In the underwhelming aftermath of last week's EDL/SDL 'static' demo in Edinburgh, I found myself doing a spot of online research into those guardian angels who have taken it upon themselves to defend me - a Gaelic speaking atheist - from the 'Muslamic' hordes who apparently are massing somewhere between Berwick and Jedburgh. Anyway, during my rumaging through various forums and Facebook pages, I come across a certain Celtic FC midfielder, Scott Brown.
In case you didn't know, around 100 football hooligans claiming to represent the Scottish and English Defence Leagues as well as 'Casuals United' chose to congregate in the centre of Edinburgh against the wishes of the democratically elected local council. This lead to a huge police operation (and tax bill) and a headache for ordinary citizens wishing to go about their business on a Saturday afternoon.
Just why do they feel threatened by Muslims? Are they gonna try and erase our Scottish culture and identity? Will they beat our Scottish language out of our kids? Wait a minute... haven't Anglicised Protestant Scots already done that? And, don't we already have various versions of Abrahamic mania - like the Wee Frees and Catholic Church - who seek to force their violent religion on us?
Whatever, it was kind of interesting to see a current member of Celtic FC rub shoulders with the violent right-wing and sectarian/ racist (no-one really knows which yet) SDL.Celtic FC are of course, the 'nice' half of the Old Firm - a progressive force for liberté et égalité whose current chairman is former Commander of the British Army in Iraq, John Reid. Nuff said there.
The interesting bit is that Scott Brown is wearing Celtic colours and is obviously representing the club. The SDL guys appear to be representing their own organisation, something that Brown doesn't seem too concerned about. According to other comments on the Facebook page, fellow Celtic player Anthony Stokes apparently chose to stay in the vehicle. Proof maybe that Scott Brown is not the sharpest tool in the box?
Then again, if Scott Brown is displaying his lack of critical faculties, he's in good company. Even the SDL aren't too sure of who they are if picture below is anything to go by. This tattoo was proudly displayed by one SDL member on said Facebook page. This comes after the well circulated 'Muslamic rape gangs/ ray guns' video on You Tube. Maybe we should welcome more Muslims to Scotland as maybe they could teach the SDL and EDL a bit about the grammar of their own English tongue?
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| Join the SDL: high IQ not required |
This leads me back to the question of just who and what the EDL and SDL are? Racist? Fascist? Sectarian? The vast majority of them seem to be involved in football violence - organised violent crime in other words. The 'EDL' seems to be just another excuse for a scrap. After all, why would ordinary Scots want a gang of criminals who can barely master the English language as self-nominated defenders? And why do they have a bee in their bonnet about Muslims? Having said that, it was interesting to read a complaint from a Rangers' fan who complained that he was attending a wedding with his South American girlfriend on the Royal Mile when she was racially abused. Other SDLers have been photographed throwing the Nazi salute while some of them profess support for Israel. They truly are a weird bunch. Maybe their biggest beef is with ordinary people who are lucky enough to have 5 fingers on each hand?
But, if they really want to 'defend' Scotland then... why don't they 'defend' small Scottish businesses on the 'traditional high-street' against voracious big business like Tesco? Will they 'defend' native flora and fauna like the Caledonian Forest or the capercaillie? Will they 'defend' the indigenous Gaelic language of Scotland? Will they 'defend' native crofting communities against the whims of rich landowners, be they Scottish or foreign? Will they 'defend' the rights of Scottish people to good living standards such as reliable and cheap public transport, free health care and good state education that's free from the interference of private companies? Or why don't they content themselves with saving stray cats?
But, if they really want to 'defend' Scotland then... why don't they 'defend' small Scottish businesses on the 'traditional high-street' against voracious big business like Tesco? Will they 'defend' native flora and fauna like the Caledonian Forest or the capercaillie? Will they 'defend' the indigenous Gaelic language of Scotland? Will they 'defend' native crofting communities against the whims of rich landowners, be they Scottish or foreign? Will they 'defend' the rights of Scottish people to good living standards such as reliable and cheap public transport, free health care and good state education that's free from the interference of private companies? Or why don't they content themselves with saving stray cats?
The EDL and SDL make much of 'supporting our troops'. However, the respect has not been returned. War veterans in Scotland expressed opposition to SDL plans to march past the cenotaph in Glasgow. Little wonder. Why would some dignified old men want drunken football hooligans 'paying respect'? What are they gonna do? Urinate on the Cenotaph?
These guys are idiots and criminals. I'm not much of a royalist nor a Daily Mail 'law and order' type but I'd be very happy for Her Majesty's Police Service to give this lot some 'British justice'.
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| Respecting our troops? Or saluting English architecture? |
3 comments:
So you think Scott Brown chatted with these guys found out their politics and decided to pose with them for a picture that would end up all over the internet?
Have you any idea how many photos a high profile professional footballer will pose for every day? Scott Brown can either give up a moment of his time in good faith or he can refuse to make the day of thousands of ordinary fans on the off chance one or two of them might be undesirables.
Or are you suggesting he should spend even more of his own time with these people vetting them? Do you think bono or beyonce would want your life story if you asked them for a pic? No, they smile, click, and move on.
This article wouldn't be out of place in the record or the sun which is a shame as you write well, but the key point - that the EDL are lowlife - is somewhat lost.
Ta for the comment. I did make clear in the article that Brown was pretty stupid to have this photo taken. The guys clearly have SDL plastered all over them. There's a breast icon which reads 'No Surrender... to Al Qaeda', there's a sleeve icon and a large full length SDL logo on the back. According to the SDL on their own Facebook page, Anthony Stokes declined their invitation for a photo-op. This leads me to believe that Brown was only too happy to oblige. I would also have thought that in last season's climate of hatred, with idiots targeting Neil Lennon and others with violence of different forms that for a Celtic player to consort with anyone wearing 'No Surrender' on their clothes would've been unwise for a number of reasons.
I think my thoughts on the EDL are also quite clear in the article. Even calling them 'fascists' gives them more credibility than they're due. They seem to contain racists but also blacks and Sikhs. Some are Nazis but others Jewish and pro-Israel. Some are pro Irish republican and others pro Ulster Loyalist. The main common thread seems to be one of violence. To me and most ordinary Scots, these guys are more of a threat than Muslim extremists.
I reckon that Scott Brown is An unlikely SDL supporter but imagine the outcry had it been Kenny Millar that had stopped for the snap. Nice photo of the other lads though, hope to bump into them in hearthill with some of my buddies, they don't look up to much!
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