My Scottish hospital waiting room experience [View all]

I was in a Scottish hospital two days ago, the day before Alex Pretti was murdered. The waiting room was near capacity. The TV was on, BBC, discussing NATO/Greenland. I could hear Trump's name being muttered in the din of patients. You can anticipate hearing that everywhere in Scotland these days.

I said to those waiting, in a friendly voice and with a smile, "Are you all bad mouthing my president? I'm about to sing the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner to ya'll." The room laughed, a bit nervously. I said, "It's okay. I think he's a complete ass. And if there's any American in here who disagrees, don't bother as I don't have the energy for you." The room relaxed, a bit curious about me. A patient in the next chair responded the way most Europeans do, politely and diplomatically, by complaining about their own govt leaders. He said there were parts of the UK that are dirty and need to be spiffed up (a safe comment in a room full of Brits likely of a different mindset). I said, "Yeah, your country is dealing with issues of cleanliness while the US is grappling with fascism. Be glad because it could be worse." He asked if I'd come over to the UK because of Trump. I said, "He was inaugurated about the 3rd week of January, and my family and I were out of the US by the end of February, so, yes."

The Scots then started talking about their own travails. I just listened.
My name was called, and I held up my fingers, said, "Peace," and followed the RN to the appointment.

I have been slamming the 🍊 pedophile every chance possible but as I feel is appropriate to the occasion/culture. I've found that most Scots are very aware of what is going on behind all the noise/propaganda, so it's like speaking to the choir. Nobody likes that 🍊 POS. Scots are the friendliest people you'd ever want to meet, and when a tragedy strikes beyond their borders, they feel it, too.