It seems that Green's influence on The Peepil has gone much deeper than we thought, even affecting their language. McMurdo calls the furore over ticket allocation a 'storm in a teacup', while Sooperally comes out with a really bizarre one. He says, "I do take on board we are playing a semi-final at Ibrox and that is not to everyone’s cup of tea". What does that even mean? That really takes the biscuit! (Sorry.)
McMurdo has a go at the Labour Party for promising to get rid of the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act. To him and his disciples Labour is just sucking up to their 'friends' among the Celtic support. Cue the usual crap about 'terrorist-supporting songs', shady deals between Celtic and Glasgow City Council etc etc. He says that the subtext of this promise is, “A giant mistake has been made. This wasn’t meant to be a law that makes criminals of those who say or do anything offensive to the PUL community.” So, at last, we have one of The Peeppil admitting that the songs sung by a section of the Celtic support is only offensive to the 'PUL (ie. Orange) Community.
There is nothing intrinsically flawed about the legislation; the main problem lies in its implementation. While there is a clampdown on the minority of Celtic supporters singing proscribed songs, the massed choirs of The Peeppil go unmolested. Nothing was done about the disgusting singing and chanting at Berwick and there have been other occasions where the Bisto Kids have displayed sectarianism but not a thing has been done. A few bams are arrested and then let go when it comes to court, leaving the problem still staring us all in the face.
And now the story comes out about Aberdeen fans' banned card display at the League Cup final. Apparently, the sunburst pattern on their cards was an emblem of some obscure Irish Republican group in the 1850s! Who the hell would even know that? Of course, the paranoid Peeppil would be straight onto Google to see what they could find out to be offended by when the cards appeared on TV. And we can't have that, can we? I suppose the next step is go around destroying all the Art Deco buildings we can find since the sunburst is a recurring motif in such architecture. First on the list has to be the most well-known piece of Art Deco architecture in the world: the Empire State Building. I've been in it and can confirm that there are sunbursts to be seen. It so happens that the chairman of the Empire State Building committee, one Alfred Emanuel Smith, was also the first Roman Catholic to run for US president in 1928. Oh dear. It'll definitely have to come down!
So it seems that anything that can even be linked historically, no matter how obscure, to Irish Republicanism is to be banned. Singing about guarding Derry's Walls all those years ago, however, is perfectly acceptable! Strange business.
"The SNP and the Scottish Labour Party – two cheeks of the same anti-Rangers, anti-Protestant, anti-Unionist and anti-Loyalist arse," opines McMurdo. Now, being anti-Unionist goes without saying as far as the SNP is concerned but if the Scottish Labour Party is so inclined then why do the links that McMurdo provides lead to sites where Scottish Labout Pary MPs and MSPs are quoted and supported extensively as part of the 'Better Together' campaign?Anti-Loyalist? That all depends what a Loyalist is. In this context it obviously refers to those of an Orange persuasion; a gang of bigots that no decent person, whatever his or her denomination, likes or wants anything to do with.
The biggest lie is the 'anti-Protestant' claim. Who the hell, in this day and age, is anti-Protestant? This is the Twenty-First Century and the days when anyone actually cared are long-gone. The vast majority of Protestants want to just get on with their lives, as do most Catholics; religious wars are a thing of the past. Ecumenism is taking place among all churches, especially in the face of declining attendances and an increasingly secular society. Church of Scotland ministers preach in Catholic churches, while RC priests do the same at COS churches. Congregations meet together for combined services and church authorities work together to spread the Christian message. For real, church-going Catholics and Protestants hatred and being 'anti' are the last things on their minds.
The big fly in the ointment is the Orange Order, which preaches hatred of Catholics and the Catholic Church despite what the members and leaders of the Protestant Churches say. If you attack the Orangemen at all they twist it and try to make it seem as if you are 'anti-Protestant' just as the KKK deflect attacks by calling them 'anti-white.' It really is time that this irrelevant organisation, whose members are stuck in a time warp, was outlawed.
One of McMurdo's regular contributors, a man that constantly refers to himself in the third person, goes further even that McMurdo himself. He speaks of an 'apparent Anti Protestant testament which exists, not only in this land, but the world over.' Now that's what you call paranoia! The strongest nation in the world, as anyone would agree, is the United States of America. That country is in the grip of a struggle at present with right-wing, religious fundamentalists trying to take over the state. Said fundamentalists are insinuating themselves into every aspect of the state, even at a local level. Ordinary US citizens are increasingly worried about what is going to happen to their country if it falls into the hands of these fanatics. Of course, it goes without saying that these characters happen to be Protestant. The rest of the world is worried too; what if these lunatics get their hands on 'The Button' and decide to 'cleanse' the earth? Maybe that's what McMurdo's disciple is on about. Perhaps he's desperate for these folk to get into power and wipe everyone else out! My big worry is about the day that these fanatics realise that they and Islamic fundamentalists want exactly the same things. God help us all then!
Striker Federico Macheda's contract at Manchester United runs out this summer and it seems that there are quite a few teams keen to sign him. Surplus to requirements at Old Trafford, Macheda has been out on loan for a while now but with no sign of a permanent deal yet. The Daily Record says that both Celtic and Rangers (sic) are looking for the guy to put his X at the bottom of a contract. Since Macheda will be a free agent then it's entirely down to him what he's looking for. The fact that he hasn't secured a deal with the clubs he's been on loan to would suggest that he has hardly set the world alight and probably needs some kind of showcase if he wants to progress. Assuming that nobody in the English Premiership wants him then he might go for the Championship. Then again, he might think that, with Celtic, he has a chance to show what he can do on the European stage. And then we come to his other option.
What kind of showcase is he going to get at Bisto FC? Being turned over week-in, week-out by other teams, relying on the referee to come to the rescue, listening to (what I would assume to be) his religion mocked at practically every match and ending up with a hacking cough due to asbestosis. Doesn't sound too great, does it? Then again, it wasn't that long ago that Macheda was hauled before the beaks for homophobic comments made on Twitter. Obviously the man has some issues with bigotry. Perhaps he'd find Ibrox more attractive after all!
Finally, make these words into a sentence:
BOOKS NOW MY BUY AND GO OF ONE!
"Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Put 'em together and what have you got -
A huge, world-wide conspiracy against Rangers (sic)!"
Put 'em together and what have you got -
A huge, world-wide conspiracy against Rangers (sic)!"
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