Is David Starkey Senile ?

David Starkey criticised after comparing SNP to Nazis

TV historian under fire after likening Saltire to swastika and the SNP's view of the English to Adolf Hitler's anti-Semitism.

David Starkey has come under fire after controversially comparing the Scottish National Party to the Nazis during an interview.

The historian and TV presenter said both groups have a “twisted cross” as their symbol – the Saltire and the swastika – and likened the SNP’s view of the English to Adolf Hitler’s anti-Semitism.

The comments were criticised as “irresponsible” and “deeply offensive” by a new SNP MP after the party won 56 of 59 seats in Scotland last month,

Mr Starkey made the comments during an interview with The Sunday Times, saying: “What are the points of comparison?

“Well, we have a political movement that has a single historic explanation for why your country is facing such terrible oppression; it's either Versailles or the Treaty of the Union.

“You have a particular group of people who are responsible for this; it is either the English or the Jews.”

He went on: “You have as a symbol the twisted cross: the saltire or the swastika. You have a passionate belief in economic self-sufficiency: known by the Nazis as autarky and the Scots as oil.

“And also you have the propensity of your elderly and middle-aged male supporters to expose their knees,' he said, passing comment on the traditional dress of Scotland and Germany.”

Nothing wrong in calling out the nationalism of the SNP, or nationalism generally.  Nothing wrong with a bit of hyperbole either, although comparing people to Nazis does generally tend to be frowned upon.

And as for the symbol of the SNP, well yes there was an unfortunate angled version of the clootie at one point, and indisputably, it does rather resemble a noose.  What the logo of the SNP is NOT is...the saltire.  It may be based upon the Saint Andrew's Saltire, yes.  As is...this old thing:

And actually, the offset Saint Patrick's Saltire in that flag could arguably be called a 'twisted cross' if you look at it just right.  Which says what about the Irish ? (Well nothing, obviously)  That flag by the way is the flag of the United Kingdom.  Maybe you forgot ?  What it is not is the symbol of the ruling Conservative party.  That would be this (which in its current incarnation is shamelessly nationalistic itself I must say):

And lest we forget, and I'm sometimes guilty of this myself, half the people of Scotland voted against the SNP in the last elections, however many seats they may have won under first-past-the-post.  The SNP is NOT Scotland.  And the Clootie is NOT the Saltire.

In other words:

≠

One is a logo for a political party.  One is...a flag.


Shit, now I'm starting to feel like Father Ted:

* And yes, I do realise that Starkey was probably speaking about the way in which the flag of Scotland is used a symbol by nationalists, just as the Cross of St. George is used by such disparate groups as the BNP and supporters of the England Football-Squad.  Yes, flags can be used as political symbols, but it's just stupid to conflate a political party with an entire nation, and if Starkey were talking about the Scottish people, rather than a political party, then what would we call that but racist ?

And while it might make some sense to compare the SNP's logo (the old angled version especially) to a 'twisted cross', it just doesn't make sense to me for the Saltire.  'Crooked cross', maybe (not that we know for certain at what angles the Romans placed their wooden crosses for the crucifixion to which all these crosses on flags symbolically refer).  But calling it a 'twisted' cross is just pushing the language to its limits.  Is perhaps 'twisting' it in fact.