Ibrox: Jurassic Park?

[The Real PapaBear 0]

what you clearly perceive to be my.......handwringyness and so on,

 

It is widely conceded in the circles of academia that the German language is without peer when it comes to the creation of convoluted nouns.

 

Handwringyness?

 

Sir, you have just out-Germaned the Germans and I salute you.

[andy steel 0]

When derBerliner comes on in the morning I'll ask him to translate!

 

Die Gehandsichwashen Loyal.

[barca72 440]

When derBerliner comes on in the morning I'll ask him to translate!

 

Die Gehandsichwashen Loyal.

 

I can't speak German, but that was funny.

[der Berliner 3,290]

handwringyness ... that would stretch my skills in English too. I'd would have left it at "hand-wringing" or "hair-tearing" (faction/club), no -ness.

 

Die Gehandsichwashen Loyal? A decent enough start ... Der GehdirdieHändewaschen Loyal (Gowashyourhands Loyal)

[andy steel 0]

It's all about context.

 

Of course good manners should be prevalent through most social situations. However, I'm not so sure these work in the context of a football match.

 

Am I alone in liking the offensive nature (to a degree) of football banter - or indeed, other similar pursuits such as comedy or art? Yes, some will go too far but that line is generally a well respected one.

 

I'm certain you're not. But there's been something of a 'perfect storm' in the last 30 years regarding football & behaviour, started by Mrs Thatcher's rather simplistic reaction to crowd trouble (fences, increased police, higher middle class interest in/refusal to cower before football crowds), and then fuelled by Sky's absolute determination to sell the game to those same previously excluded groups (middle classes, females, familes and so on). Add to that our position in Scotland with a first time Nationalist government which is likely to be hyper sensitive to anything which could portray the country in a bad light and there's precious little wiggle room for what you or I might see as ripping the pish out of rivals.

 

I suppose the line will flex between tolerance and intolerance as the years go by but there's just nothing to be gained by refusing to accept that the present day is an intolerant one as regards things we may find not that bad. I may have come across in this thread as intolerant - I don't think so, mind you - but at bottom its simply a realisation that our room for expression has radically altered.

 

A visit to any ground in Scotland will show that plenty of what I consider lousy behaviour is still tolerated - the idea that its just us is one of the most ludicrous recent years has thrown up. It's not a choice between twiddling your thumbs or screaming your head off until you get arrested - there's room between, just less than before. I feel we have to realise this and box clever accordingly.

[Frankie 8,186]

Of course we need to box clever and I think, by and large, our fans do.

 

In essence I don't think we can self-police much further than we do already until there is clear evidence other fans/clubs are held to the same rules we are. Arguably they're not so that's where the line you speak of continues to flex.

[Frankie 8,186]

Now on the main site for some added spice and debate!

 

http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/148-ibrox-jurassic-park

[Bluedell 5,356]

As is sadly usual with your replies to my posts, you're completely miles out. Although I may dislike some songs, the problem lies not with me but with football and civic authorities. What punishment do you think I'm going to give Rangers, moan some more at the next home game?

 

Probably.

 

What am I doing? Ignoring others' rights and imposing my views on them. Yes, that's about it. By sitting watching the game and only singing football songs, I'm oppressing the poor wee lambs, who are only being passionate when treating me to their political/religious and so on views.

 

 

You are criticising them for expressing their views while doing so yourself. That's hypocrisy.

 

However, the main thrust of the OP was that given our repertoire, we can scarcely hope to be portrayed as the bringers of Presbyterian, Unionist, Monarchical and Loyalist values. Maybe if you read what my posts say rather than looking for phantasmagorical traces of what you clearly perceive to be my arrogance/control freakery/handwringyness and so on, you might have spotted that.

 

It's a forum. I can comment on as much or as little as I like.

 

Absolute drivel of a post.

 

 

Thanks. Is this the bit when I run away crying....

[andy steel 0]

Quite right, I apologise.

 

It was to be expected that the high level of the thread would falter at some point and I should have been more tolerant of less interesting posts.

[andy steel 0]

Disagree. These huge brands aren't interested in Scottish clubs - we're small fry; simple as that.

 

I honestly don't know why anyone finds Rule Britannia offensive. Is it stale and out of date? Absolutely but that's all the more reason for it not to be taken seriously other than a football battle hymn.

 

Sorry Frankie, I meant to address these points but have been busy building a wall.

 

Even as footballing small fry, both halves of the Old Firm offer companies the chance to advertise to profitable markets - look at our TV figures from last year, and <grits teeth> looks at Celtic's European exposure also. I don't say we are a fallen Barca, but we can certainly sell a good return with our fanbase(s).

 

The Rule Brittania thing is interesting and I'd like to address it at some length (cue for those already bored to scroll down fast).

 

I was born in 1970. The Empire, knocked by the Boer War, hammered by the Great War, and more or less destroyed by the 2nd WW, was already a historical curiosity by the time I was in my teens and able to think about such things objectively. Thus I don't feel any great empathy with it, but I likewise don't feel any massive liberal guilt. Expecting all white people to feel guilty for the actions of historical white people seems about as racist as expecting all black people to be good dancers, or whatever stereotype you want.

 

My family were all pretty strong Imperialists, being of that generation, and felt that the Empire was beneficial and benevolent. I can see that bringing the railways and banning suttee were good things, but when you put them on one side and set them against the death of one person, never mind tens or hundreds of thousands, they don't seem quite so fabby.

 

Add to that the fact - might horrify liberals, can't help that - that people really object to being invaded at all and especially by peple of a different colour or creed than themselves. We see how much people resent Muslim expansion in Britain, imagine how we'd have felt if the Ottoman Empire had lurched into Britain in the 18th century and lorded it over us for a couple of centuries. You then get, I dunno, some Turkish team coming to Ibrox and singing the song that represented that invading force. Doubt we'd dig it.

 

RB is the Hymn of Empire. The Empire, if one digs out books and looks at the nuts and bolts of it, was nasty and brutal. What Conrad called 'the idea at the back of it, something you can bow down before' isn't enough to save it from the nasty taste of violence and control it left in the mouths of many. While some songs can leave their associations behind I don't think you can say that of RB yet.

Edited February 23, 2017 by andy steel