The Rangers Persecution (Complex)

‘The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.’

The above quote was written by…by…we’ll come back to it. For the meantime read it again and make your mind up about what you think about it.

Does it matter who wrote it? Should we dismiss or champion the message on the strength of its author, or should we absorb the message and decipher it in relation to our own values and beliefs accordingly?

What the author of the quote is describing is a form of persecution complex.

Persecution complex can be defined as an array of psychologically intricate behaviours that specifically deal with the perception of being victimised or maltreated, for various possible reasons, imagined or real.

People who hold marginal beliefs or theories often display some features of this malady, as a way of explaining why their views are not more widespread or universally accepted as fact.

To counteract this dissonance they seek out and join forces with others holding similar beliefs.

The formation of such a tribe, in the sociological sense, relies on there being a common interest or goal strong enough that the group would in some way delimitate itself from the larger society. Religious cults or football fans form such tribes.

Persecution complexes are not inherent in all cults or football fans, but do lend themselves to the polarization of such groups. Communal reinforcement reassures group members that they are indeed correct by posing the question: How could all of us be wrong?

At extremes this leads to the groupthink that places continued membership of a group and conformity to its norms above rational and critical evaluation. Such a process is highly evident in fundamentalist religion, but is almost a given for any group expressing sufficiently extreme ideology. Nothing brings people together like having a common enemy.

Groupthink occurs when individuals in a group fail to express their doubts about the group's dynamic, direction or decisions because of a desire to maintain consensus or conformity. Thus the group may be on a headlong rush to error or disaster and no-one speaks up because they don't want to rock the boat.

Affected group members tend to ignore their own doubts for the good of the group. The group itself may also ignore external suggestions, and can become paranoid when faced with criticism, even when the criticism is helpful or well-meant. Groups are most vulnerable to the results of groupthink when their members are of similar backgrounds, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision making.

Groupthink is why everyone in that online forum you just joined not only doesn't go for any outsider’s perspicacious and radical ideas, chances are they’d be mocked too.

The word sheeple originated to describe those who tend to accept and take statements at face value, especially if the source reinforces the beliefs of the group and reduces cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is a large part of why hazing builds loyalty. If you experience exceptional highs and lows with that group, and you’ve invested heavily emotionally you'll go to tremendous lengths to convince yourself it is deserving enough to have been worth the love you give it.

Most people will eventually change their beliefs on a subject after enough contradictory evidence emerges. Because sometimes evidence emerges that is so solid and undeniable that it is easier to give up a complex worldview than having to constantly generate excuses why this evidence is false.

Other individuals, especially when they have support networks of others reinforcing a delusion or worldview, will go to such great lengths to rationalize away dissenting ideas that after a certain point, an admission of error would cause the collapse of an entire web of mutually supporting beliefs.

Many supporters of smaller football teams have always shared scepticism and signs of a persecution complex when it comes to decisions going against their clubs in favour of the bigger ones.

How many times have they gone home convinced the referee was persuaded to award that dodgy penalty because of inbuilt psychological mechanisms geared towards satisfying the appetites and loud cries of the home crowd?

They go home quietly though and, for some, the thought of being persecuted helps them deal with the truth that their club just isn’t very good.

To feel hard done by is not only part of the game, for many it’s also part of the fabric of society.

But it’s not only the smaller teams who suffer this unfortunate psychological state.

Throughout their history Celtic fans felt they were up against an unseen hand when it came to decisions against their team. Many of those claims were labelled as paranoia, nothing more than sour grapes from sore losers, thus gaining a reputation among others as being constant whiners always claiming to be cheated and never defeated.

Their persecution complex had its roots in the history of its people’s struggles to be accepted in not only, the West of Scotland, but the whole of Scotland.

For example, in 1923 John White, who became the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland two years later, was Convener of the Church and Nation Committee of the Church of Scotland. During his time as convener he was instrumental in the report titled: The Menace of the Irish Race to our Scottish Nationality.

This report accused the Roman Catholic population in Scotland of subverting Presbyterian values and of drunkenness, crime and financial imprudence. The report further called for the ending of immigration of Irish Catholics to Scotland and the deportation of any convicted of a criminal offence or living on state benefits. White urged a "racially pure" Scotland, and went as far declaring, "Today there is a movement throughout the world towards the rejection of non-native constituents and the crystallization of national life from native elements."

It wasn’t long after that Hitler took Germany on a course of ethnic cleansing during his quest for world domination.

I’m sure if White were alive today he’d be a vocal supporter of Nick Griffin and the ideology of similar extremist groups.

That was, of course, another era, another century, another millennium. Scotland not only rejected those ideals, it embraced multiculturalism, eventually, like most of the rest of the civilised world.

Although the fact it took until the 1990s for Irish Catholics to achieve parity with the rest of the population is still a reminder of our sectarian past. As a benchmark the Irish Catholic immigrants who headed west instead of east achieved parity in the United States in 1901.

However, a section of Scottish society still lives in the past. A section of Scottish society believes it’s alright in this day and age, to gather in numbers inside a football ground and sing songs about sending Irish immigrants home because the famine, which prompted those immigrants coming in the first place, is now over.

