D'Artagnan

Tell me why its is paranoia ?

Why does it bother me ? Because as you point out....too many fans listen to it and believe it... And not only fans... "I shall never forget Colin Glass? opening remarks at the inaugural meeting of the RST when he recited a story of a mother refusing to buy her son a Rangers top because she believed we were a racist club. Can anyone else see the hand of? ?Thousands of Rangers fans making monkey noises at Bobo Balde? (or similar articles) in this woman?s erroneous image of Rangers Football Club ?"

he has had a personal vendetta against SDM...since SDM called him .... "The Judas of journalism"

Minstral.... As per normal you are spot on with that observation.

Ayebrox...I will endeavour to get the complete article for you and post it on here or send it to you

There is a popular saying that time is a great healer?.however I can honestly say that should I live to be a thousand years old?.the rage inside of me at our club?s treatment at the hands of certain sections of the media would not subside. I remember a scene from the from the film First Knight?the remake of the Arthurian Legend with Sean Connery and Richard Gere?.where the Queen stands accused of adultery and a champion is requested to defend her honour and integrity. With Lancelot absent due to other commitments there is an absence of volunteers willing to step forward in her defence. This prompts the magistrate to ask the assembled knights? ?Is there not one champion among you..is there no-one who will defend her honour?? Now chairman David Murray has advised Bears?if an article or particular writer offends or angers you?then refrain from buying that publication. The strategy here seems to be a belief that if we ignore them?.they will go away. I would like to challenge the wisdom of such a strategy and also point out that there is an inconsistency of message coming from within Ibrox when it comes to dealing with damaging statements. Looking back through the stewardship of David Murray there have been a catalogue of lies and damaging articles written about our club?.I think it would be fair to say that no other club in Scotland has been vilified so much by the press in recent times?.culminating last week in Jackson?s articles, which were not only at odds with the facts?but also at odds with other media reports regarding the cancellation. So if these frequent attacks have not ceased?have not gone away?.my question to you would be?? Has this strategy of ignoring them worked ?? The other thing I would ask you to do is?for a brief moment to set aside your righteous indignation at these articles?..and objectively review what damage is being caused to our club by allowing such articles to continue unchallenged. Some of them are obvious?the damage and tarnishing of our club?s image. I shall never forget Colin Glass? opening remarks at the inaugural meeting of the RST when he recited a story of a mother refusing to buy her son a Rangers top because she believed we were a racist club. Can anyone else see the hand of? ?Thousands of Rangers fans making monkey noises at Bobo Balde? (or similar articles) in this woman?s erroneous image of Rangers Football Club ? And let us never forget as irate Bears challenged the author of those words the ?thousands? became ?hundreds? and as the challenges continued eventually they became ?a handful? It appears to me that on this occasion taking direct action instead of ignoring such comments provided a measure of success. I would ask you to remember that the above article is only one of many which have appeared in our media?.if people are hearing the same message time and time again?in what is supposed to be reliable media sources?how long before they accept them as truth and fact ? Moving away from the obvious damage caused to our club?s image I now enter the world of speculation. I just wonder how much of the UEFA?s prosecutors appeal against the Not Guilty verdict in respect of our club?s bigotry charges, was encouraged by the media response in our country to our ?acquittal? Or how much he was encouraged in his quest by the assumption in this country?s media, prior to the initial verdict, that we as a club were guilty.? I watched a no. of programmes during the UEFA investigation. These featured the ?usual suspects? who openly expressed the certainty of our club?s guilt?.the only speculation appeared to be the severity of the impending sentence. This in a country where expressing opinion about a ongoing trial is strictly forbidden as it may prejudice the outcome. Lets not forget what happened in the Lee Bowyer/Jonathon Woodgate trial and the reasons for its abandonment. Did I maybe miss a statement from inside Ibrox that such assumptions and comments on national tv and in national publications were likely to prevent Rangers receiving a fair hearing ? And speaking of inside Ibrox?.are they practising what they preach ? Martin Bain is currently pursuing a libel case against a French football agent who made claims that Bain acted improperly during the Boumsong negotiations. Martin Bain believes that such claims may have a damaging effect on his reputation and personal integrity. And you know what?he is right. Which begs the question that if our hierarchy can see the potential damage caused by lies and inaccurate comments on a personal level?.and are willing to take action to redress the situation?..why oh why are they not willing to take the same course of action when the reputation of our football club is at stake. ? Let us return for a brief moment to Arthurian legend. At Arthur?s round table sat many knights?committed to each other and to the protection of Camelot. Each knight had to lay aside self interest for the good of Camelot. The death or the falling from grace of one of these knights meant an empty place setting at the round table until a knight of suitable character could be found to fill that place. If we substitute the round table of Camelot for the round table of Rangers Football Club?.. It appears to me we have a lot of empty place settings. RANGERS FOREVER

Dado it makes outstanding reading....but its not all Bears who have noticed this...Stuart Cosgrove ripped Spiers apart on his radio show...I will try and get the full article and post it on here

Yep McNee came out with it originally and the corduroy cowboy jumped on the bandwagon to defend him... Keevins is famous for "there were 4 priests at my daughters wedding"...hence him being referred to as ""4 priests"

And it will probably continue to happen if Rangers players representing their country in ROI are booed simply because they play for our club. Albeit they managed to boo the wrong player Imagine mixing up pistol Pete with anyone !

