James McAvoy is one of the finest Scottish acting talents of his generation. The Glasgow-born star has built a stellar reputation on stage and screen over more than two decades.
When he brought the hit West End hit production of Cyrano de Bergerac to Scotland earlier this year, it was hailed as a triumphant homecoming. It was anything but for McAvoy.
The actor said his female co-stars received “sexually explicit and violent” abuse on a daily basis while in the city. It got so bad that he went on stage each night regretting the decision to bring the show to Glasgow.
It is shocking that one of our finest actors couldn’t wait to get out of his home town because of the racial and sexist abuse of his co-stars. His quotes are hard to read for anyone who views Scotland as a modern progressive country.
We rightly call out outdated attitudes towards minorities across the world. The opposition to Qatar’s backwards laws against the LBTQ+ community is as robust in Scotland as it is anywhere.
But here in our midst, in our biggest city, we have actors repelled by the hostility they have received because of their race and gender. It is unacceptable and we cannot blame our politicians. Our laws are modern and progressive when it comes to equality.
We all have a duty to challenge attitudes we too often condone or turn a deaf ear to and call them out. Scotland is a great country but it can and must be better.
Our own war zone
When you think of a humanitarian crisis you imagine the Red Cross flying into war zones but now Scotland is heading for its own version in healthcare.
In excess of three-quarters of a million people are languishing on waiting lists for treatment, outpatient appointments or tests, some of which will determine if a patient has cancer.
Add to that the meltdown at accident and emergency departments where almost two in every five people are having to wait longer than they should.
GPs are unable to help with a staffing crisis in the primary sector affecting a third of all practices.
Every one of the figures on waiting lists are patients in pain or in fear of a serious illness and it is a scandal that in one of the wealthiest countries in the world they are having to wait up to two years to be seen.
The NHS is in danger of collapse and something must be done with haste to stop the demise of our greatest asset.
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