Regarding full disclosure I
have published Phil’s last two books; ‘Downfall;
How Rangers FC self-destructed’ (2012) and ‘Minority Reporter. Modern
Scotland’s bad attitude towards her own Irish’ (2013).
That people of all colours and creeds are welcome at
Ibrox is a welcome development - and a
development it is, for it was not always so. Pointing out facts such as Rangers
having previously operated a sectarian
signing policy (admirably dispensed with in the 1980s - thus it existed for
mere decades) is rarely welcomed.
Rangers (1872-2012) were also unique in not having a Republic of Ireland
international in their first team in modern times. At this point, their fans were singing the racist
‘Famine Song’. Phil pointed out this inconvenient truth many times. Certainly,
let the past be the past and not obsess about it..
And absolutely we must recognise the
pretty dramatic improvements on the Ibrox terraces. But also, let's not forget
the past completely either.
Forgetting that
historical, racist and sectarian ethos is often difficult when one is around some fans of Rangers. By 'some' I don't
mean a few stragglers from the past, but a sizable rump of Rangers supporters
who sing racist and sectarian songs, hurl bigoted abuse, and whose default
retort when annoyed by anything is citing the ethnicity or religion (real or
imagined) of the object of their displeasure.
It’s in the DNA
of a 'subsection' of Rangers people. This is
obvious to everyone in Scotland and Northern Ireland unless they are among
those who consider themselves some kind of
self-appointed Praetorian Guard for what they see as "Rangers
values". My decent law-abiding Glaswegian grandfather was a proud Rangers season ticket holder all his life and I know he never related to the sectarian bloodlust at all.
'Subsection'
brings us to another of Mr Dinnie's disingenuous remarks, namely, Mac Giolla
Bháin regularly describes these normal,
law-abiding football fans as "the klan",
"Herrenvolk" and "a
fascist underclass".
This is not true. Mr Mac
Giolla Bháin is clear that his target, when using such admittedly pejorative
terms, is not the Rangers support as a
whole. Indeed, he has made this point explicitly several times. He is, as he
has often stated, referring to the unreconstructed bigots who rarely, if ever,
admit to previous wrongdoing by their
club, whether it be a racist/sectarian signing policy or arguably dodgy
dealings from various high heid yins in the Ibrox boardroom.
When some claim
that Mr Mac Giolla Bháin is demeaning normal,
law-abiding football fans it’s as if they are seeking to co-opt the decent
Rangers support into a charge towards not just Mac Giolla Bháin but also
towards anyone who dare utter obvious truths. Mac Giolla Bháin's target has
never been normal decent law abiding
people no matter who they support.
His target, which is clear in any objective reading, is the nutty rump. Every
club has a nutty rump. Celtic has a moronic,
unreconstructed subsection too. Most big football clubs do. My own club
Aberdeen has an atavistic element too.
The difference with the old Rangers was that for
decades this rump's views were encouraged - indeed institutionalised -
by a signing policy and an all-pervading
ethos. Happily, that changed and credit must be accorded appropriately.
Mr Mac Giolla
Bháin was a lone pioneer in openly discussing the likely fate of the then
Rangers, which other so-called 'proper journalists' refused to say out loud or to think even, for whatever reasons. It's
ironic that many Rangers supporters groups belatedly hold Craig Whyte and
Charles Green in bad esteem years after being warned by Mr Mac Giolla Bháin
that they were not at all what they seemed.
Mr Mac Giolla
Bháin represents the modern age and as such is
held in disdain by some who long for the time before independent thought
could reach the minds of thousands every day without being filtered. Reporters
in many fields can become too cosy with their subjects and they do not want to
jeopardise "access" or the "scoops" that promises. Online
journalists are independent and not beholden to vested interest. This is refreshing and it is why millions read
such journalists every day all over the world.
It is worth
noting that award-winning journalist Alex
Thomson, of Channel 4 News, wrote the
foreword to ‘Downfall’ in which he
stated that the book was “a tale of our times brilliantly told”.
Mr Dinnie seems
disdainful of the fact many well-read online journalists seek donations in order to sustain their work. In fact, he calls requests for donations begging. Every newspaper has a price and
every newspaper is begging to be bought from a newsstand. So, what exactly is
Mr Dinnie's point? Being paid by readers for your work directly is a bad thing?
Mr Dinnie talks of
wild claims. Well, many would prefer
to trust the judgement of the one journalist who got it right last time around.
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