Celtic, Flags and Fractures In Paradise
The week we’ve just encountered has been fraught with murder and mayhem. The spectre of death and disorder is hovering over Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Nobody is safe and nobody is responsible – so they say. This is not a new phenomenon; it’s been gnawing and grinding its ugly teeth for decades now but has finally come to a head in the last few days.
The scenes we are witnessing are devastating, infant beheadings, kidnappings, body defilements and rape. We’re seeing whole blocks being levelled, and innocents killed by bombs and bullets in Gaza whilst Israeli towns are being shelled. I could go on.
This political carnage has caused a huge rift among Celtic supporters, nothing new, but becoming more and more fractious by the hour. Social media is awash with historical commentaries, regardless of substance or depth whilst vile abuses are being bandied about, and, sadly, age-old friendships are being torn apart and discarded.
That’s just back home in Scotland, Ireland and the rest of the U.K! I’ve friends and acquaintances here in Australia, Dubai and indeed the Middle East who are at each other’s throats, disavowing those who speak a different verse about these horrors. Although I understand both versions, this is a new and sinister low in terms of unity and togetherness.
Since the advent of Brother Walfrid’s brave new world for Irish Catholics and in the history of Scottish football, there has always been division. Some board members initially stood up and voted to have an all-Catholic team on the park.
They were swiftly re-seated by righteous thinking men who sought to demand for all the equal status the recipients of their charity were being denied. Jock Stein being denied a place on the future board in the 70s only highlighted the need for a re-think in those terms.
This still irks today, but fortunately our ‘Club Like No Other’ has moved on, and, despite the ongoing legal strife which cuts like a knife, there is very little to complain about in these terms on Planet Celtic.
However, the Green Brigade, an endless source of banter and encouragement to the team together with their tireless efforts to feed and clothe the marginalized in Scotland, (for which they should be applauded,) are displaying banners which divide us all.
The Palestinian flag is being flown at almost every match and this is a major bone of contention for many other supporters, and for the right reasons.
Nir Bitton and Liel Abada are Celtic players past and present and are having these political statements thrust down their throats despite both playing and being in love with both the club and the support. This is a problem, not just for them but the whole fanbase.
Whilst supporting the Palestine cause for good and noble reasons, (Celtic supporters have always backed the underdog and the oppressed and the Palestinians are certainly that,) the group who have attacked Israel are Hamas, a radical jihadist Islamic fundamentalist outfit. Most Palestine residents fiercely oppose them!
Those in the know, and I have spoken to many, have stated that Hamas are tyrants who control everything which goes on in Palestine, demanding a cut of everything from food, drink, oil and even access to the internet. For Hamas, see ISIS – so they say. Video evidence backs this up.
Conversely, Israel has a reputation for murdering, torturing and bulldozing whole communities in a bid to ethnically cleanse the whole of Gaza in a bid to gain Zionist supremacy – so they say. Video evidence also backs this up.
Depending on which side of the political fence you are perched, you will have a strong viewpoint. Those viewpoints are being unfolded within the confines of Celtic Park, and the support is morally split. The support is also split on whether we should, or should not, sing songs about the IRA.
This has been a bone of contention for decades also. Celtic were founded by an Irish Catholic priest; therefore, we should sing songs of freedom and defiance and fly the flags which show our solidarity for the fallen and oppressed in the Emerald isle.
Or…Celtic are ‘A Club For All’: embracing all colours and creeds, making friends around the world wherever we go lest we become like others who exclude those who pray differently from us. Therefore, we should not align with the IRA and sing anti-English songs which alienate those in our club from a different landscape, belief or who may have lost a family member to previous atrocities.
You see, there are multiple components to our flag-waving and song selections, and people are being hurt and damaged as a result, our own people! I’d hazard that the majority of Celtic fans are still Catholic in their beliefs, if not in attendance.
That being the case, the Catholic command, not viewpoint, is, Love your neighbour! Not, unless you like them or agree with their political stance. If love means abusing or hating then I’ve been reading the wrong literature, but I’m pretty certain that’s not the case.
Gaza, Ashdod and countless other violent hotspots around the globe are in terrible crisis, one which may lead to a third world war. Yes, it’s a distinct possibility, therefore I will beg the question, what role will we play in all of this?
Are we bringers of peace in our own communities, or not? If not, why not? What do we wish to achieve both on the geopolitical field and at our beloved Celtic Park which was founded by a man of God and for the purposes of unity and peace and of course to feed hungry children.