Imagine the outcry if Manchester United or Liverpool fans started singing songs about sending Pakistanis or West Indians back to where they came from.

Imagine the outcry if similar chants where heard at any other sports venue.

Yet in Glasgow, even with its chequered past regarding sectarian troubles and religious divide, this offensive singing goes on with only the minimum of reporting in the media and even fewer charges brought against the perpetrators.

Yet in Glasgow, and across Scotland, it is, unbelievably, the offenders who sing these songs that are now suffering from a persecution complex.

To be fair, the instances of hearing the Famine Song or Billy Boys at Ibrox are on the decline, and one Rangers fan group has proposed a donation towards a Famine Memorial Monument in Glasgow. But if one spends a little time surfing online forums there can be no doubt that those harbouring strong feelings about the negative impact of Irish Catholic immigrants in Scotland are still numerous and vocal.

As each new day brings more revelations about the underhand going-ons at Ibrox during both the Murray and Whyte eras fans of other clubs are, quite rightly, outraged. The sheer scale of the undisclosed payments, tax-evasion, unpaid creditors and the downright lies those concerned continue spouting in gushes of self-preservation sickens everyone.

David Murray will forever be adamant he did nothing wrong. Even if found guilty of deliberately evading tax he’ll always protest his innocence, saying he’d taken expert advice and was just doing his best for Rangers.

Craig Whyte will also be forever adamant he did nothing wrong. If found guilty of any wrongdoing, especially with regards to the circumstances of his takeover, he’ll widen his big Bambi eyes and continue to spout the line that he was just doing his best for Rangers, and that the damage had already been done by Murray.

Rangers fans will also be forever adamant they did nothing wrong. To a certain extent they are right. They didn’t deliberately avoid paying taxes. They didn’t spend huge sums bringing unaffordable players to Ibrox. Like all football fans they cheered when their team was winning and hoped the good times would last forever. Who can blame them for that?

They, however, seem hell-bent on defending the indefensible. Sure, they blame Murray, partly, and they blame Whyte too for his part in their downfall. But they refuse to blame the club. They refuse to see why the club should be held responsible for the actions of individuals. They refuse to see that those individuals who owned the club were the club. They refused to take heed of the warning signs, even though they were in the public domain, because they either didn’t want to know, or they didn’t trust the source. They refused to believe the message because of the messengers. The believed the messengers had a hidden agenda to deliberately destroy Rangers with misinformation. This belief was backed-up by the reluctance of the complicit mainstream media to print any of the same information, even though they had access to it.

This was when the seeds of Rangers fans persecution complex were first sown. How dare so-called experts with online blogs and desire to share hard facts say anything negative about the mighty Rangers. To Rangers fans there was only one logical explanation: it had to be a conspiracy.

That takes us back to the first quote:

‘The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.’

The irony is these messengers were telling the truth about Rangers precarious financial situation. They were not false prophets spinning yarns. The false prophets turned out to be mainstream journalists churning out Press Release after Press Release promising pots of gold at the end of rainbows. Unfortunately, no rainbow appeared, and the rain hasn’t yet stopped.

The storm clouds continue to gather as the results of the First Tier Tax Tribunal and investigation into undisclosed payments loom on the near horizon. As the saying here in Scotland goes, ‘The dark nights are fair drawin’ in.’

The results of both of these are outwith the control of the fans, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been vocal.

If they’ve learned one thing this year it’s that the club belongs to the fans. They may not have, yet, bits of paper stating they’re the owners, or shareholders, but there can be no doubt they are the main stakeholders.

Realising, belatedly perhaps, the power a concerted campaign involving large numbers of fans can have in protecting and projecting the club’s image, fans have taken to internet forums and social media platforms to develop and implement battle plans for this war they’re fighting.

The use of terms like battle, war and fighting is perhaps a tad unfortunate, but that is what the fans believe is happening. They believe there is a coordinated campaign against them and the club. They believe everyone from the SFA to SPL to city law firms are out to get them and won’t be satisfied until their club is destroyed.

What they perceive as hatred others perceive as seeking justice.

These are the polar opposites in the continuum currently dividing Scottish football.

Non-Rangers fans have been perplexed, to say the least, at the way Rangers old owner David Murray, new owner Charles Green and the club’s fans have refused to acknowledge the extent of rule breaking that occurred over many years, and the reluctance to accept the consequences and punishments for the catalogue of misdemeanours. They’re also critical of the governing bodies for attempting to gerrymander Rangers into a higher league and the mainstream media for continuing to promote Charles Green’s agenda unquestioningly. And with James Traynor appearing to be on a one man quest to protect the legacy of David Murray, the Daily Record, once Scotland’s pride and joy, is now seen as nothing more than a second-rate Pravda.

Rangers fans that started off apologetic for the mess their club created have since been disgusted at the handling of the club’s plight by the governing bodies, mainstream media and fans of other clubs. They perceive others vocal quest for integrity and justice as nothing more than hatred for Rangers.

