You can take part!

So far, this blog has been rather one-sided on the subject of the proposed referendum on 1st October as you would expect!  But I would like to include opinions from both sides, so you are welcome to post a comment. I want to show that good personal relations can be maintained even when there is huge divergence in opinion!

I think that most people are agreed that, now, it is not so much about the pros and cons of independence, it is about the legitimacy of the referendum itself. Well, that is how I see it! I respect both opinions on independence.

Discussions about the Franco years; more money going to Madrid than comes back in kind, etc are valid points but not so much now. Or is it legitimate to use them as justification for breaking the law? And is a rejection of the law, in a sense, a declaration of independence now?

I must confess, I am rather pedantic, logical. I used to work in 0s and 1s. I take after my father who always saw things in black or white! So I see respect for the law as inviolable (If a law is open to interpretation, then it is badly written). But I am sure many people see shades of grey. Maybe it is not about politics at all! Maybe it is the logic of an engineer who has a fantasy about being a lawyer against the emotion of freedom from Madrid. It is the pragmatism of the law against the thousands of esteladas in the street - on TV! Two totally different languages. The battle between Head and Heart.

One of my Ukrainian friends wrote..... I agree with you and the Madrid government that this is all illegal and it is bad they are doing it. Maybe the government should just give them more rights in something?

Tell your Catalan friends about the situation with Ukraine.  Maybe they will change their opinion then. How men are killed in the war and how hard it is to survive here and to pay for the public utilities. I guess when people are wealthy and prosperous such ideas about the independence come to their mind. Maybe they should just concentrate on other things. Intuition tells me it will all not result in a good way.
(I replied to her that, yes, to give more rights to Catalunya would be the way forward but there is one thing which is not negotiable and that is rather blocking any progress.)