An Englishman, an Irishman, and a Scotsman walk into a bar.
They’re laughing and joking and generally having a fabulous time.
Fast-forward five hours, the bar now looks like a crime scene.
What the hell has happened?
Is this just another day in Britain’s notorious yob culture?
No, it’s not.
This is the day two guys started arguing over the 2023 Scottish referendum.
The my country is better than your country debate should never involve copious amounts
of booze… 7.
We’ll come back to Scotland soon, but let’s start with a fairly peaceful archipelago that
is made up of 181 islands.
It’s called Bermuda, and it’s in the Atlantic Ocean, about 643 miles (1,035 km) from the
US mainland.
It’s also one of the most picturesque places on the planet.
We imagine you’d love to go there.
Some of you would like to live there, but that will not happen unless you are stinking
rich.
Bermuda is one of the most expensive places in the world.
If you want to get yourself a three-bedroom apartment in the popular Hamilton Parish,
you might be paying about $6,500 a month in rent.
A meal for two might set you back $160.
A coffee $7.
A head of lettuce $5.70.
Bermuda is presently a British Overseas Territory.
The English landed there centuries ago, and in 1616, they sent the first African slaves
there.
About half of the 70,000 or so people living in Bermuda now are descendants of those slaves.
Bermuda was just one of many English colonies in the Americas where African slaves toiled
in horrible conditions while Europeans got incredibly rich.
Even today, wealthy people exploit Bermuda because they use it as a tax haven.
You’ll often find quite a few billionaires living it up in mansions hidden off the main
roads.
Being merely a millionaire in Bermuda is par for the course.
So, imagine living there and being poor?
What a drag.
Just buying milk could be a strain on the finances.
In 2016, 1,843 people didn’t have a job in Bermuda.
Almost three-quarters of them were black.
92% of Bermuda’s homeless population back then was also black.
5,341 people didn’t have any kind of health coverage, and 77% of those people were black.
Economic inequality has led to discrimintaion in this island state.
What is a person supposed to do in a prohibitively expensive place?
Even the tourists in Bermuda are mostly well-off.
Maybe things would change if Bermuda became a country.
That’s exactly what many people want.
If you endeavor to make serious changes, it would be better to have independence.
Right now, governance still falls under the United Kingdom.
Bermuda has its own passport.
It has its own national soccer team, but it’s not yet a country.
Some say Bermuda needs to grow a bit more before it becomes a country, but many say
the time is right now.
The Mayor of Hamilton recently said, “There’s absolutely no reason at all why we should
become independent.”
Still, he said it might take time.
Bermuda had a referendum in 1995.
Only 59% of the population turned out, though.
74% voted to stay with the UK.
Nonetheless, that was 1995; some think now is the right time for a change.
They say for too long black people have been “treated like second-class citizens,”
and “racial discrimination” is still rife.
Imagine being the ancestor of enslaved people and unable to live comfortably in the place
your ancestors pretty much built.
It’s not acceptable in today’s world.
Expect Bermuda to upset the global order soon.
We bet you’ve never even heard of this next place.
Now the big question is: could the United States go the way of Bermuda –
Allow me to explain…
Different regions of the united states are facing different macroeconomic situations
Out of control inflation, collapsing markets, foreclosures, and evictions
It has even been suggested that major states like California and New York could move to
break away from the rest of the union Such upheaval of the global economic order
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That should help putting your mind at ease – almost as if you were relaxing on a tropical
desert isle Speaking of tropical desert isles…
6.
What would you say if we asked you where Chuuck was?
Any takers on that question?
Well, like Bermuda, it’s insanely beautiful.
It’s currently a part of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).
The FSM used to be administered by the US, but then in 1979, it became an independent
nation.
In 1986, it entered the Compact of Free Association with the US.
This is what the US Department of Interior says about that:
“Under the Compact, the United States provides financial assistance, defends the FSM's territorial
integrity, and provides uninhibited travel for FSM citizens to the U.S.
In return, the FSM provides the United States with unlimited and exclusive access to its
land and waterways for strategic purposes.”
But Chuuk has wanted out of the FSM for some time now.
Many Chuukese have been screaming for it, but some folks are against it.
Things might change very soon because the Compact agreement with the US runs out in
2023, and the US has said if Chuuk became a country, there’s no way it will be getting
another deal like that.
Why is this tiny place so important?
It’s because Chuuk is considered a strategic location.
It seems that China likes Chuuk, too.
It spent $50 million recently building roads on Chuuk.
Everyone wants a bit of Chuuk, and soon we might see an independent Chuuk making its
own mind up about who its best friends are.
