Saturday 31 July 2010

Comment on the article "The land of ban", by the Economist

As we are "the land of ban", we should ban every article that is written with some ill-informed journalist, talking about things that does not seem to know, from a place where everything that comes from their peripheries sound like an attack to the sacred unity of the (ex-)empire.

It seems very difficult to understand how we, Catalans, can continue to be annexed to such totalitarian way of thinking. Do you tolerate diversity? Democracy? Freedom of choice? If not, then, we, Catalans, better leave this and become an independent Nation. Yes, I said Nation. The same word that has been forbidden (hmmm, were we -Catalonia- the land of ban?) from an already meager Charter, something that was written by our representatives elected democratically, and then, was voted by our people -Catalans, of course-, and later endorsed by the Spanish Parliament -another elected organ- but what several judges -not voted in any election, cut and interpreted following Franco's frameworks. The same judges who have inserted up to fourteen times "Spain in the only sovereign nation in Spain". Fourteen times! Do they think Catalans are idiots?

To this, I answer that Catalans are not idiots, and that we shall become independent in the near future. Due to, and among other reasons, this type of reactions from the Spanish cavern. As follows, ability to not tolerate diversity, ability to plunder some €60M/day from Catalonia, lack in investments for infrastructure, magnificent and extraordinary waiting lists in the Health Service, lack of investment in Education, discrimination against Catalonia's own language in our own land. And I leave a few more.

Perhaps we are not "the land of ban" more than others try to ban us from existing. At the end of the day, our bans, like the ban on burkhas is made to protect women from that barbaric tradition of having to cover their faces "in the name of God", and the ban on bullfighting to extend the protection of animals to bulls too.

One recommendation to your journalist, do not come to Catalonia, perhaps you will be next one to be banned from entering. Or maybe we shall perform one last "corrida" using him as the object of fun, parody and ridiculous. Drugging him, sawing his horns and severing his neck ligaments prior to being teased, hooked, stabbed and finally dragged along the ring, while his killer waves his ears and perhaps his tail to the public. Would you prefer the "corrida" be banned then?

Jordi  Margalef
Catalunya Acció UK

The full article can be seen by clicking on the following link http://www.economist.com/node/16706413?story_id=16706413

17 comments:

  1. Dear Jordi,

    I will make sure The Economist editor receives your article to his e-mail, so that they can see what is Catalunya Acció about.

    Reading your article one would thing you are leaving in the 40's, subjugated by some fascist powers which do now let you be yourself, with all your feelings and political ideas.

    My bad, you almost get me sympathetic to your cause. Your last paragraph made my day: "One recommendation to your journalist, do not come to Catalonia, perhaps you will be next one to be banned from entering"

    I can now very easily see what is the catalan nationalism. You guys are even worse than that guy you hate that much aka Franco. You guys do not tolerate anything that is not in the way you want, and you think you can just ask somebody to not come to your region.

    I will make sure all my UK fellas read this, and I bet you, you will be creating the hell of a huge number of UK people against your archaic catalan nationalism.

    Cheers.

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  2. Please do, today better than tomorrow. We are waiting.

    I'm sorry if this is not the answer that you might expect from subdued Catalans, but you must remember that Catalans are winning people. More than you think.

    Good luck.

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  3. Catalans are losers, not winners. Why is that you are still part of Spain? Portugal isn´t, and they have been under the same conditions from 1580 to 1640. Catalans will always be a people of servants to spanish imperialism.

    Luis, the imperialist.

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  4. Philip IV of Castile and III of Catalonia chose to keep colonizing Catalonia instead of Portugal, probably because the Spaniards have always considered Portugal to be a country where poverty and misery were rife. Thus, Spain were unable to loot Portugal in the same measure as Catalonia. Who would you choose if you were Philip IV, poverty or wealth? First reason, we are wealthier.

    And also, we are winners, otherwise we would not be Catalans any more. Yet, we have resisted colonizations, invasions, massacres exile and more plunder. Support for our independence grows day by day, you like it or not, thanks the inestimable help by Spain and their agents. Remember the words of the Catalan philosopher Francesc Pujols: "Catalan thinking always resprouts, despite its dreamer undertakers".

