Societat Civil Catalana and anecdotes

Being optimistic, seeing the glass half full, loving and looking after yourself, these are all good things. That’s why I loved the note that our friends at Societat Civil Catalana (1) (SCC) have sent out to the media letting us know that the rally they held last Sunday in Barcelona’s Plaça de Sant Jaume was “a success”. “This success”, they write, “has taken the nationalist media by surprise and they have not hesitated to use the anecdotal presence of the odd pre-constitutional flag (2) —which SCC has always denounced— in order to smear the good name of our association”. Smear? That would be rather pointless, given that their chairman had no choice but to step down after he was reported for making fascist threats.

Either way, every time that SCC attempts to round up its loyal following, there’s always someone waving the odd fascist flag. “At any rate” —the note goes on— “on Sunday it became apparent that a sizeable section of the Catalan population is becoming fed up with the separatist process”. A section. 3,500 people. Sizeable depends on the eye of the beholder.

They claim that their success took “the nationalist media” by surprise. How? Perhaps they were afraid that they wouldn’t even get enough people to fill the square? Would the nationalist media also be surprised by the success of Barcelona’s record fair? Anecdotal presence. That’s being optimistic, too. Does it mean that there were few Francoist flags? That there could have been more of them? It is as if I stab you, but just the one time. It would be an anecdotal stabbing.

They complain that the “nationalist” media have “used” the presence of these flags. What does use mean? Does it mean that they mentioned them? What would they have had to do to avoid using them? Perhaps do as the “non-nationalist” media and refrain from mentioning them? They claim that Societat Civil “has always denounced them unequivocally”. Now then. Denouncing them unequivocally would mean escorting the anecdotal flag-wavers away from the square. But that was likely a luxury they could not afford. Given the number of people gathered, everyone was needed.

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(1) N.T. Societat Civil Catalana (SCC or Catalan Civil Society) is a small grassroots Catalan group that opposes independence.

(2) N.T. In Spanish political talk a “pre-constitutional flag” is a euphemism for a Francoist Spanish flag, which was Spain’s official flag under General Franco until the current Constitution was approved in 1978.