The vote for independence keeps getting postponed, but it’s going to happen soon.
It’s a great place for a vacation but getting there is a pain in the backside.
Maybe you’d prefer to visit this next possible new nation.
5.
This next place is also out of the way in the Pacific Ocean.
Its name is the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
It’s presently still part of Papua New Guinea, one of the least developed places on the planet,
not far from Australia.
People have been living on Bougainville island for around 29,000 years.
Right now, about 250,000 people live there.
In the past, as Europeans were sailing around the ocean looking for new places, they found
people on Bougainville living what you might call an elementary kind of lifestyle.
Over the years, the island was occupied many times, including by the Germans, the Australians,
the Japanese, and the Americans.
But it got its name from a French admiral named Louis Antoine de Bougainville.
The people there are probably sick of being ruled by western outsiders but also by neighbors.
Not so long ago, Bougainville was involved in a war with Papua New Guinea, which resulted
in about 20,000 deaths.
That’s a lot, considering how few people live in Bougainville and Papua New Guinea.
These people, living without any of the comforts most westerners have, are hardy as hell.
They also want to break free, and they’d probably do just fine if they were independent.
Bougainville has plenty of expensive natural resources.
Just one copper mine there is worth about $58 billion, and that’s a lot of money for
people who can live off the land.
Still, we imagine they won’t be seeing much of the cash.
Cash rarely trickles down from the hands of the elites.
In 2019, they voted for independence, and 98.31% voted for Leave, but the vote was non-binding.
Still, they will try again to get their independence soon.
It might not come next year, but it will almost certainly come soon.
This next place couldn’t be any more different.
4.
It’s called Rojava, which is technically right now part of Syria.
The full name is the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
This is a place that certainly knows conflict.
It’s been part of the ongoing Syrian war and has been fighting internally since some
people want independence, and some want to stay with Syria.
This fighting was called the Rojava conflict.
There has been a ton of social rebellion there, with factions shouting for democratic rights,
women’s rights, religious freedom, and the freedom to speak your mind, all the good stuff.
This had led to various complicated conflicts.
It’s not unusual to see women walking down the street with machine guns.
Conflict, unfortunately, also results in casualties, but many people just want freedom and rights
and to lay down their arms.
It can also say it is one of the only places to have well and truly kicked the butts of
ISIS.
In 2019, it was reported, “We announce today the destruction of the so-called Islamic State
Organization and the end of its ground control in its last pocket in Baguoz region.”
The area is not like much of Syria.
It’s said to be full of anarchists, and you’ll find many atheists and even communists
there.
It’s always dreamt of a revolution and freedom, and maybe it will indeed soon become the independent
Rojava.
There’s a much better chance this place will become independent, though.
3.
New Caledonia is another place in the Pacific Ocean, but this time it's France that is the
administrator.
New Caledonia is 11,000 miles (17,000 km) from France and much closer to Australia,
but the French get to say what goes down there.
You’d probably like to pay a visit, too, since it is majestic in appearance.
You’d likely have to speak a bit of French to get by, but there are something like 28
local languages there.
This might give you a clue as to why it wants to become its own country.
New Caledonian society doesn’t really have much in common with France.
You won’t find many people hanging out at the local store, drinking black coffee, chain-smoking
Gitanes, and talking about the existential dread of being a human.
These New Caledonians take it all in their stride.
The British explorer James Cook knew that when he turned up to shock the hell out of
the locals in 1774.
In 1884, the French colonized it and later sent over about 22,000 criminals to stay in
one of France’s notorious penal colonies.
These days there are lots of ethnic groups there and also descendants of the Europeans,
bringing the population to 271,407.
In 2018, people voted for independence, but most of them wanted to stay part of France.
In 2021, another referendum happened, and the result was much closer.
In 2021, pro-independence parties boycotted the vote, saying the pandemic had made it
hard to campaign.
They still want to split, and they want the UN to organize the voting.
They say they realize France wants to have a foothold in this part of the Pacific, and
they know that China wants the same.
That’s why they are saying, let’s us break free, and we’ll keep being good friends
with France while dissing China.
One of the pro-independence activists told the Guardian, “The sense of identity is
growing, the goal of independence is still alive … Over the years, we have built a
multicultural society – prisoners’ descendants of the penal colony, labor migrants, political
dissidents.
We have worked to build a shared common solidarity to bring people together.”
We guess it’s only a matter of time before New Caledonia can say it is a nation unto
itself.
This next place would also like to become independent, but we think it will be a giant
struggle to make it happen.
2.
In 2017, Spain banned an independence referendum with what the BBC called a heavy police presence.
