Book Review: Born Under a Union Flag: Rangers, The Union & Scottish Independence

[Frankie 8,114]

http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/258-book-review-born-under-a-union-flag-rangers-the-union-scottish-independence

 

I’ll gladly admit to two things before I begin this review. One; like many people I’d wager, despite having a reasonably keen interest in the Scottish independence referendum, I don’t actually know a huge amount about the whys and wherefores of it. And, two; I still wasn’t convinced this book would increase my enthusiasm for the wider debate given the poor quality efforts elsewhere. Certainly one or two people on our forum weren’t sure of the relevance given the position of the club nowadays. Fortunately, upon reading I found the book was seeking to address that.

 

Onto the actual review and I’d like to get my criticisms out of the way first. The main one for me was that there wasn’t enough background about the referendum and each side’s arguments for and against. Sure, many interested in this book may have done their homework in that sense but I consider myself a reasonably average Rangers fan (and citizen) so a chapter discussing the Independence background may have helped for reference purposes if nothing else. However, it’s not a huge criticism as there are plenty of other such resources out there to accompany the reading of ‘Born Under a Union Flag’. I’ll certainly be seeking out a few so perhaps it’s a sensible strategy from the authors to allow the reader to find their own to avoid leading anyone in the wrong direction – purposely or otherwise!

 

My next criticism is that I think there were a few arbitrary generalisations used throughout the book and I’m still not sure these were really addressed successfully in it. For example, many of the contributors discussed the stereotype of Rangers fans as Unionist, Loyalist, Protestant, monarchy supporting No-voters. That’s perfectly understandable but the ongoing suggestion this was somehow always negative or a ‘problem’ seemed unfair to me. As much as ‘Yes’ voters like Alan Bissett and Gail Richardson may not appreciate such aspects of supporting Rangers, and as much as there are undoubtedly negative perceptions of such associations, I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to suggest people are ‘mad’ for taking parts of their political beliefs along to Ibrox. Certainly, as Richard Wilson writes in his foreword, ‘football and politics do mix’. Though I’m sure we’d all concede that recipe can be a dangerous one.

 

Fortunately, my criticism is a mild one as while I eagerly disagree with some of the observations in the book, Rangers fans should never hide from debating any sensible point of view. And this is the main strength of this book as every single contributor makes a variety of points worthy of discussion. Indeed, not only will you find yourself nodding along to some opinions, you’ll catch yourself vehemently shaking your head as well – and not always where you’d expect to. No more so than during the excellent debate of national identity between John DC Gow and the afore-mentioned Bissett. It really was refreshing to see two people argue their corner so openly and constructively. Many politicians and websites should take note.

 

Indeed, it’s this kind of carefully applied passion and journey of personal experiences that make ‘Born Under a Union Flag’ such a good read. Amongst others, Gail Richardson, Colin Armstrong and Alex Wood all explain their reasoning for a ‘Yes’ vote while Gow, John Robertson and Iain Duff set out why they’ll be voting no. Yet, neither does the book push the reader in either direction which is a key fortitude. In fact many of the contributors are at pains to ensure our vote is our own responsibility and one we should use wisely.

 

All in all, it’s this kind of transparent neutrality which made the book such an enjoyable read for me. As much as I was cynical beforehand, the bite-sized essays made for a comfortable read over the weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed what was a well-constructed discussion. Yes, perhaps my voting mind was already made up but I’m happy to admit my preconceptions about the referendum and Rangers fans were also challenged. In that sense, I think I made a few of the same mistakes as others when it comes to pigeon-holing how the bulk of Rangers fans may vote come September. More importantly, as Alasdair McKillop concluded in his excellent study, I’m now more prepared to meet the challenge of defining and defending my (our?) position going forward.

 

In a modern Scotland – independent or not – the debate surrounding Rangers Football Club will never cease. In fact, ‘defending our traditions’ will become an ever more interesting discussion as society and the Rangers support continues to evolve. Change will happen and books such as this can help us move constructively towards our future. Rangers fans shouldn’t be afraid from such debate and the very fact a book such as this exists shows we’re not as closed minded as our critics would have us believe.

 

 

 

Born Under a Union Flag: Rangers, The Union & Scottish Independence

 

Edited by Alan Bissett and Alasdair McKillop

 

Published by Luath Press (available from Amazon and Luath).

 

 

[Zappa 0]

Good review mate!

