Rangers and our fans on the back of Minty's outburst online, what's of
great interest to me is not only the subject matter, as many of us have
been raising the subject for some time, and I know that other
contributors will be detailing some of the press hatred towards
Rangers, but the response from the press, and our detractors (namely,
dumb Shellik fans) to his comments.
What has, at times, been a subtle propaganda, has been stepped up to
become open warfare.
Take the Ricksen sending off incident against Aberdeen for instance.
Timothy is now trying to equate McLeish's comments about the decision
being harsh, to his comments last season that Rangers never question
the integrity of Officialdom. Two completely different incidents, with
last season's incident resulting in an official being accused of
everything from being a Rangers season ticket holder to an card
carrying Orangeman, and the other having a decision judged as harsh. In
timothy's world they can be assimilated, and turned around, so that the
integrity of Rangers is questioned, as is our right to free speech.
Talking of which, this was the standard accusation levelled at Rangers,
our fans, and Minty after Minty's "Don't whinge to me, just don't buy
rags" outburst, that by complaining, we are somehow stifling free
speech? This coming from the supporters of a club who covered up the
worst sporting scandal of all time, and who complain every time it is
mentioned. Free Speech? Don't make me laugh.
Free Speech is something that Rangers fans cherish, and Free Speech
does NOT mean that every Rangers hater has carte blanche to spread lies
about the club or the fans, or express agendas against players.
We welcome honest opinions on performances of the team, and many of us
are as scathing of the manager and team as any journo could get, yet
it's being implied by hacks from Bill Leckie to James Traynor that we
are against criticism of how we play. It's clear that they either do
not have an understanding of a very simple statement from Minty, or
they have interpreted it to suit their own agenda.
While Murray's intentions are questionable - is he doing this to make
his life easier, or get fans back on board, while giving exclusives to
the likes of Traynor and the Sunday Herald? - one thing is clear, he's
right to say stop buying the rags. This is the only way to send a
message that we seek objectivity and real free speech from our press.
SOUTHSIDE BEAR