Last weekend's Scotland on Sunday revealed that the Scottish Executive had sanctioned financial assistance to the anti-sectarianism 'charity' Nil by Mouth for a further three years. Whether this is a justifiable use of taxpayers' money when tens of thousands face the prospect of losing their livelihoods and why this particular 'charity' is evidently so dependent on public funds are certainly moot points. Nevertheless, I believe there is a more obvious reason why the Rangers support in particular should be wary of this development.
For the uninitiated, Nil by Mouth was founded by Cara Henderson in the aftermath of the sectarian murder of her friend Mark Scott in 1995, although it has subsequently fallen under the influence of others. It is instructive to invoke Cara's views on the issue of sectarianism:
"In order to treat sectarianism in Scotland we must reach some sort of understanding of how it is that we - we as a particular society and we as a particular people - have come to be and act in a certain way. It is only by understanding that we can ever hope to break that emotionally degenerative and socially destructive cycle of blame. For blame is a scapegoat. Blame means that prejudice is someone else's fault, someone else's problem and that way everyone escapes responsibility. A blame culture reinforces the "them and us" mentality which helps to incubate prejudice."
Fine words, I'm sure most will concur. However, has NBM embodied the philosophy articulated by Ms Henderson?
Not long after Cara left NBM, the organisation objected to a scheme whereby French children and those of members of the loyal orders spent holidays together. It has consistently refused to challenge religious segregation in Scottish education, despite the overwhelming majority of the public being opposed. [1] Indeed, in a bizarre twist and seemingly treading ground far beyond his remit, chief spokesman Peter McLean (previously Celtic's PR officer) spoke out against the closure of a Roman Catholic school in East Kilbride. Of an altogether more troubling nature, though, was McLean's role in presenting statistics purportedly demonstrating that Roman Catholics were far more likely to be the victims in sectarian murder cases, which he also asserted were commonplace. As pointed out by Prof Steve Bruce, the data used were erroneous and neither claim had any validity. Rangers supporters found to their cost the one-sided nature of NBM when it was heavily involved in persuading UEFA to charge the club (and find it 'partly guilty') in 2006 of 'discriminatory chanting', an offence originally intended to target racist abuse directed at black footballers. In stark contrast to its stance concerning Rangers and the side of Scotland's religious divide associated with the club, NBM has been noticeably reluctant to take any action or release condemnatory statements when Celtic supporters have transgressed.
Given the cottage industry that has burgeoned around religious bigotry in the past decade - there is now a bewildering number of 'anti-sectarianism groups' from Kick Out Bigotry to Sense Over Sectarianism - why is the innate bias of one relatively small body so concerning? In my view, the problem relates to NBM's role at the interface between Scotland's political system and news media. The phrase 'A spokesman for Nil by Mouth said….' placed as an addendum to newspaper articles covering stories that invariably involve anti-Catholic bigotry amounts to the tacit acceptance that NBM has assumed the right to act as judge and jury on any issue related to sectarianism and is delivering its solemn verdict. It is also undeniable that NBM developed very close links with Scottish Labour, seeming on occasion to act in conjunction with MSPs such as Bill Butler. Revealingly, Jack McConnell, the man primarily identified with Scotland's anti-sectarianism legislation, mounted an almost obsessive defence of the 'charity' in response to the recent threat to its funding. Only four months ago his main adviser in academia, Prof Tom Devine, let the cat out the bag when he said that 'sectarianism' was simply coded jargon in political circles for 'anti-Catholicism', thereby confirming what the more perceptive always knew; namely, that Scotland's drive against bigotry is essentially a sham.
NBM is very much a crucial element of this sham. It has indisputably identified a 'scapegoat' and is guilty of fostering the 'blame culture' abhorred by Cara Henderson - a blame culture that 'reinforces the "them and us" mentality which helps to incubate prejudice'. Indeed, some would argue that NBM's mindset differs little from the attitudes it was supposedly established to counter.
Why then does the board of Rangers FC continue to treat NBM as a bona fide 'anti-sectarianism group'? Is it so lacking in self-belief and resolve that it simply seeks to appease agenda-driven activists who loathe the club and everything they believe it stands for? It is long past time Rangers FC sent out a message to its antagonists by breaking off relations with NBM until the organisation radically alters its approach. In the interim, all money earmarked for the 'charity' should be donated to UNICEF instead. Please end this charade, Rangers.