At least some common ground has been found. It seems everyone is agreed the governing bodies and mainstream media are pursuing their own agendas.

Unfortunately, the opposite sides can’t agree on what those agendas are.

Non-Rangers fans think authorities and media are doing their best to bend rules for Rangers.

Rangers fans think authorities and media are out to get them.

As mentioned earlier, having a persecution complex is nothing new for most of us. But this flourishing persecution complex of Rangers is growing into one so deep you’d think they’d been cultivating it for years. They haven’t. They had no need. Being the establishment club put it in a unique position whereby they could sit atop their perch and mock those complaining about bias towards them. Things have changed in 21^st century Scotland and they’ve been forced to awaken from their deep slumber, but they’re catching up, and catching up fast.

Sites like The Rangers Standard and Copeland Road seek out negative stories about Rangers and attempt to discredit the authors. They appear to have little interest in the message, only the messenger. If the messenger is perceived as a non-Rangers man then the message is dismissed as part of the concerted campaign against the club.

This strategy resulted in an embarrassing campaign to tarnish a book without even reading it, all because they didn’t like the author.

You’d think that having been here before they might have at least learned to look at each new message objectively, but that is seldom, if ever, the case.

The siege mentality building down Edmiston Drive is only succeeding in isolating Rangers from the rest of the Scottish footballing world. As they become more entrenched their persecution complex grows at an alarming rate.

In recent weeks the Vanguard Bears published a piece titled Leadership, which opened with this quote from Martin Luther King:

‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.’

Using a Martin Luther King quote is certainly a bold attempt to add gravitas to the statement. Who doesn’t see Luther King as a visionary of everything that is good? Who can ignore the message of such an illustrious messenger?

However, the piece itself argues that Rangers, Unionism, Protestantism and indeed the whole of society is being attacked, devalued and eroded by religious fanatics, deluded nationalists and an Axis of Evil run by the SFA, SPL and Peter Lawwell.

No, I didn’t make that up. In what looks, to me, like a classic case of persecution complex, they believe the country is being attacked and everyone is out to destroy Rangers and their way of life.

Fans who are not usually found agreeing with such views have been slowly working their way along the continuum towards that group. As we have seen, there is strength and comfort in numbers. Communal reinforcement reassures group members that they are indeed correct. How could all of us be wrong?

It is twenty years since Irish Catholics achieved parity, leading some to question the effect this has had on Scottish society. The Vanguard Bears statement reads like John White’s 1923 Report: The Menace of the Irish Race to our Scottish Nationality.

Is this how little some have travelled in almost a hundred years? Have they learned nothing from history?

Allow me to reiterate that many of us have felt persecuted at some stage in our lives. At the moment a growing number of Rangers fans are living the dream, or nightmare. Some may not like it. Others may be enjoying the trip. Feeling persecuted can be a powerful drug.

Writer John Rogers sums it up like this:

‘One of the great secrets of human nature is that the one thing people want more than love, security, sex, chocolate or big-screen TV's is to feel hard done by.

Why? Because being hard done by is the shit. Feeling hard done by is the sweetest of drugs. If you're being persecuted -- it must mean you're doing the right thing, right? You get the mellow buzz of the moral high ground, but without arrogantly claiming it as your own. You get an instant, supportive community in a big dark scary world of such scope it may well literally be beyond rational human processing. When you are hard done by, you get purpose in a life where otherwise, you'd have to find your own. And when you ride that high, then no amount of logic-- is going to pry that sweet crack-pipe of moral indignation from your hands.’

Let me take you back to that opening quote about morons believing they are victims of a mysterious conspiracy. It was written by Henry Louis Mencken. Mencken was a journalist, satirist, essayist and critic of American life. When appraising his short quote does it matter that he sympathised with Germany during and after World War One and was suspicious of British propaganda? Or is it more important to note that he admired Friedrich Nietzsche and was the first writer to provide a scholarly analysis in English of Nietzsche's writings and philosophy? What should we make of the fact that in 1926 he deliberately had himself arrested for selling an issue of The American Mercury that was banned in Boston under the Comstock Laws?

It is clear Mencken was a controversial character. Does that mean we give any less weight to his words?

Regarded by many as one of the most influential American writers of the early twentieth century, his legacy is one of challenging longstanding beliefs. In 1923, the same year as John White’s Church and Nation Committee of the Church of Scotland published: The Menace of the Irish Race to our Scottish Nationality, Mencken countered the arguments for Anglo-Saxon superiority prevalent in his time in an essay entitled The Anglo-Saxon, which argued that if there was such a thing as a pure Anglo-Saxon race, it was defined by its inferiority and cowardice.

Both Mencken and White were obviously men of their time. Divided by more than the width of an ocean their distinctly polar opposite opinions are still being cultivated and harvested in some minds in Scotland today.

We can grab our hard hats and popcorn and sit on the sidelines to watch the carnage or proactively seek to bring those at the extreme end of the continuum back to the centre, where we may still have our persecution complexes, but they’re put into perspective by an overwhelming desire to separate football from religion and politics.

