottish Asian, since becoming an MSP.
He argued then that Scotland was not "immune" to racism, and referenced the "unconscious, the subtle, the overt, the institutional and the structural racism".
To underline his point, he went on to list senior positions across Scottish public life that were then held by white people.
Claim Humza Yousaf made anti-white speech is False
He said: "Some people have been surprised or taken aback by my mention on my social media that at 99 per cent of the meetings that I go to, I am the only non-white person in the room.
"Why are we so surprised when the most senior positions in Scotland are filled almost exclusively by people who are white? Take my portfolio, for example. The lord president? White, the lord justice clerk? White, every high court judge? White, the lord advocate? White, the solicitor general? White, the chief constable? White, every deputy chief constable? White, every assistant chief constable? White, the head of the Law Society? White, the head of the Faculty of Advocates? White, every prison governor? White.
"And not just justice. The chief medical officer? White, the chief nursing officer? White, the chief veterinary officer? White, the chief social work adviser? White, almost every trade union in the country, headed by people who are white. In the Scottish Government every director general is white. Every chair of every public body is white. That is not good enough."
This section of his speech has been clipped up and posted numerous times on social media, often accompanied by the suggestion that Yousaf is being an anti-white racist. It formed part of a lengthy speech which ended with the Glasgow Pollok MSP repeating the final words said by George Floyd as he died, ending with "I can't breathe". This phrase became a rallying call for protests against police brutality following Floyd's murder.
The debate in its entirety was posted on the Scottish Parliament's YouTube channel on 10 June 2023, and Yousaf used a portion of the speech, including the list of senior positions, on his social media channels two days later.
This speech began to get traction in Scotland and the UK a few weeks after it was posted online. It was featured in a number of YouTube clips and on...