Thanks for this Bill - very comprehensive!
While I was fully aware of his view on violence towards women, I had not raised it here because it was not relevant to the discussions that were current. But I think you are right to highlight it now, since some people appear overly sensitive about him, and seem to want to protect his reputation, and to promote his causes.
For the record, all that I have said in public on this forum is (paraphrasing):
He chooses not to live here.
He is not my first choice of ambassador for Scotland.
He advertised Japanese whisky.
He is my favourite Bond.
These are undisputable facts (the second are fourth are my opinions, so you have to take them on trust

). And if anyone infers from that that I want to do him down, then they are wrong. He can do that for himself very well without any help from me

.
I know many of the men who post on this forum, and I do not believe that any one of them would hold – or espouse - the view that it is OK to slap a woman. Domestic violence is – sad to say - a brutal fact of life. But for a public figure like Sean Connery to be taking this stance – and remain relatively unchallenged on it – is astonishing, in my opinion.
And as for suspicions that this is part of some anti-SNP rant on my part, then sorry to disappoint: I have several friends in the SNP - some rather senior (male
and female) - who are extremely uncomfortable about how closely their party aligns itself to Sean Connery. And I am not surprised.
My concern is that I think it looks bad on Scotland if this is – allegedly – one of our icons – a role model. Can you imagine the outcry if, say, a famous footballer said that? Or a pop-star, or TV presenter? Surely, they would be drummed off whatever celebrity show they were on at the time. And quite right too. Seriously, the double standards are beyond comprehension. No wonder he stays away from these shores.