Ayebrox There is a guy on Follow Follow who has already done this.....you could get the article via the site moderator. Makes eye opening reading

Derek Parlane

I think that that was the point that was being made on other posts that was been suggested, but you dont sing them alba do you. Thats the problem Minstral....the lack of clarification is causing even our own to question that which is acceptable.

"however, a whole series of recednt decisions, or non-decisions, have left me feeling that he is simply courting popularity on a number of frronts and has lost the edge which I believed he had up until relatively recently." Smelling salts for me please !!

Totally agree with that Alba :o :o I just wish he would come out and say it categorically....I honestly think then the self Policing which is so often mentioned would have a clear and unequivocal platform from which to operate.

Seeing the man who was.."Borrn to be King of Ibrox Park" again. Other oldies will know what I mean.

You'll need to give me a clue on those 2 references D'Artagnan McNee in his column refused to use Gazza's name....simply referring to him as No. 8.

I dont necessarily disagree with that Alba....and given some of his statements on the subject from SDM I wouldn't be surprised if this was in fact the case. Agree that sometimes we make a rod for our own backs....but as you have pointed out it is only a minority. If that minority and their behaviour was the focus of media attention and criticism then quite simply there would be nothing to defend. But we both know that is not just their focus....legitimate flags, banners,songs and music have all been attacked...and that is the line I am seeking to defend.

Alba... Shades of McNee and No. 8 there !

Im well aware of the significance of the forget-me-not lapel badge California... "Example The article associating the poster display to a Nuremburg rally is easy meat for anti-Rangers brigade when you consider the salute our fans use, can be likened to the Nazi salute therefore making the analogy just a short leap to the Nuremburg rallies. I by the way also find this gesture of saluting offensive due to the fact the little forget-me-not lapel badge is quite dear to me." I think there are 2 issues here California. You are spot on regarding the salute....has to go. However the paralells they drew after the card display had nothing to do with the salute....its was the imagery on display (the flags) and the accompanying music from the tannoys. They will stop at nothing to discredit our club.... My question is...where do we draw a line in the sand ?

You Spartan you

Thermo... Is that the Mountjoy in your avatar ?

Like Manticore I think that is an excellent testimony evens. Ive a feeling the "no names mentioned" part refers to me. "For me, to be a bear is to be a bear - we all support the club we love for different reasons and it infuriates me when some seek to preach to others about why we do." I agree with that comment in particular wholeheartedly...and if you check out the things I have written....I would in no way seek to preach to anyone why they should be a bear. What I would defend to the hilt however is our identity...our heritage and our traditions and any Bears right to express them as he/she sees fit...so long as it is in a manner which does nothing to tarnish our club. A Bear's religion...or lack of it as the case may be... is of no relevance to me whatsoever....nor is it important that he/she sings the Sash or Derry's Walls.....but I do think it is important that we recognise and accept that our club has a Protestant heritage ...and that some Bears singing will refelect that heritage. What I seek to defend is any Bear's right to expres that heritage. Loyalandtrueblue on this thread wrote.. "For quite a number of years now i have witnessed a backlash against Rangers and we the supporters from large segments of the media and sadly i have also watched fellow Bears starting to believe the myth that they portray about us. For some reason we are an acceptable target within the media and that has spread to the general public. What is sad, as i have said, is that some fellow Bears have started to believe it" I could not have put this any better myself...and it sums up exactly where I am coming from....the kind of feeling he has expressed in that comment was the motivation for me in my Rangers & Weathergirls article - ie Rangers fans are being unfairly demonised within the press to the point where they are almost de-humanised at times. But I feel it goes further than that....there is a particular element within the support who are targetted by the press....those who wish to sing about our heritage and identity...and I dont even mean our Protestant heritage when I say this...some of the most vitriolic attacks are regarding our displays of Britishness....viz Speirs and McNee referring to card dispalys being like a Nuremeberg Rally...and criticisms of the club playing the Dambusters over the tannoy system. In a roundabout way the press are attempting to mould the very thing which you have stated infuriates you....they are preaching to us what is acceptable and unacceptable about being a Bear. Furthermore as loyalandtrueblue points out...many Bears have started to believe some of the myths portrayed about us...and this is where I am coming from when I press fellow bears and posters for answers or explanantions on certain topics or issues. I would love to see our club shed its sectarian baggage......but that does not mean abandoning our unquestionable heritage....we should never be ashamed of what we are or where we came from....nor should that heritage be a pre-requisite for any person wishing to follow our club....but understanding where we came from is the only way we can move forward together as Manticore states...as that broad church.

Hard to say Davie...he has made no secret of his plans to sell up....and given the fact in a former statement several years ago he spoke of his sons taking over...you have to presume some of the appeatite which was once there has gone.

And no-one Ace is asking you to sing those songs. And as you correctly point out...by not singing them, you are not any more or any less a Rangers supporter. However given your examples of the chimey kids/drink/driving and also the songs you have quoted....are you inferring that these are no longer acceptable at Ibrox. ? And if you are can I ask you why ?

California,yer dreamin.and your'e light years away from debating D'artagnan. Each to their own PB each to their own.....I do think it would be helpful if some of the posters on here were to expand on some of their answers...and I dont just mean California by that comment.