The attacks on Rangers have progressively got worse and more unbalanced as time has progressed. The decision to attack fan media partner Heart and Hand was as low as could possibly be.
Now before I continue I will say this; I’m not here to defend sectarian singing or make excuses for what someone else has apparently said, the club are working hard to educate and spread awareness and that’s something I obviously support. There is certain songs, phrases and behaviour that is not welcome at the club, it will get us into trouble and we have to get rid of them. I’m also not here to lecture anyone either but if you are indulging in behaviour that hurts the club then I simply ask you to think about the impact it is having.
I’ve also not seen one supporter, one Rangers site or anyone on social media make excuses or defend that. This certainly isn’t that either but it almost certainly seems to me that there is an unbalanced pile on at the moment.
‘Cancel Culture’ is something I don’t enjoy or have any time for at all. I truly think that scrapping though peoples social media for a supposed story is an extremely poor look for apparent journalists. Heart and Hand have issued a statement on that and you can find it on their main site. Selective ‘Cancel Culture’ is even worse and the evidence is there in front of you.
What is clear is that others in ‘Fan media’ have been given the proverbial ‘Green light’ to tweet whatever they want without the same level of scrutiny. Indeed it’s fair game to call Rangers fans ‘Orange Bastards’ ‘Hun Bastards’ or even as in the case of another podcast ‘Monkey bastards’. It also seems it’s fair game to go on a SPFL’s team broadcast and hope that one of our players gets chopped up amongst many recent incidents against our club.
What does bother me is that one side seem to get highlighted, and slaughtered, whilst the other is seemingly ignored. There is an imbalance to it all and whilst they may claim to highlight all issues it certainly doesn’t seem that way.
We live in a day and age where it’s free reign on Rangers and our club, we can be called everything and yet it’s never highlighted or a problem. Those same people attacking Rangers and fan media will ignore the shouts of ‘Hun’ ‘Orange bastard’ and the rest of it.
That takes me to last weekend and the coverage that our club has received.
If anyone can let me know when the condemnation of the fans singing ‘we won’t be mastered by no Orange bastards’ (as their team bus left last week) is coming, then I would be grateful. The hypocrisy of reporting is staggering, in fact there is no reporting, it is just ignored.
Then there is riots and huge fights at bars and it’s reported as ‘Football fans’ when clearly it is one set of supporters. We have seen time and time again videos of songs glorifying terrorist organisations, one this week with a young child on the shoulders of an adult joining in, yet we don’t ever see the same level of scrutiny.
Imagine this was our support? Well you don’t have to, you have seen it.
In fact, if we dare to ask for parity in reporting, we are told it’s whataboutery. It’s only whataboutery because it doesn’t suit the very clear agenda. When we ask to highlight these things we are told and forced into a situation where ‘It’s all a Rangers problem’. It’s fair game on this club.
The continuous attacks on the club are without balance. The football club have been slaughtered at every opportunity. I’ll repeat something I said earlier in the week;
I ask myself what more do people want Rangers to do?
Do they want Rangers to start an award winning campaign on inclusion and diversity?
Do they want Rangers to run educational classes and take roadshows to the community to tackle Bigotry and sectarianism?
Do they want Rangers to engage with Governments and councils for solutions to these issues?
Do they want Rangers to have an open to all policy on employment and club positions?
Do they want Rangers to play tannoy messages and speak to fans about these issues on a regular basis?
Do they want Rangers to take quick and incisive action when events do happen?
Rangers do all these things and more. Not only do they do it, but as a support we welcome it.
Look at the coverage we received when that proven fake tiktok had emerged. Politicians and pundits falling over theirselves not only to condemn but then have the audacity to double down and question the investigation! This was a fake video and they set out to completely sabotage the clubs reputation without any recourse at all.
Then they just walk away knowing full well the damage that is done.
I ask myself why it is ok for me to be interviewed on Sky Sports and then face a barrage of abuse for being a ‘Hun Bastard’ or a ‘Dirty Orange Bastard’, receive threats, used a video memes etc and despite there being threads of examples, that is seen as ‘What happens when you put your head above the parapet’ when talking about Rangers. My only crime is supporting my club and apparently having no hair!
But that’s the reality of the current situation we face, there is no middle ground and there is no balance of reporting. They hate us and change isn’t going to happen overnight. There are good people in the media and journalists that do a good job, but too many are driven by personal vendettas based on the clubs they support.
Just look at James Dornan, MSP, he will gladly change the parameters of everything he has said before on the spot to avoid any headlines that doesn’t involve his narrative. On James’s logic below, why has he been contacting Rangers over George Square stuff because that was not coming ‘to or from a game’ as he puts it. You can’t keep changing the narrative to suit. It’s selective to suit the agenda.
Then there is the mess of the Daily Record employees who have tweeted out much worse than anything that we have seen anywhere. In fact almost the same phrases, and worse have been used, that made front page of it’s own paper the other day in that very clear hatchet job.
‘Hun’ ‘Orange Bastards’ etc, all common place, but we are told they are offensive, not sectarian and we need to get on with it. By the boundaries of the law that’s not even close to being the truth.
Rangers attempted to work with the Daily Record to repair relations and when we as a club pointed out that there is a perception they were ‘Anti Rangers’ they laughed and told us it was in our heads.
Then we now see how many anti Rangers attacks there has been from their employee base.
There has been the bizarre targeting of club officials, inaccurate stories peddled on a regular basis and even after IPSO ruled their coverage to be worthy of an apology, they refused.
This is an organisation which is unfit for purpose. If this was in any other western democracy it would be consigned to the dustbin of history, like the News of the World was.
These “journalists” try to discredit and ruin people’s lives, all because they work for or with our beloved club.
And one more thing, if you work for an organisation like this, and don’t call it out (especially so called Rangers fans), you’re complicit and just as bad.
The hypocrisy is astounding.
I don’t want unbalanced reporting, I don’t want everyone telling me things are rosey etc I merely want a fair and balanced coverage from those so intent on sticking the boot in. I also don’t want lives ruined which is what is happening right in front of us.
I certainly didn’t start this blog to have to go to war with the media and point out various things people have said.
I want my club to continue to take action and tackle our problems whilst trying to educate people. I support that and those who don’t aren’t welcome by the clubs own admissions and actions this past week.
But this will all be ‘whataboutery’ to some and they aren’t interested because it’s only our club and our fans that have the problem and that in itself only leads to more problems.
Whataboutery is a poor defence and it normally comes from people who dismiss it because it doesn’t suit their agenda or narrative.
That agenda is clear, All things Rangers are bad and they aren’t interested in solving issues unless it involves crushing of our fans and our club.
Four Lads Had A Dream 