There are only two answers to that, and I’ll leave you to ponder your own response to a critical situation, one in which we all may be embroiled in soon, whether we like it or not: Division, or Peace?
Eddie Murray
Thanks Eddie for a thoughtful, intelligent article at a time when emotions have rocketed and calm reflection is needed. I have a limited grasp on the situation in Gaza but I find it natural to support the Palestinian people while I cannot condone the actions of Hamas. As always, the main victims are innocent men, women and children.
I also have limited patience with the Green Brigade as I have no time for flares (which should be banned throughout football) and I feel that their sloganising is sometimes puerile (I’m anti-monarchist but “Fuck Monarchy” was a waste of a platform). The majority of Republicans in Ireland want to move on from the IRA just as the majority of Palestinians reject Hamas – the Green Brigade are behind the curve.
Agree with all of that TM- there are many things I disagree/dislike about the happenings at the matches, but I just need to focus on the core message which is at the end of my article.
Some people don’t know how to express themselves without effing and blinding, unfortunately they seem to gravitate to this great game. Sad.
Eddie, you’re article should be mandatory reading for anyone with a point to make on this subject. Sadly there are still many people who form opinions from headlines only, ignore the detail, and mouth off as if they are experts. Thanks for a truly balanced article.
Spot on Red
Thanks Jim, agree totally. I find that those people skim-read to find popints of contention rather than thoughtful dialogue. Cheers!
Eddie, this is probably the most sensible and balanced pieces I have read online this week. Our support can and should be tolerant, inclusive and welcoming. This is in no way at odds with principles on which the club was founded. When hate and division are the norm, love and unity are the most powerful weapons of resistance. HH
A minor quibble: Brother Walfrid WAS NOT ‘an Irish Catholic priest’, but a lay brother in a teaching order: Celtic FC wasn’t founded as an adjunct to the Church. On the other hand, Hibernian FC WAS founded by a priest, Fr Edward Hannon, as an adjunct to the Saint Mary’s Young Men ‘s Society and the members were required to attend Mass collectively. See Dr Michael Connolly’s excellent book on Br Walfrid, and Alan Lugton’s works in Hibernian FC’s early years.
Hi Eddie
A very wide-ranging (rambling?) article.
I read with horror the reports from our right wing media about beheading babies and in this disinformation era, decided to try and research further. The most independent and to my mind trustworthy source was The Independent who reported that they were told by an IDF Major of the beheaded babies but they could not verify this report. I’m just saying that not everything we read these days is true. The situation does not merit a petty comparison with the Daily Record and how they report on Celtic and newco, so I won’t do that. But see for example the numerous articles today on how the EU has reacted to what was Twitter’s reporting of the conflict
Also, where is the evidence of “the bone of contention “ over Celtic fans waving Palestinian flags? The financial reaction to the last uefa fine in this regard would suggest otherwise
Hail Hail
Maith Thu Eddie.
Celtic Park/Paradise should be a stadium to which we go to support Celtic and switch off from our everyday concerns.
True supporters will not create distractions that may affect our team.
We have ample opportunities /forums elsewhere to express our political views.
Celtic a club for all.
Hail Hail
listen to Bidens speech last night – you can then decide whether rape, beheading , murdering of babies in front of their parents etc is “disinformation”
Hi Eddie, I’ll stick my neck out and say the vast majority of the 59,000 who pack into Celtic park wether they sympathise with the Palestinians or not have absolutely no interest in waving their flag at games. They are there to watch their team play football and have probably more interestedin trying to make more of an impact in Europe……… but that’s just my opinion
GB seems to have lost the plot imo. Antifa??? No group likes burning down Catholic Churches more than these characters. I would also think the Jews would have a small claim to being “Marginalized”.
Additionally, “Celtic are ….. embracing all colours and creeds”. If you embrace all Creeds, you have no creed. How about just sticking with the original plan of embracing the poor, and needy and staying out of politics. Being an “ANTI” club seems means fighting against everyone, and meaning nothing.