    Thanks for your encouraging support, Luis the imperialist.

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  5. Are you joking?

    Portugal was the "owner" of a world empire. The richest country by far at the time. Portugal had the domination os the atlantic and the indian oceans. The monopoly of trade with africa, brasil and asia. He didn´t chose between one or the other. Both fought for independence. The most powerful go their independence. So Philip IV minimized losses and concentrated on the weekest (catlonia).

    Portugal has always been richer than Spain. It only changed in 1974. and it will go back to normal.

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  6. And what have you got left of such "magnificent Empire"? Azores, Madeira and the names of the streets in Angola, Brazil, Goa and Macau. Great heritage.

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  7. We were talking at the time, 16th century. We have heritage sites. Cultural affinities.

    What what does catalonya have for you to want to artificially separate it from spain?

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  8. To achieve the same artificial separation than Portugal achieved from Spain in the 17th Century. Remember that you are independent because Castile had a two-front war at the time. Should you had revolted alone, the Castilian armies would have marched over you and would speak Spanish now.

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  9. Never.

    Portugal was independend fro 1143 to 1580. Castille had to keep the 2 kingdoms as separate ones to "keep us happy". We got our independence back in 1640. It is true that we benefited from the two-front war. But even we didn´t we wouldn´t get our independence in 1640 but I bet we would have got it before 1700. We are not like catalans, we don´t submit ourselves.

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  10. I am grateful that this debate has opened my eyes to the situation - the hypocritical ban on bullfighting whilst allowing the correbous, the failure to mention the support for bullfighting in French Cataluña. The ban on your children from being taught in their native tongue seems like a dictatorship to me. And Spanish is a world language, it is to their advantage to speak it fluently. I am a teacher, and was going to bring a party of 40 students to Barcelona. I think it will be somewhere else in Spain now - Cataluña seems, from the outside and to someone new to this issue, to be bigotted and intolerant.

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  11. You are wrong Jordi,

    He would still speak Portuguese, as you speak Catalan. Your hatred against Spain does not allow you to see the reality.

    You guys did not suffer more that any other part of Spain in the dictatorship, and you still are one of those ignorants who think that Franco was a Spaniard against Catalonia instead of a Galician who fucked up the whole country.

    You should be against Franco and dictatorship, not against Spain, since as far as I know, since Spain recovered the Democracy, you guys have the last word in language, education and a lot more than any region in Europe.

    Thus, your hatred against Spain is only understandable if its based on hatred feelings, lies, manipulation of the History, a totally ignorance knowledge of what is Spain nowadays.

    Spain is not Franco anymore. Spain is an old nation that has overcome one guy's radical nationalism, the spanish nationalism of Franco, and which has now to fight another one, catalan nationalism of people like you.

    Both are xenophobic, fascist and intolerant. And both will have the whole World against them.

    Because we are talking about the freedom of Catalonia nor catalans, we are talking about nationalism.

    Back in the days, the freedom was in the side of the catalans, galicians and all other peoples from Spain. The bad guys were the spanish nationalists.

    Today, the freedom is in the side of Spain and the Democracy, the side of the Law, and the bad guys today are you guys, the catalan nationalists.

    I guess Hitler was right when said that he was not a patriot but a nationalist.

    You gotta love your motherland, whichever it is, but there is no reason beyond some lies and hatred feelings to support the catalan nationalism ideology.

    And I am sorry, because if there were any I would deff support you guys. That's not the case though, and is the Nation of Spain the one now suffering the consequences of an archaic nationalism.

    Cheers.

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  12. To Philip Roberts,

    Seeing that "French Cataluna" hurts our eyes. Should you have said "Northern Catalonia"? Perhaps, but better say it in the Spanish way.

    Anyway, if I have helped to made your mind out regarding not to take 40 students of Spanish to Catalonia, you should thank me, then. Otherwise, your students would have realized that "Catalonia is something different". Imagine for a moment, that the families where these students had to be lodged in, even though they are mostly forbidden to speak in Catalan in front of the student, one of them did! Sacrilege! Your student had to be decontaminated!
    Who is the bigoted and the intolerant? Who does not accept diversity? Where is the dictatorship?

