Trump.

I'm not preaching, this is just some commentary that I also posted on my FB page which may or may not generate some conversation here. But I wouldn't be a true hippy faggot if I didn't say anything about this. Here's a blog about the evils of money, corruption and power for you guys. :P

Yesterday I saw some of the documentary film "You've Been Trumped" in the background while doing other tasks - It was about the American billionaire Donald Trump who bought an area of the Scottish highlands to turn into a golf resort, then intimidated the local residents by publicly mocking them and their way of life in interviews, stealing their farmland (even when the title deeds were waved about infront of police and workers), cutting off their water supply (breach of human rights) and then their electricity (with a digger, caught on CCTV) in an attempt to force them to move. He also destroyed a unique SSSI in the construction process.

The police and council were on the billionaire's side, working against the residents who have always lived there. When the reporter who made the documentary asked questions about the water being cut off, he and his camera man got brutally arrested by police while they were interviewing one of the residents in their front driveway.

It's a story that I'm all too familiar with, especially after witnessing and being a victim of something similar when that development next door happened a decade ago, even if it wasn't really on the same scale as this. I've also heard of many other stories like it. But in spite of the above, I still don't understand how money, corruption and power can override basic human rights in a first world country like Scotland against its own people in this day and age. What the hell do you do when the local authorities themselves refuse to help you after a billionaire cuts off your water supply, then the police brutally arrest the reporters who investigate your situation in an attempt to silence them?

I'm just glad they managed to get the footage back from the police and include it in a documentary which they've now shown on national TV - At least free speech is allowed here, and it's also fortunate that this story was one that was told and put in the spotlight, out of the many, many similar stories like this which never see the light of day.

But reminders of corruption and injustice like this are infuriating - And it's also a reminder that laws and your rights mean nothing and won't protect you if you are unfortunate enough to get into conflict with people who have a lot more money and power than you do, even here in the UK. It's a harsh reality to be aware of, despite the illusions of a justice system.