Nationalists.....

why im proud to be Scottish and proud of my country? I was born and bred in Glasgow , and spent my formative years in govan , and latterly paisley. Scottishness is a mindset ,something you are born into , and experience everyday via family friends and others. you speak Scots , the language of our birth , taught to you by your mummy , you run around with mates who are Scottish , you grow up supporting Scottish teams ( Celtic ) and the Scottish international team , you learn about Scotlands language and history , our achievements as a small nation , and the people you live around and who you come from.

 I suspect the same thing that the members of every nation everywhere around the world feel about their own country. 

Of course I am a patriot, if one is proud of something one is then one protects the existence of that thing whatever it may be. If one is proud of being part of a winning football team then one may wish to continue winning, if one is proud of being a member of a family whose siblings are successful in business one protects that success because these are the very bases of ones pride. Of course being a patriot is also a vulnerability for those that would misuse one's patriotism for their own ends. Fortunately one can recognise that vulnerability and deal with it and make special efforts not to be misled.

This could be why the majority of voters in Scotland rejected Thomas and the Orcs. Perhaps more are like you.  It's just a guess, since I obviously don't know what everyone is thinking, but it would be somewhat moronic to throw something away out of hatred brought on by moronic negative nationalist propaganda and fantasy where the grass is always greener.

I find it hard to reconcile his Scottish Nationalism with the desire to be part of the EU and subordinate that very Nationalism to a different foreign body. I see no sense in it, we know the EU subordinate Nationalities to the EU and try and create an EU identity and capture for the EU the very Nationalistic feelings to their own ends. It is a false identity as it changes with new memberships and no doubt with its proposed expansion into North Africa and possibly Turkey then they will also become just other EU Nationals.

we have only had one go in modern history , and for the first 120 years of union , there was non stop armed uprisings trying to leave but unable to. With the unionist population receding , and a growing nationalist , I hope it won't be long now.

Two problems I can see, T: the level of immigration from the south, and the ageing population.
1. About 10% of our population were from rUK in 2011. It will be interesting to see by how much that has increased once the 2022 census info is released. Ailsa Henderson's study suggested that 72% of rUK people voted NO. blogs.sps.ed.ac.uk/scottishreferendumstudy/files/2015/03/Scottish-Referendum-Study-27-March-2015.pdf   So, a population increase stemming from rUK could well scupper a future referendum. Figures already released show Scotland's population has increased. However, that increase is not down to births against deaths in Scotland: the population would have decreased if that were the case. No, it was down to inward migration. A worrying situation!

2. An ageing population. The 9years 4 months since the referendum has seen many deaths in the +65s age group, but the question is, will those now in the retirement category be swayed by the lies e.g. on pensions, and the ridiculous suggestion that Scots would be cut off from relatives and friends out with Scotland, etc?
The people moving into retirement have lived their adult lives with a strong SNP, and have lived through the poisonous Brit Nat campaign of 2013-14. The idea of Independence has become entrenched in the minds of Scots, and the feeling Scots have of being Scottish is present in abundance (62% at the 2011 referendum stated they were Scottish only: it will be interesting to see if that has dropped when the 2022 figures are published).

Maybe my negative thoughts are misplaced.

We don't want a plethora of treacherous Unionists 'representing' Scotland, but that could happen. Many Nationalists are openly saying they won't vote SNP because the party has shown no urgency in promoting the case for Independence. I was thinking such thoughts, but now my belief is that we must hold our nose and put the X against the candidate who fights for Scotland and, like it or not, he/she will represent the SNP.
Polling evidence suggests Alba is going nowhere, but AS has said the party will contest 12 seats this year. I think that would be a mistake, and agree with James Kelly's view that Alba should only contest the list. We have to wait two years for that to come round, though.
The Greens could be a problem but with Lorna Slater saying that Independence is not a 'red line' for any negotiations with Labour, Independistas, I reckon, will be wary of backing them.

I was a member of the SNP for almost 50 years, and always voted for the party, with 2 exceptions (once for Tommy Sheridan and once for Alba). This year I will be voting SNP, even if Alba put up a candidate in Moray -extremely unlikely.
After the election, we can get stuck into Yousaf & co, and  pressurise them into actually fighting for what the party is in existence for.

You are prevaricating a bit. Pride is defined as " a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired:"
If something is widely admired then that suggests that that something is what others do not have. You may have pride in your physique but only because it is in your eyes admired by others as they do not have it, you may have pride in what you have achieved but largely because it is something that others have not achieved. You cannot be proud of what you are, and have, and in the same breath be equal in all ways to all others. You must have pride in being Scottish and from Scotland because you believe that it is something that either others admire or you know they do not have. I have pride in Britain because i believe in the lottery of life I was dealt a fine hand both culturally and socially and know that others wish that they also had a part of it and move heaven and earth to get it and of course in so doing are eroding the very things that make that so.