Pandering to politically correct culture...

[disgruntled_bear 157]

WELCOME to the laughing stock of the civilised world. A country that can knock a recession off the front pages and replace it with the Hokey Cokey, but not in the name of light relief. A nation that clamoured for the return of Rab C Nesbitt until they discovered Jamesie Cotter was a bigot. A place where Eggs Benedict is not simply Sunday brunch but a religious hot potato. An unobtrusive little piece of land mass where even the finest, most soothing work of Brian Wilson, a pacifist with a piano and addiction to painkillers, can be twisted into a spiteful ditty.

What have we become?

An overly sensitive, emotionally unstable society more concerned by reality television voting scandals and playground clyping than such trifling matters as credit crises and chronic unemployment. It is not fashionable to say this, but here goes: David Murray is right.

advertisement

Recently, and belatedly, the Rangers chairman was compelled to stand up for his club and the work it has undertaken to weed out an audible portion of pillocks that follow the club. While condemnatory of the behaviour of Rangers' problem punters, he reiterated his belief that obesity, and not sectarianism, was the biggest problem facing Scottish society.

On Boxing Day, The Herald carried a front page article revealing the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association opposed council plans to implement a healthy eating' curfew as a "threat to pupils' rights". A threat to their cosy lunchtimes in the staff room, more like. Thesame pupils' rights that enable neds to attack teachers physically or verbally when they don't have their way? The same rights that enable them to nip down the bike shed for a quick puff, and not always on a cigarette?

A lunch-time lock-in is not nearly long enough to instil good habits into the Talkin' Aboot generation. Instead of encouraging progressive ideas, though, we defend their ability to stuff themselves with artery-clogging meals for lunch, washed down with tooth-decaying ginger' and a Mars bar dessert.

What does this have to do with football and sectarianism? Everything. We are the least healthy country in Europe and, as a consequence, are rearing the least fit, motivated or disciplined children on the Continent. Football club managers at senior level bemoan the softness of the recent crop, as much in their minds as their flabby tummies. Some will become the next wave of bigots, which is why politicians should know better than to keep tabloids filled with prime currency marked sectarianism'.

On Saturday, despite an internet driven appeal, the Rangers support refrained from the Hokey Cokey. They had more important things to worry about. Presumably, Michael Mathieson MSP realises he put his right foot in it but, more likely, he will be revelling in the infamy of starting a new fad in exchange for some cheap and pointless publicity.

"It is important that the police and clubs are aware of the sinister background and take appropriate action against individuals and groups who may use it at matches," he said in a statement that read like a parody.

Even the Catholic Church must have checked the calendar to confirm it was Christmas and not April Fool's Day. Mathieson has succeeded only in losing all credibility for his stupidity and pandered to the lowest common denominator. Does he genuinely believe that right-minded Roman Catholics will be outraged at the sight of a pot-bellied Rangers fan shaking it all about? Come to think of it, he is probably the kind of guy who believes half the country are affronted by The Famine Song, while the other half put the BBC complaints line into meltdown because Jamesie called Gordon Ramsay a h**.

It is easy for an agnostic mongrel to take it all with a pinch of salt.

Sectarianism is not an epidemic. It is a crutch for life's irrelevants. Take my inbox. These past few weeks, the same character (I will not mention his name lest I give him the oxygen of publicity) has sent a daily e-mail with no text, just the heading: Horrible, Hurtin' h**'. Am I supposed to be offended or chuffed by the fact I am the first person he thinks of in the morning?

Then there is Orangeman, a faceless individual who has taken to e-mailing on a regular basis to determine whether the word h** is offensive. I have been tempted to reply that he should ask the Eurasians.

Perhaps the Hokey Cokey will prove a watershed; the moment when Rangers fans realise the ridiculous depths they have plumbed for one-upmanship and Celtic's supporters accept that becoming morally indignant over jibes about their ancestors or their faith only encourages them.

Me? I hope, dearly, that 2009 can be spent reporting on the football. Keeping an ear out for a banned or socially unacceptable song has become a tedious distraction to the job, but a necessary evil all the same. It is time to move on.

It is time to promote the game, the players, the entertainment; not the IRA, UDA or the Hokey Cokey.

Football unites countries in crisis. Scotland needs its goodness as never before. Wouldn't it be nice to think that, in future, school kids will eschew the local chippy for some pasta, gain manners and motivation, and become an overdue generation of football greats? If we continue down the road of encouraging obesity and pandering to bigotry, where will we end up? God only knows.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/headlines..._to_nowhere.php

[nvager 498]

Good common sense article. Gives a sense of perspective.

[Guest johngers]

Well written.

[disgruntled_bear 157]

Good common sense article. Gives a sense of perspective.

Yeah it puts a few things into prospective

[Jardy 0]

whos it by db? why has nobody else come out and said all this?

[J_RFC87 761]

It's just an article that really just says what we're all thinking. At least it's comforting someone like Broadfoot can defend the club.

One link to all the above problems: religion.

[disgruntled_bear 157]

whos it by db? why has nobody else come out and said all this?

DARRYL BROADFOOT wrote the article.

[stelle1966 0]

It's just an article that really just says what we're all thinking. At least it's comforting someone like Broadfoot can defend the club.

One link to all the above problems: religion.

If we believe he's defending Rangers, then we've missed the point.

He's defending commonsense.

Too often we take the approach of looking for the tit for tat, the PUP MP David Ervine was a clear advocate of the SA approach.

Acknowlege what we've said and done and accept what been said on done on the other side, and MOVE ON.

Saw an earlier thread on Novo, and I thought "well let's see, Novo get's a song sung, and Lennon and McGeady get attacked, yet we're the ones looking for protection"

Nothing in Scotland is ever going to change and you know what I don't think most people want it to. All anyone wants is the ability to say "We're right, you're wrong"

Aye, the politically correct are all wrong let's get the blades oot. Jesus Christ.