Yesterday I submitted my weekly column to The National. I wrote about nationalisms – Scottish & British.

It starts by presenting the hard-hitting criticisms of nationalism, which are understandable. I then go on and say that, while I recognise these concerns, I feel that anti-nationalist arguments in the media are often presented unevenly. British nationalism, despite some of its racist, imperialist elements, gets a free pass.

The National published a snippet of it the night before in a graphic. Cue an online tidal wave of grief from those who didn’t like the chosen quote.

The first response, from someone who regularly sends me mild abuse, said it was a “rant from the little bigot”.

Another recommended that I should have someone “knock some sense” into me. Lovely.

Jill Stephenson, an old ex-academic in Edinburgh, added some more abuse. She previously hit the headlines for calling Mhairi Black MP a “foul mouthed little slut”. Charming character.

Tom Gallagher, another regular critics on my twitter feed, said the piece was a “far-left caricature of British identity”.

He should have recognised himself in the parts concerning British nationalist aversion to multiculturalism. Gallagher recently said Humza Yousaf, a Scottish muslim cabinet minister, was the “toast of Scottish luvviedom” for “ethnic tokenism”.

He also has a strange attitude to Scotland’s Irish and catholic communities, claiming there is “plenty of evidence that Clydeside ‘Irish’ are [the] most do-lally on planet earth”.

Apparently, for Mr Gallagher, it’s “NOT racist to want elementary rules of behaviour” from ethnic minorities. Okay, Tom.

Another anonymous British nationalist account, who didn’t like the article before it was published, said it reminded him of the stupid people in Trinidad who “assumed they were smart folk” but had “no clue”. He didn’t explain, openly, what his problem with Trinidad – an ex-colony with Indian and African heritage – was. Although the peculiar analogy does raise my suspicions.

A whole bunch of accounts with union flags descended to describe me as “shite”, “dick”, Nazi, and various attacks on my appearance and age. There were too many to read them all.

Another British nationalist account decided it was appropriate to politicise the death of Charles Kennedy to criticise the quote in my article.

Kennedy, it just so happens, is the only politician I have ever campaigned for – when he was re-elected Rector of the University of Glasgow in 2011.

But the sad, petty, abuse of extremists isn’t worth dignifying with a response. I almost entirely ignore it when it appears from week to week – like an irritating low level hum that I can block out with earplugs.

Yet all it illustrates is the strength of my original argument. British nationalism has an angry, divisive, intolerant side to it: whether its the post-referendum riot in George Square, the threats sent to dozens of journalists from similar sources, the threats to Lanarkshire councillors in February, or angry online unionists.

There is a long history of British nationalism that intertwines far-right politics, racism, anti-Irish bigotry, and colonialism. It still exists, although its influence is ever diminishing in Scotland. In the meantime, the Rule Britannia mob are best avoided.

Michael Gray @GrayInGlasgow