As for the persecution complex of Rangers fans today, I hope they’ll forgive me, and many like me, if we allow ourselves a wry smile at their current state of mind. After all, they are only experiencing what the rest of us have experienced at various stages of our lives, whether on the football field or in the world around us.

Seeing as religion continues to seep into the consciousness of the Vanguard Bears and others who believe Rangers’ downfall is all part of some huge  conspiracy, let us finish with a quote that will not only whet their appetite for feeling persecuted, but may give hope to us all the next time we find ourselves in a similar situation because of our beliefs.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’

Of course, one can always question the source of this quote like any other, but if claiming persecution because of Christian beliefs, whether Catholic or Protestant, surely the word of Jesus from his Sermon on the Mount are beyond reproach, or is The Bible part of one big conspiracy too? I think that may be a question for another time.

It goes without saying this blog will be dismissed by Rangers fans as the insane ranting of a Rangers-hater, and the empathetic message of ‘we’ve all been there’ will be roundly ignored. More erudite writers than me have tried and failed to communicate with their closed mindset, and few will try again in the future. What they need, but don’t seem to want just yet, is someone from within challenging the groupthink of the tribe. Maybe then they’ll begin to see light at the end of their persecution complex tunnel.

The Hijacking of Rangers Football Club

When the Rangers Empire collapsed under a mountain of debt earlier this year an opportunity arose for a reborn Rangers to rise from the rubble and re-emerge with a fresh philosophy on what the club actually stood for, especially since their name had become mud in many circles through sectarianism, tax-dodging and not paying creditors.

A summer of discontent followed as vultures circled the corpse of the once great club, and in the end all the club’s assets, including, some would say, their history, were purchased for the paltry sum of £5.5million. Still, it was a lot more than the £1 Craig Whyte paid for it the year before.

Throughout all the uncertainty of who would eventually become the new Rangers owner one thing became abundantly clear: Rangers fans wanted ownership of the club.

Unfortunately, they weren’t suitably organised to raise enough funds to put in a formal bid alongside the likes of Bill Miller, Bill Ng or Charles Green, but they knew they held a powerful hand when it came to providing the cash flow any potential owner would need to survive.

This was put to practice when a Walter Smith consortium attempted to hijack Charles Green’s takeover. When news of that move broke fans rallied behind Walter the legend and made it clear in no uncertain terms that the outsider Green should leave town on the first bus, or to put it another way, he should walk away.

However, Green has been around the block more than a few times and was never going to budge once his foot was in the Ibrox door. He knew he’d won a watch for him and his investors. All he had to do to start milking his new cash cow was convince the fans he was the best man for the job. A tough task considering the huge shadow of Walter Smith loomed over him like the grim reaper.

But Green isn’t a man to shirk a challenge. Challenges spur him on. He rolled up his sleeves and got down to the business of making money.

With Walter’s consortium consigned to history there was only one show left in town, and the Charlie Green bandwagon rolled in like a travelling circus.

We’ll dismiss the ranting of John Brown. His star shone brightly for an extremely brief period but turned out to be nothing more than an embarrassing sideshow.

But between the actions of Walter and Bomber, and Craig Whyte’s short tenure, enough seeds of doubt had been sown for the fans to have a healthy distrust of Green and his unknown investors.

Remarkably, especially when one considers those shaky beginnings, over the last few months he’s become something of a Rangers legend. His repeated statements on how everyone outside Govan has an agenda against Rangers has galvanised the at-times fractious support who are now throwing themselves into the new era with renewed vigour and more than a modicum of optimism.

Critics say he’s played to the galleries in order to sell season tickets.

Is there really anything so wrong with that?

He’s a businessman, here for the short-term, hoping to make a profit. This is no secret. To make a profit he has to sell things, whether they are tickets, players or fixed assets.

There’s nothing wrong with that, is there? It’s the way of the business world.

Of course, we could argue about the differing business philosophies regarding short-term and long-term goals, but that’s a lengthy topic for another day.

And this is where everyone agrees Green started to play a blinder, although most non-Rangers people also agree his tactics were somewhat dangerous.

He started out by saying all the things hurting Rangers fans wanted to hear.

There was a bigoted agenda against the club.

Decisions were made out of hate rather than commercial considerations.

He attacked the football authorities and hinted at conspiracies.

Rangers fans sat up and started to listen to the man they had wanted out of town on the first bus only a few weeks before. Some remained dubious but accepted he was the only one to put his, or to be more precise, others money where his mouth was.

Green then faced fans at a Rangers Fans Fighting Fund meeting and promised a share issue that would give the fans a voice in the club.

At the same meeting Ally McCoist was asked about renewing season tickets. He said he couldn’t ask the fans to renew ST’s as he didn’t know which players would be there or where Rangers would be playing and he wouldn’t want it on his conscience that fans hard-earned cash was being spent on something he couldn’t guarantee. Also, he didn’t have full trust in the current board for two reasons; he hadn’t known them long enough yet and because of the actions of the previous incumbents.

He was then asked if he were at the supporters’ side of the table if would he buy a ST. Ally responded, “In a heartbeat.”

That three word reply was enough to convince fans to back the new club by purchasing season tickets. If anything, it was the turning point for Green’s Rangers.

