Being Sensible About Tackling Bigotry with Sister Mary

Well, if you read even a few Scottish papers every week then you'd have to agree that barely a week goes by without some such reference (or barely a day if you read the Daily Rhebel or Sunday Liam!)

But have you ever stopped to question whether YOU are, in fact, a bigot? The sad truth is that almost everyone who adheres to a particularly strong belief, whether religious or cultural, is by definition a bigot. If you are a Protestant, Jew, Moslem, Catholic, Satanist or Hindu then you have a belief that not only are your God and your religious practises the right ones, then everyone else is wrong to a greater or lesser degree. Now, in this so- called enlightened age there will be many tolerant types who, while holding to their own beliefs, are open-minded enough to accept that others should be free to worship in their own way. Well, maybe within certain limits. Freedom of worship should not extend to child sacrifice or goat-shagging!

However, where the line of acceptable behaviour is crossed is when you are not just fervent in your own beliefs but you instinctively hate others' and this is where bigotry creeps in. As Rangers supporters we are rightly proud to be British, as well as Scottish, and we are happy to acknowledge the many traditional links to the Protestant faith. But what is not acceptable is when people put more energy into hating others than supporting their own belief whether religious or in terms of your choice of football team.

Ask yourself some simple questions:

§ Do you actively avoid buying clothes, furnishings, or maybe a car if they happen to be GREEN?




§ If you meet someone called Pat, Brendan, Theresa, or Bernadette do you automatically think "Tim" or do you judge them as individuals on their personality and behaviour?




§ At a game, do you spend more time singing anti-Catholic or anti-Celtic chants than shouting for the Rangers?

If you answer "yes" to any of these you're well on your way to being a bigot. If you answer "yes" to all of them - and are proud of it- then you are not only a bigot but almost certainly ignorant and uneducated as well. A colleague once declared that he never chose the fish in the staff restaurant on a Friday in case people thought he was a Catholic. Eh? That doesn't make him a good Proddy or a loyal Rangers supporter. It simply proves that he's stupid, which I'd long suspected anyway. (The use of the word "HE" is also significant here; most, although certainly not all, of the really good bigots are men).

Let's be realistic. There is no one with a West of Scotland upbringing who does not automatically associate particular names or schools with particular religions.



However, while we cannot stop that type of thought popping into our heads, normal civilized people dismiss the thought instantly. It's the bigots who allow such stupidity to fester and cloud their judgement.

And don't go quoting long-held tradition as the reason that some (i.e. lots) of so-called fans still sing mindless rubbish about "Fenian blood." Traditionally we used to burn witches in this country and people thought the world was flat. As we became more enlightened and educated we began to tell the difference between facts and mindless superstition. For whatever reason, some sad individuals prefer to hark back to the events of over three hundred years ago when deciding what to sing. Actually, deciding isn't the right word because that implies and element of conscious thought. On the evidence at most home games, there's little thought given and just lots of following the herd.

My gripe is simply that religious bigotry has no place in football. If you choose to lead a life dominated by hatred of those with opposing views to your own then that's sad but it's your choice. But I'm talking about football here; it's not real life, although it forms an important part of it for many of us. However, it should not be used as a vehicle to peddle nonsensical rubbish about religion, especially since many of the leading proponents will seldom, if ever, have been to church and they certainly do not live by the Christian faith.

Don't misunderstand me. We are all human and as such we all have that element of not just relishing our own success but rejoicing in the misfortune of our enemies. It's very much a characteristic of football fans in particular because of the passion with which we follow our own teams. I get furious when certain members of the press imply that there is something more evil in this hatred of Celtic by Rangers fans, and vice versa, than between other clubs. This is simply not true - speak to Barca fans about Real Madrid, or Man City about United, Inter versus AC Milan, and you'll find the same feelings.

I admit it - shock, horror - that I leapt up and cheered when that third Porto goal went in over in Seville because I couldn't face the gloating for another thirty years. And I don't have a problem with the fact that Celtic fans would have been cheering when Stuttgart scored their goal the other night. Likewise how many of us had a wee smile at the very least when that Mackay cross beat Hedman? That comes with the territory and I'll leave all the "supporting every Scottish team in Europe stuff" to the neutrals. But I don't hate Celtic fans, I don't hate Catholics and I don't think that Rangers fans are an all round nice bunch of people. Some are and some are most certainly not.

Is it not better to judge people on their own merits? I admit to a general dislike of the hypocrisy associated with all major religions. However, I don't dislike the Catholic faith any more than, say, Islam - both are steeped in misogyny, abuse of human rights and an incredible ability to rewrite the facts to suit their purposes. What I just can't get my head round is the fact that in an increasingly multi-cultural society we, as football fans, should single out one particular group for our hatred. (And don't take that as an invitation to just hate everyone!)

Surely we should be at the stage of evolution when we are actively seeking to recruit more supporters from all walks of life? Schools in Scotland used to be either Protestant or Catholic. Then they became "multi-denominational" but are now "non-denominational" and as I see it this simply serves to alienate and marginalize Catholics. Should we not see ourselves, Rangers fans, not so much as multi-denominational but more as NON-denominational because we welcome supporters of whatever creed, colour, gender or nationality? By focusing on one narrow aspect of our history, when we were without question anti-Catholic, the more we lower ourselves to their level.




Look at the team against Stuttgart and you'll see many different shades of skin, religions, and nationalities. Like most other Gers fans I'd like to see more home grown boys in the first team, but at the end of the day does it really matter as long as they wear that blue jersey?

When you put on that Rangers top or scarf what does it mean to you? It should signify pride and passion, not hatred of others. We can't change others' perceptions of us until we change ourselves first. Every time you display the Rangers colours are you behaving in a way which reflects well on a great club or are you bringing shame on yourself and Rangers? Think about it.




SISTER MARY