Glenn Gibbons: Fan forums are trouble - so shut them dow

[ian1964 10,440]

By Glenn Gibbons

Were WH Auden still around to take a poet's view of present-day Scotland, he might well be inclined to make an amendment to Funeral Blues, the elegiac verse now probably his most famous work through John Hannah's moving recital in Four Weddings And A Funeral.

To the lines, "Stop all the clocks/Cut off the telephone," the old romantic might have been sufficiently soured to add, "Close down the websites/The game is dead".

 

When, as manager of Celtic, he cursed the proliferation of newspaper hotlines and radio phone-ins, Gordon Strachan was ridiculed in some quarters for painting a picture of those filling the airwaves and columns as low-browed, semi-literate knuckle-draggers with a can of Kestrel lager in their hands and a "devil dug" at their feet.

 

By comparison, many of the numbskulls currently bombarding internet forums with extremely virulent strains of malice make Strachan's depictions look like leading figures of The Enlightenment.

 

While it would be patently absurd to argue that every poster in cyberspace is a half-witted monster, no amount of relatively innocent wind-up sarcasm between more civilised fans can possibly counter-balance the kind of viciousness that has led to the delinquency witnessed at Tynecastle on Wednesday.

 

On the morning after the attack on Neil Lennon, the first post on The Scotsman's thread expressed an untypically articulate, blessedly balanced plea for an end to the outrageous behaviour and highlighted contributory factors to the insanity among several parties, including, naturally, both halves of the Old Firm. Within no time, the same person was back on, noting that the "debate" had descended into the mire even quicker than he or she had anticipated, ending his short condemnation with, "I'm outta here".

 

Curiously, the lifetime of these electronic outlets for every cretin in the country has coincided with the years of deterioration in the standard of Scottish football, possibly even towards demise in its traditional form. But, as the level of performance has declined, media coverage has expanded and supporters' hostility intensified. It is infinitely depressing that so much rage can be generated over a game that isn't worth the breath.

 

At least some of the inflammatory language and dangerous prejudices can be stifled through the simple expedient of disabling the vehicles on which they are conveyed. Newspapers could start by closing forums that don't even bring any revenue.

 

And before anyone starts howling about the denial of freedom of speech, he or she should bone up on the difference between blunt speaking and criminal incitement. As has been said often enough before, nobody, for example, has the right to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theatre.

 

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/football/Glenn-Gibbons-Fan-forums-are.6768062.jp

 

Aye,right ye are Gibbons,you mHdeia chunts would love that eh?,CLOWN.

[ian1964 10,440]

I'm wondering if this has been the mHedias' aim all along with their campaign??.