As we are now in 2013 it is a good time to look at the year ahead.
2012 was an Annus horribilis for all Rangers fans, and I’m most certainly in the group that is not willing to forgive and forget those who tried to kill our club, but that most certainly does not mean that we can ignore the here and now, and the immediate future.
While I would not recommend anyone to read the ramblings of Channel 4’s Alex Thomson, nor those of Phil 4 Names, their most recent output should act as a jolt to the system for bears who believe that all is rosy, and that the club’s enemies have retreated never to return.
Also, Protestants in both Scotland and Ulster should beware that there are those whose sole purpose is to erode their culture, smear it and wipe it from the rich heritage of our fine nations, and replace it with their own, swept along by propaganda, hatred and revisionism
What we as a collective have to understand is that no matter how often certain hacks and bloggers are shown up to be liars and bigots, they will continue to come back for more, and will not stop until we are as relentless as they are, and until we have completely smashed their network.
That is no mean feat and may take many years, and will take more than just a few well worded statements from Charles Green, or leaks from James Traynor once in position
Graham Spiers, despite being humiliated on live television by Rangers blogger Chris Graham, is still penning his slanted views on Rangers.
Phil Gillivan too, despite being branded sectarian by the Scottish Sun, has stepped up his hatred not just of Rangers, but of active unionists in Ulster and beyond, and is now pushing for RC Exclusivity with regards to the proposed Famine Memorial in Glasgow.
Alex Thomson has laid out in detail what the Scottish Football authorities and HMRC will be attempting to do to Rangers in 2013
Despite the temptation to focus attentions on journos like Thomson and Spiers, their egos are presenting their agenda as if they are setting it, when they are only reflecting the wishes of their acolytes and reaching out to their perceived fan base.
We Rangers fans should be focusing firstly on what these specific agendas are, and secondly how we can fight the agendas. Clearly, we have to do it together, cleverly, and in numbers
What we also need to do is not be distracted from these agendas, towards issues close to the heart of Rangers fans, but not necessarily short term issues that require to be addressed urgently.
So what are these agendas against Rangers, and the wider Protestant communities that we should be aware of?
-The Stripping of titles, and further sanctions by the SFA and SPL – Despite Rangers winning the FTTT
-Sanctions on Rangers from HMRC – It appears now that some sections of the Anti Rangers activist network are now willing to move on from the “Rangers are dead” mantra, and not only accept that Rangers are still the same club, but they wish the new holding corporate identity to pay for the alleged sins of the previous regime(s). As expected these people are cherry picking sections of the FTTT judgement rather than the ruling itself
-The continued mistreatment of Rangers supporters both at Ibrox and around Scotland by Scotland’s national police force
-The agenda to ensure Glasgow’s proposed Famine memorial is exclusively an Irish Roman Catholic shrine, and not an inclusive memorial. Given that the most commonly used term in council circles is “inclusion”, that should be the objective of all those with a passing interest. Anything other than an inclusive and historically accurate memorial would be based on sectarian values and an insult to all non RCs who perished in the Famine
Of course there are other agendas, and some being pushed by the same people, for instance, the elimination of Orange marches, which will need to be addressed, but for me the issues above are more immediate, and cannot be deferred in favour of anything else.
So, with all due respect, I’ll “pass” on requests to bring back “The Billy Boys”, or anything else that is not immediate, or relevant.
We as a support have a dreadful record in recent years in falling well short of both being pro active, and of being unified, and some of the nonsense that has taken place in the last month or two between sets of Rangers supporters, and by Rangers minded bloggers who cannot handle criticism has been nothing short of disgraceful, when the real enemy is still out there plotting against our club.
This has to stop, before all of the agendas being pursued by our enemies are concluded to their benefit and to our expense.
These fights cannot be won alone by Charles Green. We Rangers supporters need to do our bit.
We need to be relentless and ensure that 2013 is truly the year that Rangers emerge ready to build on the great work done so far by Green, and now the team as it sits top of division three.
We cannot allow any of the great work done by the club to be compromised in the coming months. When we have succeeded in doing so, and there is no reason why we shouldn’t, we should then turn our attention to the issues of the past, and ensure that BDO are driven to punish all who conspired against Rangers in the years leading up to Administration.
Supporting Rangers by buying tickets and merchandise (or investing) is no longer enough.
Hopefully one day it will be, but for now it should only be viewed as one aspect of supporting the club.
Bill.
No comments:
Post a Comment