JABBA THE AGNIVORE

IT'S BIGOT WEEK IN THE SUN!

As something of an apology to its Scottish readers for daring to report on the singing at Berwick at the weekend, the Sun has decided to give them what they want. Among the blogs dedicated to all things Rangers many posters, while ostensibly condemning the singing, derided the press for reporting it and ESPN for highlighting it. The more lunatic posters banged on about Catholics taking over the country, while the rest thought that the singers were justified and that the media should be concentrating on the Catholic Church rather than the bigots and racists at Ibrox. The Sun has decided to accomodate them.

Certainly, the Cardinal O'Brien saga is newsworthy but the Sun has decided to go over the top. Bill Leckie, suitably contrite after his previous piece about Rangers, starts off by saying that O'Brien is innocent until proven guilty. He then proceeds to denigrate every piece of Catholic doctrine he can. Catholicism is not the only church that is anti-abortion or that thinks that homosexuality is wrong, but Leckie gives his readers exactly what they want. He has O'Brien all but hung, drawn and quartered by the end of his article.

To make things even more sensational, the Sun decides to run a story about O'Brien being friends with Jimmy Savile. Shock! Horror! The implication is obvious; O'Brien must be a paedophile! By that logic Margaret Thatcher must be a paedophile too! They also point out that the Catholic Church gave Savile a knighthood. Comments on the story are not allowed so it is impossible to remind them that the Queen gave Savile a knighthood as well!

Just to put the tin hat on things the paper also prints a story about the Magdalene laundries in Ireland. Of course, we all know about this despicable organisation and have known about it for years now. It is hardly what you would call news, so why publish it today? 

Don't get me wrong. I think a lot of what the Catholic Church is responsible for is deplorable and had a huge argument once with a hypocritical priest at the Bishop of Motherwell's office. I was told I could no longer teach in a Catholic school because I was living with my partner 'in sin.' The fact that we had a child seemed to make matters worse. I pointed out that the Bishop of Motherwell was guilty of covering up for a paedophile priest, one Des Lynagh, who was sent to be chaplain at Stirling University to get him out of the way. I was astounded at the man's hypocrisy and told him so. I have not been back to church since.

On the other hand, I can see that child abuse is not a problem in the Catholic Church alone. Organisations worldwide have been plagued with paedophiles: youth organisations and churches of all denominations. To many folk in Scotland, however, it seems that only the Catholic Church is culpable. The Sun seems determined to perpetuate this myth. 

The Sun, remember, is the paper that was 100% behind Clause 28 and gave out Michael Cashman's full address so that right-wing thugs could hassle and terrorise him in his own home! This is also the paper that perpetually demonises single mothers and would like nothing more than to see them all have their benefits cut and put into a workhouse. Suddenly, however, they are standing up for gay rights and deploring the treatment of unmarried mothers! The sheer hypocrisy is astonishing!

The only explanation of this 'Anti-Catholic Special Issue' is that the Sun has been taken aback by the response of the Rangers support and has decided to go along with their twisted bigotry. And yet, the Rangers blogs will still be full of 'peeppil' claiming that the Scottish media are against them!

Meanwhile the Sun reports that Sooperally is pleading for an end to the songs of hate and that he 'condemned' them at the weekend. Of course, he did nothing of the sort. He expressed 'disappointment' and claimed not to have heard the singing. He also tries to blame the police! 

Of course, the Sun ignores the reports in other newspapers that Ally is trying to deflect the blame as usual. He says that a list of songs that are 'not allowed' would be helpful! To anyone with more than one brain cell, it is obvious that Ally is taking the usual Rangers tack of blaming everyone else. People offended by the singing are the problem; not the ones doing the singing! The Sun mentions none of this.

Today the Scottish Sun has firmly nailed its colours to the mast. Those colours are blue and orange!