For outsiders reading the minutes of that meeting, meticulously taken by the Vanguard Bears, perhaps one of the most sinister points raised was this -

A representative from Denny informed the panel that he had four reasons why Rangers should go into Division 3. First he believed it would test Charles Green’s resolve; secondly he believed it would show the benefit of Auchenhowie and allow the management team to gain experience. Third, it would galvanise and unite the Rangers support, and lastly it would allow fans to move on and concentrate on defeating the SNP's fight for independence.

‘Concentrate on defeating the SNP’s fight for independence?’

Are Rangers fans a political group?

Combine that statement with that of the Orange Order of Scotland who openly threatened violence should Scotland ever become independent.

And this is what Orange Grand Chaplain the Rev Mervyn Gibson told the crowds in Belfast on the 12^th July this year.

“It is important that we assist our Scottish brethren and sisters in any way we can to resist the break-up of the United Kingdom. Brethren and sisters let us know what you need and we will not be found wanting.”

What’s wrong with the Orange Order of Belfast promising to help their Scottish brethren? Surely there’s nothing sinister about brethren sticking together. It’s not as if they’re terrorist organisations.

But what about those brethren in Belfast? Do they have proven terrorist links?

Only last month Shankill UVF leaders were given pride of place on Clifton Street’s Orange lodge which is also the sectarian Anti Catholic orders HQ Balcony, to watch and film their police force being attacked by their fellow sectarian thugs.

So, here we have that missing link. There can be no doubt that the Orange Order and UVF sing from the same hymn sheet, so to speak.

I know that comes as no surprise to many.

Let’s go back to the minutes of the RFFF meeting.

‘…would allow fans to move on and concentrate on defeating the SNP's fight for independence.’

Why on earth would anyone mention this at a meeting about Rangers Football Club?

More to the point is why did the Vanguard Bears feel it necessary to include this statement in the minutes of said meeting?

Surely common sense and logic dictates this has nothing to with football?

Or does it?

It would appear to the casual observer that there can only be one reason for doing so. The Vanguard Bears are sending out a message to those not present at the meeting that the battle against Scottish independence is high on their agenda. They are taking the unionist fight to the stands of Ibrox.

These are the people who are dictating Charles Green’s agenda.

These are the people who Charles Green is pandering to in order to sell season tickets and soon shares.

It would come as no great surprise to discover these same people are the ones who have been writing Charles Green’s latest statements.
 

Another group tried to encourage fan ownership but they have been cold-shouldered by backroom maneuverings. Why is that? In what was deemed their suicide note, one of the points they raised was this:

Rangers Unite believe there is a private agenda, which is not in the best interests of Rangers supporters.

This was included on releasing a lengthy statement last month. Here we have an organized group of fans who were invited to a meeting along with the Rangers Supporters Trust regarding the future direction and ownership of Rangers. It is quite staggering to read that they believe there is a private agenda.

I wondered why they hadn't expanded on that? Had they been silenced? Where is Rangers Unite now? Their website is now closed down.

However, on the 23rd September 2012 Rangers Unite re-emerged in the public eye and issued the following statement via Rangers Media Forum:

It has been deemed that RST are pursuing a ‘convenient’ plan for buying ‘stock’ in Rangers FC. They are pursuing this avenue with the assistance of Supporters Direct.
Do they believe Dingwall's RST are hijacking Rangers Football Club?

Many suspect the club is being hijacked by Unionists who believe it is their club. They believe it is a club like no other. It is a Protestant and Unionist club. A British club more than a Scottish club. An ideological club more than a football club.

On the subject of the RST's plans Rangers Unite continue:

In our opinion, the RST, at the present time, lack the credibility to be leading a fan’s takeover of the Club. The main problem with their ‘proposal’ is the caveat that, to buy Shares in the Club, ‘all’ Fans would ‘need’ to become members of the RST. We consider this to be both unwanted and unnecessary. We also feel that this ‘plan’ has elements of self interest attached to it. We, therefore, cannot endorse it.

Certain RST Board members are also perceived as divisive within the Rangers Support– most notably, Mr.Dingwall.
From the outside looking in it looks like a battle for the hearts and minds of Rangers fans around the world is under way. What path will they choose?I had hope, mistakenly perhaps, that The Rangers Standard would be a shining beacon of hope for moderate and intelligent Rangers fans to gather, learn and converse about their club.

Unfortunately, that too has been hijacked. It now spends most of its time obsessing about Phil Mac, Alex Thomson and other perceived and imaginary enemies of Rangers. On the face of it this seems a waste of some very talented writers.

They are looking in the wrong place.

The biggest enemies of Rangers might just be the enemies within.

Do the fans want a modern football club devoid of hate and bigotry?

Or would they rather cling to tainted traditions that have no place in modern Scotland, or modern United Kingdom?

As always those that speak the loudest are those that are heard. Is there a silent majority shuffling on the sidelines waiting on someone, anyone other than themselves, to make a move to save their club from heading down the wrong path?

Is it really just a vocal minority that clings to the past?