People were arrested.
Folks were dragged through the streets by their hair.
Some of them went to jail.
The place that was vying for independence was Catalonia.
This is a quite a big chunk of Spain and contains the wonderful city of Barcelona.
Catalonia is very, very important to Spain, and we doubt it will be getting independence
next year, but the good news is that at least those folks thrown in prison in 2017 were
released in 2021.
Nonetheless, many of the people in Catalonia still want to live in their own country.
Why?
You might ask.
Well, that’s like asking a historian why the wheel has been useful.
It’s complicated.
Part of it is because Catalonia has always had its own distinct traditions.
It’s also been wealthy throughout the years.
It now makes up about 19% of the entire Spanish GDP.
There are 7.5 million people living there, and they have their own language, unique culture,
and customs.
Catalonia didn’t have much autonomy under the Spanish fascists, and then later, when
it became a part of democratic Spain, it got a lot of its freedom back.
Freedom, though, just wasn’t enough for some people.
We guess you can now understand why the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona football match is such
a passionate affair.
Then when the banking industry caused global suffering in 2008, people in Catalonia started
saying the Spanish government was robbing it.
The separatists grew in numbers and made it known in the streets.
In 2014, there was a referendum, but it wasn’t binding and was not recognised by the Spanish
government.
When they tried that again in 2017, the separatists said 90% of Catalonians wanted independence.
As you know, Spain threw some of them in prison.
This didn’t make for a happy marriage.
For some, it’s still not a happy marriage.
Although according to a survey in 2022, 52% of Catalans are now against independence,
and 41% are in favor of it.
Some of those guys are still angry about being beaten up by the Spanish cops for nothing
more than airing their views.
We still doubt that independence will happen, but it will be very close if it goes to the
vote.
Some pro-independence politicians say that allowing people to vote would be the legal
thing and right to do.
Spain says, nah, you aint going nowhere, and anyway, we’d miss your “Escudella i carn
d’olla.”
Now for that fight, we talked about in the intro.
Sure, we made it up, but trust us, the English and Scottish have been fighting since Jesus
Christ was just a twinkle in Mary’s eye.
Well, the people that lived in those areas back then, before England and Scotland became
a thing.
1.
If you’re ever in Scotland, one of the best and most frightening things to do is visit
one of the rough-and-tumble working-class pubs you can find in any city.
Not only will you struggle to understand a word anyone says, but you’ll likely see
for yourself that Scottish folks can be a bit blustery after a few drinks.
It can be intense, which is an eye-opening cultural experience.
You might pick up the courage to talk to someone about their country’s wonderful history.
You might even understand a sentence every ten minutes or so.
But whatever you do, don’t be so ignorant as to think that Scotland is just a part of
England.
If you say that, you may well discover what it’s like to get on the wrong side of Scottish
hospitality.
Scotland is certainly not a part of England.
It’s part of Britain, and while it shares a lot of cultural traditions with England
and Wales, it also has its own distinct culture.
And trust us, many people there don’t want to be a part of Britain.
They want an independent Scotland.
They don’t trust those Eton-educated brats in Parliament to run their country.
They might even be anti-English, anti-monarchy, although they often have a soft spot for people
in the north of England who they might consider as having suffered as much as them under the
rule of aristocratic titans.
The Scottish fought numerous wars with the English throughout the centuries, and Scotland
was independent in the past.
After the country became part of Great Britain in 1707, people still wanted independence
through the years.
Scotland later got its own government but not independence.
The two things are very different.
In the 20th century, you could walk into Scottish pubs to see people wearing t-shirts that said
things such as “BLEEP the Queen.”
It’s always been this way.
In 2014, there was the Scottish independence referendum.
People were asked: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
Amazingly, 85% of Scots voted.
That’s a really high number for a public vote. 44.7% of voters said “Yes” and 55.3%
answered “No.”
So, so close.
Then Brexit happened and things started to change.
Those Eton boys who were leading Britain were partying it up while locking everyone else
down.
They were considered liars.
It felt as if they thought they were part of a different class.
Many of the working English folks have had enough, but many of the Scottish have had
it up to here.
If they were upset back in 2014, they are raging like flames on a funeral pyre right
now, singing songs about the death of the union.
Then in 2022, the leader of the Scottish government said there should be a referendum on Scottish
independence in 2023.
The UK Supreme Court is currently looking at this, but if it goes ahead, we are quite
sure that the results won’t be the same as the 2014 vote.
Now you need to watch “Insane Story of Cannibal Clan that Terrorized Europe.”
Or, have a look at “When Royal Inbreeding Went Horribly Wrong.”