PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Usually I receive around a hundred hits a day. Sometimes it can go over that but the average is about a hundred. Imagine my surprise when I saw that I had five times that number yesterday! I don't know how it happened; maybe they all ended up here by mistake. Hope you all keep coming back. And, to turn mercenary for a moment, I've never made any secret of the fact that I do this blog in hope that folk might buy my books. So hopefully all my new readers have got bulging wallets!

Regular readers will be aware of my views regarding nationality, religion etc. To me, I'm no better or worse than anybody else and don't think it makes me particularly special that I was born in Scotland, or that I'm British, or that I'm of Irish descent. My great-grandfather could just as easily have gone to America or Canada, rather than Scotland, and that would not have made me a better, or worse person. I don't feel a particular sense of pride in my ancestry or my place of birth; they are sheer accidents, nothing more. That doesn't mean that I'm not glad to have been born where and when I was. Imagine living in North Korea or under the brutal regime of Mugabe, not to mention all the different periods of history that I could have landed in. Gladness, however, does not mean that I am particularly proud.

Equally, that goes for the team I support, albeit as an armchair fan because I can't afford to go to matches. I could just as easily have been brought up to be a Rangers supporter; would that make me a better or worse person? That depends, of course. When I was being bullied at work the only person that had the integrity and courage to speak up for me is a Rangers supporter. This, however, does not rule her life and she does not feel the need to conform to what the vast majority of the supporters of that team see as their duty.

That is the thing that gets up my nose; the profession of superiority over everyone else, which is manifest in the fact that they believe their club to be above all the rules and regulations that every other club in the world is bound by. I do not hate supporters of The Rangers, or Bisto FC as I call them. What I hate is the ones telling me that I have no right to be here, that I should have no say in how our country is run, that I am an immigrant and a drain on society and that they want to be up to their knees in my blood. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the support seems to be comprised of people like these. The friend that stood up for me is the exception rather than the rule.

Anyway, rant over. Although I say that I don't feel any particular pride about my team, my country or my ancestry, sometimes the word 'pride' is the only way to describe the way you feel. Today I am proud to be a Celtic supporter. This has nothing to do with last night's great performance against Ajax; that makes me happy, not proud. What made me proud was something that I discovered on the website of Phil Mac Whatsit. (I can't be bothered looking it up to see how to spell it!) Apparently, as well as the resolution to report the SFA, which the Daily Record tut-tutted over, there is also to be a resolution at the Celtic AGM to ensure that all workers at Celtic are paid at least the minimum wage. Now that's the sort of thing that restores my faith in human nature and actually makes me proud to be counted among supporters that would do something like this.

Phil Mac Whatsit says, and I am sure that we all agree, that they would rather see a player sold than see our club pay its workers a pittance. That's what marks us apart from the Bisto Kids; their win-at-any-cost mentality has brought them to where they are and they still can't shake it. Anyway, in their view any workers at Ibrox should be proud (there's that word again!) to be in such a position and should probably be charged for the privilege!

I see on McMurdo's blog that nobody is shedding any tears for Loony Leggat. He is only mentioned in passing, however, as the main concern seems to be reporting the Daily Record to the Press Complaints Commission for publishing a picture of Brian Stockbridge's house while going on about the money he has taken out of Bisto FC. After receiving the usual death threats he has had to have extra security installed in his house. (Can't he just get extra police patrols, like Leggat?) Of course, all this is to deflect from the fact that it's the Bisto Kids that are threatening him. To their twisted minds, however, the blame lies with the Daily Record and nobody else. Strangely, they did not chastise Sooperally when he was demanding 'Who ur they?'

If the PCC uphold their complaint then it opens the door for some great defence arguments in our courts. 'The papers showed a picture-y the guy's hoose an' said ay wiz the richest man in Scotland 'n 'at. They must've known that sumdy wid burgle the hoose. It's the paper's fawt an' Ah'm no' guilty!'

Dare to mention anything about how the Bisto Kids behave and you get shouted down with 'facts' like these. My comments are in brackets in bold type.

'Maybe also you missed a certain club employing private nvestigators to follow referees to see if they were Freemasons (That was ONE Celtic supporter that did that.). How about a manager being appointed before his predecessor had been notiifed he was out of a job (Don't know about that one. But at least he didn't kill his predecessor to get his job!). Then of course a referee being left bloodied on the field of play leading to the siuation that never again would a Glasgow derby be a league decider. (What's that old expression? Oh, aye, he brought it on himself for being a cheating bastard!)  Another thng that had never been seen in Scottish football was a referees strike caused by one club constantly questioning match officials integrity. (What integrity? They had been caught out cheating and went in the huff.) The attack on a referee’s house, (Pish! Never happened!)  a referee’s children being threatend at school, ( Aye, right!) a referee being threatened via twitter that h wa to face possble verbal and physical assault in his workplace. (A wee lassie at his school jokingly said she would kill him!)
Why not ask Nacho Novo how unprecedented it was to have his home address published on the internet along with threats to his wife and young children. (Why not ask Neil Lennon how it was to have bombs sent to his address and his wife and young children needing police protection, while crowds sang 'How does it feel to live in fear' to him?)'

Is that the best they can do? A load of made-up shite to try and deflect from the large, psychologically-disturbed section of their own support! Oh, and they've come up with a new one; apparently Celtic only won last night because they cheated. How? They had no ball boys! Well, that's that then, the game's-a-bogey! UEFA had better amend the result to a 3-0 win for Ajax. No doubt the Bisto Kids are firing off e-mails to UEFA already!

Staying with McMurdo, he claims to know who is behind Blue Pitch Holdings and is happy with them. That'll be the demonstrations over then! He also reiterates the mantra that the Pinsent-Masons enquiry proved that Whyte has no longer got anything to do with Ibrox. Well let's see the bloody thing, then, and we'll make our own minds up! And while you're at it, let's see whose name is on the deeds and let's see the accounts for the subsidiary company Rangers Football Club Ltd!

Unable to accept any responsibility whatsoever, the story emerging now is that sites like Follow Follow, and others that are against the current board, are filled with posts from Celtic fans masquerading as Bisto Kids to stir up trouble! This seems to be the standard defence: 'Sumdy else dun it, so they did!' It's a bit like if you ask how many Rangers fans went to Manchester in 2008. The answer all depends on the context. If it's to prove how loyal they are, then the answer is upward of 200,000. If, however, it is related to all the violence and hooliganism then the answer, of course, is none. All 200,000 were Chelsea fans in disguise!

The Big Hoose

 

Aw naw! Maybe I shouldn't have posted that.  If anybody vandalises the place they can blame me for publishing a picture of it!