Not knowing the answer to those questions I turned to The Rangers Standard to see if they could help.

Alastair McKillop writes:

How many Rangers fans have stopped attending games at Ibrox for reasons entirely unconnected to football? This speaks of a monolithic culture that is exclusionary and restricts what it means to be a Rangers fan, one that is not conducive to debate and dissent. It risks creating a hierarchy of fans with only those who fully subscribe to certain political, religious and cultural associations being ‘true Rangers fans’.

It is perhaps refreshing to know there are intelligent fans willing to question certain elements of the club’s support and the direction they wish to go, but how loud is their voice? Have words such as those generated a healthy level of open debate?

No, I’m afraid not. There wasn’t a single comment under that piece.

Perhaps instead of wasting time belittling a book that, by their own estimation, will be yesterday’s news before too long, Rangers fans should be questioning the future direction of their club.

Or instead of obsessing about a TV News Reporter who writes the occasional blog they could be more inquisitive as to what Charles Green is really up to.

Of course, there’s still the Lawwell Conspiracies to keep them busy.

Their latest fad is calling everyone and anyone sectarian if they don’t like Rangers and speak derogatively of the club or its fans.

Apparently, the word Hun is now sectarian. Has anyone informed the BBC? Stuart Cosgrove uses the word freely on his radio show Off The Ball. Would the BBC allow such free usage of Hun if it was actually sectarian? I don’t believe they would.

The word has been used for many years by supporters of every club in the country to describe Rangers and their fans. Are all these other clubs and their fans sectarian bigots? I don’t believe so.

Technically, Rangers fans may correctly point out that sectarianism doesn’t necessarily have to about religion. And they would be correct.

But it does have to be a sub-division within a group.   

I’d be keen to hear what particular group they think we all belong to that makes our differences sectarian.

By their new reckoning we’re all sectarian bigots if we use what’s deemed by the receiver to be a derogatory term to describe a football club and/or its supporters?

Surely then, playing by those rules, most football fans in the UK must be sectarian bigots. Most fans have probably at some point in their football-watching life shouted or sung something about an opposition team at least once.

And what about those sensitive Rangers fans who have suddenly become offended by the word Hun? Have they never called anyone anything? Did they do so knowing that by doing so they were being sectarian bigots? Did they consider themselves sectarian when calling Aberdeen sheep-shaggers?

I don’t think so.

They are newly-enlightened to this way of thinking. This is the road they want to take.

Any fans calling other fans any names will now be classed as sectarian bigots?

Can’t see that working, can you?

According to Rangers fans English cities like Liverpool, Manchester and London have been hotbeds of sectarianism all these years and no-one’s noticed.

While hurting over their club being seemingly attacked from all sides Rangers fans are lashing out at everyone and anyone. They are trying to drag others down to their level and want others tarred with the same sectarian brush they’ve been tarred with for decades.

Don’t be surprised if they next have the audacity to want the word Hun to be on a par with nigger in terms of offensiveness; as they try comparing their football team’s recent history with hundreds of years of slavery and persecution.

This is the rebirth of The Rangers Empire. It’s going to look much like the last one except for the quality of football on the park. Gone are the days of marquee signings from Europe’s elite. Replaced by a mix-n-match assortment of journeymen who or may not grow into the Rangers jersey.

But one thing will look exactly the same in the new empire: the hard-core fans. These proven sectarian bigots will be the driving force behind the public image of Rangers Football Club for years to come. And still they wonder why no-one in their right mind came in to save the old club from liquidation. Unless the moderate thinkers, of which there are many among the Rangers support, come to the fore, the club’s future is definitely not bright if it’s too orange.

 

References:

http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/rfc-politics/115-rangers-and-the-monarchy

http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=250:vb-report-from-rfff-meeting-4-7-12

http://www.ir-news.net/2012/09/loyalists-attack-republican-event-in-belfast-as-uvf-leaders-look-on-from-orange-hall/

http://www.orange-order.co.uk/index.html/_/orange-order/rev-mervyn-gibson-on-threat-to-the-union-from-t-r42

https://twitter.com/RangersUnite

http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=239042

Obsession

Sit back, relax and let me tell you a tale of summer love; or as others might call it: obsession.

It started innocently enough. I just wanted something to fill the void during the summer. Like many others, I thought I could handle it. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. In the end it proved too much. But with the love of a good woman I conquered what could only be described as a terrible affliction.

I’ve never been one for wearing any kind of perfumed products but after a while my new bird insisted I had to do something about the flies following me around. Obviously, being a tight-fisted sort of chap, I steadfastly refused to part with any of my own hard-earned social money to remedy the situation. I’m not faking a sore back and clinical depression just to hand my wages over to some wench, no matter how much I love her.

She wasn’t giving up. I came home today from an afternoon session down The Quay to find an assortment of deodorants, soaps and facial scrubs sitting on the living room coffee table staring at me, measuring me up, as if ready to put in a quote.

Being outstared by a can of Lynx Glasgow Edition wasn’t my finest moment, so I casually looked away and caught my reflection in the mirror above the fireplace.

Was it really so long since I’d last shaved?

