Let's be honest for a second- If the world were devoid of delusional beliefs of archaic organised religions, there would be no such thing as Sectarianism.
But, here in Scotland it is a blight. It is one of the most major issues we face individually as a country, and something really has to be done about it. Worst of all, it is centralised around FOOTBALL, which is wholly disconnected from religion. The only religious element at all, is that one club happened to be founded by an Irish Catholic and one by a Protestant Christian. Regardless of what additional history there might be, I don't really care. It's caused quite enough suffering. That is why I loudly applaud proposals for new laws to be drafted in regarding the imprisonment of individuals for sectarian behaviour in public. The singing of these disgusting songs, and waving Irish Loyalist/Nationalist flags at "Old Firm" games brings shame on us all. We can shout as profusely as we like about free speech, but when it causes this level of violence, hooliganism, outrage, discord and disorder then something has to be done.
Crack down on these clubs. Have Rangers and Celtic foot the bill for the obscene level of policing required at their matches, why should fans who just love the game, and those like myself who are uninterested by it have to pay to keep bigots in line? And lets face it, if we are paying for it, we want to see some repercussions for them. Have the clubs themselves clamp down on these thugs- and if they can't do that, then we should treat it as we would with any other venue or organisation that allowed this sort of violence to ensue:
Ban the fixture, (as was done with Scotland and England,) or, Close them down. Both of them.
This cancer has to be cut out one way or another and if handing out tougher sentences helps then I am all for it. There is no need for anyone to be "crossing" themselves at football matches, despite there being outcry over the motion to stop it by radicalist Christian groups already. There is no call for singing songs about battles and bloody crusades long since past. Like religion itself, Sectarianism we see in football today is a remnant of the past, it's history. That's the way it should stay, and with any luck this new legislation should help speed this process along.
I am sick and tired of my country being marred by violence that could be so easily avoided.
I am sick and tired of people getting away with singing about being "up to their knees in Fenian blood"
I'm sick and tired up of all this talk of IRA and UVF in relation to football when (largely) we aren't Irish and don't live in Ireland.
I'm sick and tired of hearing the words "hun" "Tim" and "Fenian" when they are taken out of their contexts and mean fuck all.
I'm appalled that young people are still being mugged or stabbed in the street for wearing a football top.
But do you want to know what I'm most pissed off at?
The people who say "It'll never change"
People like you are the ones who hold it back! It's people like you that just let these things happen. I always challenge discrimination, whether it be towards, gender, sexual orientation, race, belief or any other factor. I would also encourage anyone and everyone to do the same thing. Next time you hear someone talking about "huns" and "tims", point out that it's not only derogatory, but also irrelevant. Next time you hear someone singing a sectarian song, think about if you'd react any differently to it being a racist song, or a song discriminating against homosexuals or women. I hypothesise that the main reason that the clubs haven't yet been shut down or united as one is nothing less than sheer Greed. The amount of money Rangers and Celtic generate must be astonishing. But is it worth what we pay for alongside it? Is it worth young people's lives?
Challenge it, and make it clear that as a person will not accept it regardless of what you believe in. Both sides are as bad as each other, but I feel it's those in the middle ground that can help the masses see sense. If you don't challenge it, you are allowing it room to breed, and are not a great deal better than the bigot him/her self.
That's what I want to see, and that's the world I would want to live in. Freedom of religion, freedom from religion. I want to live in a country where someone is held accountable for the words of his voice.
This Hatred must stop.
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