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  13. I suppose that you speak with vast knowledge about the relationships Spain-Catalonia, and you understand why "the bad guys" want to be independent from "the good guys" Spain. Because as any other Nation, Catalonia was neither better nor worse than any other Nation in the World.

    Beginning by the economical looting of Catalonia. The Spanish government published some balances in 2008, recognizing that 8.9% of Catalan GDP never returns to Catalonia. Would we be better Catalans if we let remove a 15% of the GDP and not getting angry? FYI: By law, Germany -a lot richer than Spain- cannot take more than a 3% of a region's GDP before compromising its growth.

    Second, you talk about Spanish democracy. And I think you know the recent ruling of the Spanish judges about the Catalan Statute. It was passed in the Catalan Parliament, voted by Catalans, accepted by the Spanish Parliament and signed by the King of Spain. But revoked by the judges, who overruled all the above, to your happiness.

    Third, at least half a million Catalans want independence now. It has been demonstrated by "illegal polls" -may ever a poll be illegal?-, organized by citizens and civilian organizations. Your "democratic" Spain has forbidden them, and yet, Catalans are still voting, city by city, town by town. Including foreigners and older than 16, who cannot vote in an official election.

    Fourth, you mention "more than any other country in Europe". Are you saying that we have more powers in these matters than Spain or France? Are we independent already and I did not know?

    As I said in other messages, you might like it or not, but we will achieve independence, and we will share seats in the United Nations, European Union, NATO, OEDC, and the rest, with Spain, France, USA, UK, Germany... unless Catalans do not want it.
    I'm sorry.

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  14. To Philip Roberts,

    Dear Philip, I am really sorry to hear that. Spain is a wonderful and diverse country, and the region of Catalonia too. It's people is wonderful and lovely.

    Unfortunately, there is a minority who thinks as the author of this blog, who would even behead the freedom of speech of anybody who has a non nationalistic ideology.

    Catalonia survived the spanish nationalism back in the days. It will also survive the catalan one.

    Meantime, I invite you to go to the other parts of the Nation. I know by friends that the south is also beautiful.

    Cheers.

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  15. Dear theCalifornian, Spain is a wonderful but not diverse country.

    Unfortunately, there is a majority of Catalans who want independence from Spain, such as the author of this blog who are tired of hearing the bullshit of the non-nationalistic ideology.

    Catalonia has survived the Spanish nationalism of today, and we will erect ourselves as the independent nation we deserve to be. Then, we, perhaps, will be welcome in other parts of the holly and sacred Spain.

    Thanks for recommending Philip Roberts to get out of our country.

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  16. As a Catalan myself we are a country of Idiots. We are loud, lazy, stupid morons who have no concept of a "new europe" who are tall talk but no action, who are afraid to make decisions (actually all europeans) who are in fact a pathetic little want to be country. We've not been a country since 1479. We are SPANISH, SPANISH and those who think otherwise, like you sir, are, for lack of a better term, cretins, idiots, morons, buffoons, well you get my drift, oh mr. male nurse who left his "country" to live in a cold and rainy island because most likely, Catalunya failed you, like it fails daily. to this I bid you an adéu.

    Moron.

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  17. Jacint, I see you like swearing. Apply it to yourself first, though. Obviously, there is "something" here, in this blog or in Catalonia, that has made you jump and lose your temper. We actually celebrate it. But, what have you got left after such long string of offensive words? Probably nothing else, like all Spaniards.

    You forget, intentionally and with clearly with the intention to intoxicate, the Northern Catalonia, a little part of Catalonia that belongs to France. They are not Spanish, nor they want to be. However, they are Catalans, what do you do with them?

    And should you prefer to belong to Spain, please do. Nobody will stop you from feeling Spanish, and if you had Spanish passport, even better! One less job to do, given the occasion of having to choose what nationality you would prefer to belong to.

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