How did the remains of my hair get so matted?

Was that a family of flies having a picnic on my balding spot or had my hair miraculously regrown after rubbing a picture of Wayne Rooney on it?

I gave my head a quick shake and watched as the flies took off together with such military precision I thought it must be part of the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Why had I let myself go?

Only then did I try and sit down on the couch.

“Stop right there,” a voice said. “You, my smelly little soap-dodging lover, are going to have a shower.”

I turned around to find Chantelle wearing rubber gloves and standing with her hands on hips. She had a look of steely determination in her good eye.

I’d seen that look once before, when we first met at The Savoy. She’d told me then she was going to take me home and do things to me that had never been done before. She was right, too. I’d never been tied up and robbed. As I lay naked on the bed, hands bound with Gaffer tape, I knew it was love at first sight. I promised her there and then that I’d love her till the end of time, or till the new football season started, whichever came first.

For a time it was touch and go as to how it would all end. I kept hearing rumours about Armageddon, and how we were all doomed.

“I’m putting an end to this,” she said. “You either give up your latest obsession or I’m kicking you back to the streets.”

“It’s okay, darling. It’s over. The new season has begun. I’m off that shit. I’m clean.”

“Not until you wash and shave you’re not. Move it or I’ll stab you…again.”

Chantelle is some girl, so she is. You can’t buy that kind of love. Well, not if you’re on the social. In the early days of our summer romance I wasn’t even allowed out the house, but I had limited internet access and a daily thirty minute slot in charge of the TV remote control. I tried haggling, telling her that in order to satisfy my cravings for news I had to watch both Scotland Today and Reporting Scotland, but she wasn’t for buckling, unless it involved the new harness she’d acquired for the bedroom. Still, the limited internet access was a small victory.

EURO 2012 came and went, but being tied-up with a restricted view in a flat in Glasgow’s East End meant my enjoyment was sporadic at best. For a special treat I was permitted to watch the final, but only if I wore my gimp suit and doubled as a waiter for the night while she and her friends relaxed with their glasses of sparkling chardonnay, or to give their Carntyne Cocktail its street name: Buckfast and 7up.

But, as much as I’d found love, there was something missing from my life. I realised I was incomplete without an addiction to get me through the summer. Football was the drug that kept me going for most of the year, but during the close season the cold shivers of withdrawal symptoms crept up on me like a long lost enemy. I kept turning around expecting to see David Murray but he was nowhere to be seen, although there was definitely someone lurking in the shadows; turned out to be Charles Green asking me if I wanted to buy any deeds.

Next day I bumped into Bomber Brown. That’s when my hair started to fall out.

It was obvious I needed a fix of some kind. Something to get my teeth into. Something big enough to do more than just take the edge off my rattling but not so big that I wouldn’t find my way back in time for the new season, should it ever come to being.

I’d like to say the eureka moment came while I relaxed in a warm Radox bath but only Chantelle was allowed to use the hot water back then. But when the moment finally arrived I kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. Unfortunately, when Chantelle saw me kicking myself she bottled me for hitting her boyfriend. You got to love that kind of love. I mean, the scars will heal over time, won’t they?

Anyway, the clues had been staring me in the face all the time but I’d refused to see them for what they were in case the task proved too much for my fragile mental health. The truth was I kept seeing Charles Green and Bomber Brown everywhere I turned. They had to be omens, of sorts.

Perhaps on a subliminal level my conscience was warning me to steer clear because no good would come from it. It could only end in tears. Undeterred I decided to utilise my limited internet access to research what would prove to be an explosive project.

It’s fair to say the implosion of Rangers didn’t really grab my interest at first. To the casual observer it was just another tale of corporate greed gone wrong. I’d had my fix of those tales of woe from watching BBC News24 hour after hour when in the secure ward.

However, there was nothing else happening, and after one day’s research I was hooked. For a news junkie it was a wonderful story, full of twists and turns, bad guys, badder guys and baddest guys, and more laughs than a box set of My Family.

I could get a news fix with a football angle at the same time. The best result I could’ve hoped for.

I was so excited I told Chantelle I could kill two birds with one stone.

Not one for metaphors she thought I was talking about her and her mate so she took proactive action. She culled my internet access by taking the wireless router to work with her and hid the bag of green.

But it was too late. To an addictive personality the seeds of an obsession were sown and sprouting faster than a potato left in the sun.

Once allowed outside I took to the streets with renewed vigour, stealing glances at other people’s newspapers, fancy smartphones and iPads. Piece by piece I put together various parts of the massive jigsaw of the Rangers corporate collapse. It had evolved into a saga with more legs than the dwindling numbers attending the annual cultural heritage marches.

Turned out there were two conflicting stories on the streets.

The first one, peddled by the mainstream media, spoke of doom and gloom and, dare I say it without fear of being struck down by the Lord, Armageddon.

The second story, mainly on Twitter, fans forums and various blogs spoke of fans reclaiming the game from corporate bullies, liars and cheats.

