The vile racial slurs directed at Health Secretary Humza Yousaf are shameful.
The online abuse he has suffered means he no longer engages with his Twitter followers or even looks at his account.
Yousaf says the insults leave their mark, especially when his family are involved.
He is being targeted simply because of his skin colour and Asian heritage.
The abuse has nothing to do with the daily stick politicians have to put up with. It is Islamophobia, plain and simple, and it is beyond contempt.
This is the second time in a few days that Scotland has been embarrassed by racists.
Yousaf’s revelations come after one of our most famous actors, James McAvoy, expressed his regret at bringing his West End show Cyrano de Bergerac to Glasgow.
The X-Men star told how female cast members were subjected to racist and sexist abuse on a daily basis and how he couldn’t wait to leave his home town.
Further afield, the Royal Family were embroiled in a race row after a black British charity worker was asked where she “really”came from by one of the late Queen’s ladies-in-waiting.
All of these stories tells us that Scotland and the rest of the UK has a long way to go when it comes to getting rid of outdated attitudes.
We must strive to create a country where we are blind to the colour of someone’s skin.
And we must call out all those who would drag us backwards to an intolerant past.
A great example
Scottish families with disabled kids will receive an additional £60million to help them get by during the current cost of living crisis.
The Child Disability Payment (CDP) has proved to be a game changer for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in our society.
It’s also a great example of what extra powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament can do to make our country fairer.
The Tories have been a disaster since coming to power 12 years ago but the creation of Universal Credit has to be one of their worst policies.
Poverty is on the rise and the use of food banks is at a record high, while not enough is being done at a UK level to ease the pressure on families.
The CDP proves that the Scottish Parliament can make a difference, so it’s time that more powers were devolved so we can help the
most vulnerable.
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