[barca72 440]

Is it available as an e-book?

[TheWee BlueDevil 0]

Really depressing to hear and read of so many Bears now jumping ship.

 

I thought and truly believed I belonged to a huge, faithful family, loyal and true and our Britishness was sacrosanct and was at our core. I stupidly assumed it to be non-negotiable and certainly not for sale!

 

A real eye opener for sure and genuinely heartbreaking!

[Frankie 8,114]

Is it available as an e-book?

 

Yes, I think there's a Kindle version mate.

[Frankie 8,114]

Really depressing to hear and read of so many Bears now jumping ship.

 

I thought and truly believed I belonged to a huge, faithful family, loyal and true and our Britishness was sacrosanct and was at our core. I stupidly assumed it to be non-negotiable and certainly not for sale!

 

A real eye opener for sure and genuinely heartbreaking!

 

Society changes and I think the book explains this to a degree.

 

However, I'd still argue our Britishness will remain a key part of supporting the club for many bears. And there's no issue about that whatsoever.

[Max Rebo's Big Blue Nose 0]

Really depressing to hear and read of so many Bears now jumping ship.

 

I thought and truly believed I belonged to a huge, faithful family, loyal and true and our Britishness was sacrosanct and was at our core. I stupidly assumed it to be non-negotiable and certainly not for sale!

 

A real eye opener for sure and genuinely heartbreaking!

 

As someone that has never felt British, can someone please explain to me what defines these buzzwords "Loyal", "Britishness"?? I'm not fishing, I have just never understood this in relation to my football team, Rangers. Most Gers fans I've known that promote this ideal always seem to me to be reacting to the rise of the Celtic's Irish identity over the years. Just saying....

[The Real PapaBear 0]

Really depressing to hear and read of so many Bears now jumping ship.

 

I thought and truly believed I belonged to a huge, faithful family, loyal and true and our Britishness was sacrosanct and was at our core. I stupidly assumed it to be non-negotiable and certainly not for sale!

 

A real eye opener for sure and genuinely heartbreaking!

 

that's some pretty emotive language, there, WBD; "jumping ship" "for sale". I'd be keen to learn how people having a different viewpoint is "jumping ship" and particularly how people's "Britishness" is being sold: who's doing the selling and who's doing the buying?

[calscot 0]

I've never found much relationship between any sense of Britishness and supporting Rangers, and indeed as I child I started off feeling British and then less so as I became older and more of a Rangers fan. There was no connection.

 

From my own experience there is negativity towards the English that rather than all taught (although some people are) for me it's something learned from experience - mostly with the media and national institutions, of the poor treatment that Scotland often gets.

 

There is so much of that from my childhood it's hard to know where to start but I remember resentment for things like the school holidays coming and having no children's TV for a couple of weeks until the English schools were off. In the news there was always a perception that if Scotland did something well it was British and if something bad it was Scottish and vice versa for England. Then we were given a diet of English football with a couple of Scottish games thrown in. We only got a mention on Football Focus because Iain St John insisted on two or three minutes for Scottish Football.

 

Football-wise my relationship with England was continually soured with the general English view that Scottish football was Mickey Mouse and the unreasonable supposition that Rangers would be lucky to survive in Division 2 - and this continued straight after we beat Leeds home and away (in a tie that would "show these Jocks how football should be played"). The excuses all came out about Leeds being a spent force and it was back to square one.

 

There have been plenty of other stuff that's been political, especially with the Tories and you just need to listen to a Proclaimer's song to get the drift although I remember already being aggrieved for how Scotland was treated by an English based government by the time I was in Primary 5 and learning a bit about politics.

 

I'm a bit more grown up now and live in England and so feel a lot more British even though I have had to put up with a lot of the casual "racism" from the English, of the ilk that Scots are pilloried for. Even now the ignorance, arrogance and self centred-ness with which many of the English apply their extreme viewpoints on the Independence question can be grating and I have to stop that tainting my own viewpoint towards the Yes vote (even though I can't vote, although I'm very ambivalent at the moment).

 

But although I knew people who flew the Union Flag and sang some songs, I don't remember many being much different from me in their Britishness - nor any more Christian than me in their religiousness (ie not very much), nor any more bigoted than me against Irish and Catholics (ie not at all in a real sense - although I suppose they had that casual language thing which I avoided).

 

A lot of it seems to be a 90 minute thing. It's only a game after all.