Being a devoutly religious man I knew the seriousness of Armageddon and spent many an evening persuading Chantelle to stock up on tins of soup, baked beans and Fray Bentos pies. Unfortunately, my persuasive powers were no match for her physical strength and sexual appetite, so the cupboard remained bare apart from her Slimfasts, double chocolate muffins, cases of Red Bull and enough Kamagra to stiffen the sinews of an army.

Even when I told her someone of the stature of James Traynor had predicted Armageddon she still scoffed at my concerns, kicked me in the shin and told me to stop being obsessed.

That was the first time I’d been called obsessed since leaving Lochgilphead secure ward.

I took a step back after that but couldn’t get images of Armageddon out my head. I saw hail storms where over-pumped Mitre balls fell from the Heavens killing anyone attempting to header one. I saw corner flags spearing mothers as kids tried to catch the pretty flags fluttering in the bereeze. But worst of all, I saw a salivating James Traynor beat a Lambeg Drum with legs of lamb while riding a golden chariot pulled by Chick Young, Keith Jackson and what looked like a million sheep. I tried counting them, but my insomnia was no match for Traynor’s flock.

Something had to be done.

I made a sandwich board and walked around the streets of Glasgow shouting, “The end is nigh! James Traynor has spoken! Repent or die all you diddy clubs! Repent!”

Of course, I was laughed at, ridiculed and warned to go home by everyone who noticed I needed a good wash. I told them I had no time for soap. Immediate action was required to save the country from death and destruction and no telly deal for the SPL.

I don’t know what effect my campaign had on the powers-that-be; those pillars of our society who sit around smoke-filled rooms while barbecuing sacrificial lambs for their packed lunch.

In the end Armageddon was avoided. It turned out SKY and ESPN weren’t too bothered about succulence or the backstreet tea-leaf readings of mystic James Traynor and his fellow churnalists.

Like a thirsty lion in the African Savannah I, and many others, had made it through the parched dry season and rejoiced as the first goals of the new season fell upon us like Scottish summer rain, bringing joyous life and renewed optimism for what challenges lay ahead.

Things were going to be different from now on.

The mainstream media had been exposed as second-class fiction writers; Booker Prize wannabes who could only string a sentence together if it had been provided to them in the form of a Press Release. To even change a comma would’ve proved too much for those poor souls who had lost their way navigating the changing contours of the media landscape.

The demise of the mainstream media, though still in its early stages, isn’t going away. James Traynor still sits like King Canute attempting to stem the tide, but his scoffing at those who seek to expose and usurp him increasingly makes him look desperate and dated.

But the most important thing I learned about my summer of love, or obsession, is that the object of my, and perhaps many others obsession, wasn’t, as some would believe, Rangers Football Club. For during this whole summer they never played any football. Anyone who thinks I and others are obsessed by that club is, how you might say, deluded. That new club means nothing to me. Dare I say it; they’re not even in the same league as my team.

No, the object of my obsession was Rangers the company. You know, those rogues who have been providing a great deal of fun and laughs since Valentine’s Day. To be honest, I didn’t previously disassociate the club from the company. I thought they were one in the same. Just shows you how little I knew, and provides a caveat for believing anything I write. But, no thanks to those loyal fans of the club who have forever failed to hold their owners to account, or, to give them their preferred name, the people, I’ve learned many new and wonderful things about their club, sorry, company.

But, like all topical news stories, it lost its sparkle and eventually got replaced by something else: Real football.

If you’re a New Rangers fan, don’t panic, I’m sure many SPL fans will pay your new club some attention should their team draw you in any of the cups.

Maybe New Rangers will be in the big league one day, whether they take the high moral road and climb through the leagues on merit, or the low moral road and hyperspace upwards through league reconstruction.

In the meantime I hope the new club’s fans enjoy their travels around the hedge-strewn grounds of the lower echelons of the Scottish League. I also hope they don’t embarrass their new club the way they previously embarrassed the old club. We all know what they’re like once the wine kicks in and the old Billy Boys tune pops into their heads.

Hopefully we all learned something this summer. We learned not to believe anything printed in the papers by certain journalists, or churnalists, or lamb-eaters, or whatever pet name you’ve given them. I’m sure we all have our favourite term to describe those whose time has passed.

But we mustn’t leap from the frying pan of regurgitated press releases into the fire of fantastic imaginations and believe everything those pesky bloggers write either. No, we must read widely and be critical of every source. Only then can we build a truer picture of not only how we see the world, but also how the world sees us. Learning from others with differing points of view can be painful reading sometimes, but it is crucial to enlightenment.

As an example of how bloggers can distort the truth and lead readers down wrong paths let me say this: I could never attract a member of the opposite sex as sophisticated as Chantelle in real life, but in the land of words on a screen, he who writes gets the girl.

“What’s that, darling Chantelle? Yes dear, after my bath you can shave me anywhere tonight. Yes, even downstairs. Sounds like fun. Mm, what’s that you have there? After-shave. Smells lovely. What’s it called? Oh, I see. Are you sure Calvin Klein Obsession is appropriate for this occasion? Oh my, you are a little minx.”

Well, must dash, hope you all enjoy the new season whatever team you obsess about or support.