1. A Scottish Social Attitudes Survey of 1663 people in 2000 indicated 81% in favour of the abolition of state-funded denominational schooling, with only 15% favouring the status quo.
For the uninitiated, Nil by Mouth was founded by Cara Henderson in the aftermath of the sectarian murder of her friend Mark Scott in 1995, although it has subsequently fallen under the influence of others. It is instructive to invoke Cara's views on the issue of sectarianism:
"In order to treat sectarianism in Scotland we must reach some sort of understanding of how it is that we - we as a particular society and we as a particular people - have come to be and act in a certain way. It is only by understanding that we can ever hope to break that emotionally degenerative and socially destructive cycle of blame. For blame is a scapegoat. Blame means that prejudice is someone else's fault, someone else's problem and that way everyone escapes responsibility. A blame culture reinforces the "them and us" mentality which helps to incubate prejudice."
Fine words, I'm sure most will concur. However, has NBM embodied the philosophy articulated by Ms Henderson?
Not long after Cara left NBM, the organisation objected to a scheme whereby French children and those of members of the loyal orders spent holidays together. It has consistently refused to challenge religious segregation in Scottish education, despite the overwhelming majority of the public being opposed. [1] Indeed, in a bizarre twist and seemingly treading ground far beyond his remit, chief spokesman Peter McLean (previously Celtic's PR officer) spoke out against the closure of a Roman Catholic school in East Kilbride. Of an altogether more troubling nature, though, was McLean's role in presenting statistics purportedly demonstrating that Roman Catholics were far more likely to be the victims in sectarian murder cases, which he also asserted were commonplace. As pointed out by Prof Steve Bruce, the data used were erroneous and neither claim had any validity. Rangers supporters found to their cost the one-sided nature of NBM when it was heavily involved in persuading UEFA to charge the club (and find it 'partly guilty') in 2006 of 'discriminatory chanting', an offence originally intended to target racist abuse directed at black footballers. In stark contrast to its stance concerning Rangers and the side of Scotland's religious divide associated with the club, NBM has been noticeably reluctant to take any action or release condemnatory statements when Celtic supporters have transgressed.
Given the cottage industry that has burgeoned around religious bigotry in the past decade - there is now a bewildering number of 'anti-sectarianism groups' from Kick Out Bigotry to Sense Over Sectarianism - why is the innate bias of one relatively small body so concerning? In my view, the problem relates to NBM's role at the interface between Scotland's political system and news media. The phrase 'A spokesman for Nil by Mouth said….' placed as an addendum to newspaper articles covering stories that invariably involve anti-Catholic bigotry amounts to the tacit acceptance that NBM has assumed the right to act as judge and jury on any issue related to sectarianism and is delivering its solemn verdict. It is also undeniable that NBM developed very close links with Scottish Labour, seeming on occasion to act in conjunction with MSPs such as Bill Butler. Revealingly, Jack McConnell, the man primarily identified with Scotland's anti-sectarianism legislation, mounted an almost obsessive defence of the 'charity' in response to the recent threat to its funding. Only four months ago his main adviser in academia, Prof Tom Devine, let the cat out the bag when he said that 'sectarianism' was simply coded jargon in political circles for 'anti-Catholicism', thereby confirming what the more perceptive always knew; namely, that Scotland's drive against bigotry is essentially a sham.
NBM is very much a crucial element of this sham. It has indisputably identified a 'scapegoat' and is guilty of fostering the 'blame culture' abhorred by Cara Henderson - a blame culture that 'reinforces the "them and us" mentality which helps to incubate prejudice'. Indeed, some would argue that NBM's mindset differs little from the attitudes it was supposedly established to counter.
Why then does the board of Rangers FC continue to treat NBM as a bona fide 'anti-sectarianism group'? Is it so lacking in self-belief and resolve that it simply seeks to appease agenda-driven activists who loathe the club and everything they believe it stands for? It is long past time Rangers FC sent out a message to its antagonists by breaking off relations with NBM until the organisation radically alters its approach. In the interim, all money earmarked for the 'charity' should be donated to UNICEF instead. Please end this charade, Rangers.
1. A Scottish Social Attitudes Survey of 1663 people in 2000 indicated 81% in favour of the abolition of state-funded denominational schooling, with only 15% favouring the status quo.