I am a nuclear extremist

by Neil Scott

Neil Scott hands in letter to the workers of Faslane... photo by John Lanigan

I’m a nuclear extremist. I hate the evil, ugly, murderous, vicious things. I hate the apathy that has been built around them by the Government and the press barons who obviously have shares in the companies profiting from the creation and maintenance of these obscenities. Companies such as the publically controlled RBS (the Government own 70% of RBS after a massive bailout using your money) and SERCO, a company with interests in the UK ranging from care homes and hospitals to the maintenance and running of Faslane Nuclear Submarine base.

 I could quote you statistics, and huge figures of money (such as the £3bn investments RBS makes in companies developing nuclear weapons), but I think it is hard to think of these weapons in terms of money.


And then there are the jobs. One of the first arguments the supporters of these mass killing devices turn to is the money. And I sing, 
“Is it worth it A new winter coat and shoes for the wife And a bicycle on the boys birthday… Within weeks they'll be re-opening the shipyards And notifying the next of kin…”


If you don’t get the reference it is the lyrics of the Elvis Costello penned song, “Shipbuilding,” a song about the seeming dichotomy between jobs and money for working class people, and their building warships that will ultimately be used to kill people. To me there is no dichotomy, and hence my opening sentence. Besides the expense of these vile objects, their raison d’être is to kill, indiscriminately, thousands, if not millions of people. The fact that there are 225 nuclear warheads in or around the Clyde – more than the rest of Europe put together, is bad enough. Have no doubt, the jobs on the Clyde and beyond are jobs created to manufacture, maintain and deliver something that if launched would mean the deaths of innocent families, children, mothers and fathers. 


 There is a minimum sentence for concealing a murder weapon of ten years. To conceal a weapon does not necessarily mean you used the weapon or even planned to. To profit or to make a livelihood around weapons of murder is despicable and the law agrees. 


 So, there is no dichotomy. The companies and people currently employed in profiting from these weapons are guilty. The Government is guilty. A vote for independence and a rejection of these murder machines is a condemnation of them. And what of the jobs? Let’s make it clear, anyone employed there at the moment is concealing murder weapons – weapons that have been created to kill indiscriminately. 


“Its all were skilled in We will be shipbuilding With all the will in the world Diving for dear life When we could be diving for pearls.” 


Let’s dive for pearls and create jobs that help sustain life. 


 Am I an extremist to reject mass killing? 


 Faslane Peace Camp is 30 years old this month. We are travelling up on 28th June to sing, act and shout, assembling at the Peace Camp at 11am. Come join us reject the war-machine on our beautiful shore.