Race hate has no place in Scotland and should not be tolerated
It's a depressing reality that record numbers of people across Scotland are falling victim to hate crimes.
Cases of racial and religious abuse have risen sharply in the past three years. But the vast majority of reported crimes now involve what police term a 'racial aggravator'.
It's little surprise given the hatred that is now routinely spouted on social media by cretins desperate for attention. But the real villains are the likes of Donald Trump and Nigel Farage who have forged political careers by stirring up anti-immigration rhetoric.
Right-wing populists find huge audiences online where they can easily point the finger at refugees and Muslims and blame them for all the UK's ills. Let's not forget it was the Conservatives, the party which Reform owes its very existence, who were in power throughout the 2010s.
It was Tory economics that shuttered industries in the 1980s and 1990s and condemned too many towns and villages to economic depressions they have struggled against ever since.
It was Margaret Thatcher and her cheerleaders who sold off our public utilities on the cheap, condemning consumers to line the pockets of fat cats for simply switching on the kettle or running their tap.
The UK faces difficult economic choices, like most major Western nations, and has struggled with inflation. It's no wonder some people are left angry as a result.
But blaming people who look or sound different to us is not the answer and can never be condoned. Hate has no place in Scotland and should not be tolerated.
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Online safety win
Measures to protect young people from online harm are long overdue. Social media giants have not done enough to stop their platforms from becoming a tool for abuse and bullying.
The Record has highlighted the concerns of parents who have seen what the torment can do to their children. Ruth Moss experienced every parent's worst nightmare - the loss of a child.
Her daughter Sophie took her own life in 2014 after being exposed to harmful material including the glorification of suicide. The Online Safety Act will not clean up social media entirely but as Ruth says, it is a step in the right direction.
Time and again through the Record's Our Kids...Our Future campaign we have seen the damage caused by the unchecked use of social media to bully and intimidate young people. Hopefully these welcome measures will make a positive difference.
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