

Good Afternoon.

Dear me. To read some of the comments on social media these past few days you could be forgiven for thinking that a systematic campaign is under way to slander Sevco fans, and strip them of their identity, culture and personality. And to do so in a manner that wouldn’t look out of place in the worst kind of dystopia conceived by George Orwell in his darkest nightmares after eating strong cheese before bed.

The paranoia du jour among a small number of Sevco fans is to claim that ‘people’, the media and football authorities are trying to ‘dehumanise’ them. To turn them into some kind of outcast community eking out an existence of sorts on the margins of society. An existence where they are not allowed to have individual names of their own, but simply a number, which corresponds to the sterile identikit box in they are forced to live in.

I suspect the explanation for this bizarre view of the world around them is so multi-faceted that no one can truly explain it, but (for what it’s worth) it seems to me to be underpinned by a couple of prominent factors.

1) Folk calling them names such as ‘Zombies’, ‘Monkeys’, and ‘Huns’.

I am afraid that ‘Zombies’ is just piss-taking after their ‘club’ went into liquidation and they went on to claim that it ‘still lives’, while backing up the assertion with threats and intimidation as well as more traditional formal complaints to the authorities. ‘Zombies’ is no more and no less than simply a part of football banter , which can be found wherever you see a ball being kicked.

I have absolutely no time for the term ‘monkeys’ and think it is in poor taste. [REPEAT: I have no time for it]. It should stop, but I don’t think its use counts as a systematic mechanism of ‘dehumanisation’. I also don’t like (and don’t use) the term ‘Huns’ through long habit and as a courtesy to some Sevco fans of my acquaintance. However, you only have to look at the football-related origin of the term to realise it has nothing to do with dehumanisation. Or sectarianism. Or bigotry.

2) People not sharing their world view on any matter , but especially in relation to the death of Rangers and the batsh*t-craziness of the Great Liquidation Lie.

We all saw what happened to Rangers in 2012 and its fans knew damn well what rejection of the CVA would mean. They openly discussed it and even held red card protests about it! And not one single thing this small overly-disgruntled section of Sevco fans can say or do will EVER make us disbelieve the evidence we saw with our own eyes.

The events of 2012 are not really only cause of anger among the the permanently outraged. Any sort of criticism of Sevco, its executives or fans by ordinary folk is treated as an act of treason. It’s a perculiar sort of insecurity-cum-superiority complex that views any deviation from a fixed worldview as the grossest of insults. It is also a perspective which guarantees a permanent state of outrage in its holder because (guess what?!) people are individuals with their own thoughts and ideas. The diversity of individuals is what ultimately makes humanity and society so wonderful. If you want everyone to think and act the same and to bow before a prescribed narrative you are ALWAYS going to end up feeling angry and isolated. Particularly when you want to control other clubs’ fans, who tend to be the very embodiment of free spirit and commitment to their own unique cause!

There is no attempt to dehumanise Sevco’s followers. What there IS, however, is a determination among many football fans to

see justice done in relation to wrongdoing over many years,

address an apparent inability on the part of the Scottish football authorities to run the sport even-handedly,

prevent a repeat of the apparent malpractice of the past; and

call out a Scottish MSM which seems unwilling to speak any sort of truth to footballing power.

If anyone thinks that the above genuinely amounts to a campaign to ‘dehumanise’ a set of football fans then they really need to take a long hard look at themselves. What’s more, if anyone seriously thinks the football authorities in Scotland have an agenda against Ibrox clubs and their fans then they should seek help. When Rangers went to the wall at its own hand the authorities bent over backwards to accommodate the new Ibrox club. This was special treatment with a large serving of jam on top of it.

It should also be remembered that Rangers received very light ‘punishment’ in relation to its tax and side-letter misdeeds. So much so that a number of very intelligent folk have done some digging and concluded that the LNS Commission was deeply flawed and should be set aside. But that discussion is for another day. For now, Sevco fans should be thanking their lucky stars that this persecuting ‘system’ allowed Rangers’ grave to be adorned with 54 Championship titles.

Then there is the media. Yes, on occasion even the Scottish sports media manages to report something which reflects badly on Sevco or Rangers. But that’s life! It isn’t a crusade or victimisation. And as anyone with a pulse can confirm, our MSM actually contains a daily torrent of uplifting and sympathetic reportage about Ibrox clubs. Frankly, Sevco gets the kind of media coverage that any organisation or politician in the world would kill for! Only the wilfully blind could fail to see that.

So I am sorry, my Sevconian friends, you may occasionally have genuine reason to feel disgruntled, but you aren’t being dehumanised by any stretch of the imagination. Nor are you under siege.

Deal with it.

But if you can’t deal with it, I will leave you with a thought to ponder…

What do you think might happen if you toned down the ‘victim’ routine, and limited the snarling and intimidation of those who disagree with you or offer criticism? Do you think perhaps, that folk might be more understanding of your concerns and more willing to work with you on issues of common interest?

It’s only football, for Heaven’s sake. Not a doomed exercise in proving that you are a better sort of human being.

#KeepOnClumping