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Shall I wade into Welsh Twitter's current discourse about Yes Cymru wanting right-wing support for independence? Oh go on then, why not.
On the face of it, should independence advocates support people of a more conservative mindset campaigning for independence? It isn't an issue, if we boiled it right down to needing a plurality of people in favour and we can put other stuff aside, is it?
My feeling, and I'm not saying this is how everyone else should or does feel, but my feeling is, "put other stuff aside" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Particularly at this historical moment. Particularly with a certain set of "conservatives" who are, at best, fascist-adjacent.
I think there's a few viewpoints here, and I don't really think anyone with these radically different perspectives realises that how they all frame The Situation is radically different.
I think there are well-meaning folk, the Centrist Dadists if you would, who want a bit of what the SNP have, a nice middle ground where we can all put things aside on this one subject regardless of political wing and campaign I Gymru.
Maybe there's another historical point where this was viable. I doubt it, but I'm a cynic and a radical red menace. It's certainly not viable now, not with a conservatism that's Trumpist, anti-immigrant, white supremacist, or whatever euphemism we're using today for Naziism.
I know I'm at the point where, and for the record despite everything I don't believe traditional Conservatism is automatically Naziism, I need anyone who sees themselves as Conservative to repudiate absolutely anything that even looks a little like Trumpism.
That's not what's actually happening though. To my eye conservatives are mostly absolutely happy with the white supremacist authoritarianism that currently defines the global conservative movement.
Anyone who's had the misfortune to interact with Yes Cymru/Ein Gwlad/Whatever they're calling themselves's nativist arm has seen the people they retweet, talk to, generally associate with, and plenty of those accounts are literal openly Nazi.
Before anyone comes along trumpeting that I have no proof, believe me I've got the receipts. I'm loathe to advertise for them but you just have to look at Jac O The North's love of the Confederacy, or the infamous interactions with the Wolfpack for Truth Twitter account.
The problem is, can Yes Cymru really turn round, to all of us, and say, it's better for us, for the people of Wales who are not white, or not straight, that we *put aside Naziism*? That we stand with the Nazis *just this once*?
"But I don't think they're Nazis, how are you defining Nazis?" Listen, if we've got to the point where we're quibbling if a set of people are technically Nazi, we've got to the point where you need to forcefully and clearly push that set of people away.
It's particularly important for people who, like me, are "civic nationalists", to stick that kind of folk right in the bin. Because every nationalism has a streak of "our people, our country, our blood" in it and it needs getting rid of, not tolerated for political gain.
I MEAN, IS THAT NOT THE MAIN LESSON OF OUR TIMES? THIS NIGHTMARE WORLD WE ARE CURRENTLY LIVING THROUGH?
Of less importance, but I also think Independent Socialist Soviet of Wales folk who think independence is the best route to our glorious revolution are probably barking up the wrong tree.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy with that, but all of Wales isn't quite as red as your average Valleys Commie, so the indy argument is probably going to have to be more pluralist than some folk would want it to be.
Anyway, I've said it before, I'll keep saying it: if, as I hope, we are living in the early days of a new nation, then we need to get as much right at the start as we can, because history tells us *what we are now, is what we will become*
Oh, also, if you're a paid up member of Yes Cymru make sure to advocate that their accounts are fully open, disclosed and searchable to absolutely everyone. The best way to avoid unpleasantness later on down the road, particularly with *all* politics swimming in dodgy money.