You can stabd against the IDF and not the people of Israel just as you can stand with the Palestinians and agaisnt Hamas. If you cant get your heqd around that, think about where you are. Is it homogeneous? Is it not true at elections you never get a 100% turnout, here its usually abput 60-66%, you never get 100% of votes that are counted and after all that there is gerrymandering and all kinds of democracy type specific chicanery and even that consent of the people is often not inform due to tribal voting, mis- and disinformation. A lot of Glaswegians are Huns, but not all Huns are Glaswegian AND not all Glaswegians are Huns. The point is any conflict is not 1 group in lick step v another group k. Their own lockstep. I sympathise with the Palestinian people. Christian Zionism, Syke-Picott Agreement, 1948’s settlement, Kissengers lies destabilising thw region further and today the west showing a fascist war criminal a menu of military hardware and equipping him with missile defense systems as they edge a minority into the sea for, franklt, the maddest of reasons, set the table for a Hamas like organisation, seeded the ground, to recruit on the strip and when u see Bibi sabotaging the mon-violent Hama alternative together with his backers he handed an advantage tit the people, Hamas, to do what they have dobe this month as a pretext to do the thing hes been doibg kncrementally for so long, ro unilaterally dinish his slow boil8ng ethnic cleansing backed by forces that… the end of that thought sounds like a joke. Christian religious fundamentalists want Bibi, a known racist, to wipe oit the Arab is to fulfill a prophecy. Yeah, that is crazy, look it up. He has provoked this to get this repaonse in purpose to fulfill a mad christian conspiracy for people that have forgotten their literalist roots and the 10 rules for being Christian that 8nclude thoy shall not kill… urs, an athiest. But it wont play to rhe dafties that bought Brexit and Trump, it will play as browns are terrorists and if u talk against them YOU arw like Hitler for standing gainst the kind of ethnic cleansing Hitler did to the Jews. Bibi is mot Judaism, he is a facist. There r bad guys on both sides but therw is a lot of historical context Bibi’s suppoetes will willfully miss and they will conflate attacks 9n his character as attacks on all Israelis and that as antisemotism because we have been trained tp think in 140 word tweets, empjis, clickbait headlines and fascism talking points of we ar eperfect supermen and those people are worhless eaters when real life is never that uncomplicated. Its a snapshot the willfully ignorany will take of context and use totheir own agenda as kids on both side losee parents and their own lives. This is not Israel v Palestine or the region v evangelicals or evammgelicals v everyone, its sociopathy v reality and until they get wise they will always be in conflict and people will suffer and die. HH
As a lifetime support of Celtic let me state hee that the green brigade do not represent me, nor do they represent Celtic.
I’m curious though. Who heads up the Green Brigade?
Wrote comment on a wee screen copied it to my email because I thought I did a great job, opened it up on my computer it is riddled with spelling errors and type-os. Damn u tiny keyboard and mild dyslexia!
Take 2:
You can stand against the IDF and not the people of Israel just as you can stand with the Palestinians and against Hamas. If you can’t get your head around that, think about where you are. Is it homogeneous? Is it not true at elections, you never get a 100% turnout, here it’s usually about 60-66%, you never get 100% of votes that are counted, and after all that there is gerrymandering and all kinds of democracy, type specific, chicanery and even that consent of the people is often not informed due to tribal voting, mis- and disinformation.
A lot of Glaswegians are Huns, but not all Huns are Glaswegian AND not all Glaswegians are Huns. The point is any conflict is not 1 group in lock step v another group in their own lockstep.
I sympathise with the Palestinian people. Christian Zionism, Syke-Picott Agreement, 1948’s settlement, Kissinger’s lies destabilising the region further and today the west showing a fascist war criminal a menu of military hardware and equipping him with missile defence systems as they edge a minority into the sea for, frankly, the maddest of reasons, set the table for a Hamas like organisation, seeded the ground, to recruit on the strip and when u see Bibi sabotaging the non-violent Hama alternative together with his backers he handed an advantage to the people, Hamas, to do what they have done this month as a pretext to do the thing he’s been doing incrementally for so long, to unilaterally finish his slow boiling ethnic cleansing backed by forces that… the end of that thought sounds like a joke.
Christian religious fundamentalists want Bibi, a known racist, to wipe out the Arabs to fulfil a prophecy. Yeah, that is crazy, look it up. He has provoked this to get this response in purpose to fulfil a mad Christian conspiracy for people that have forgotten their literalist roots and the 10 rules for being Christian that include thou shall not kill… Yours, an atheist.
But it won’t play to the dafties that bought Brexit and Trump, it will play as browns are terrorists and if u talk against them YOU are like Hitler for standing against the kind of ethnic cleansing Hitler did to the Jews. Bibi is not Judaism, he is a fascist. There r bad guys on both sides but there is a lot of historical context Bibi’s supporters will wilfully miss and they will conflate attacks on his character as attacks on all Israelis and that as antisemitism because we have been trained to think in 140 word tweets, emojis, clickbait headlines and fascism talking points of we are perfect supermen and those people are worthless eaters when real life is never that uncomplicated.
It’s a snapshot the wilfully ignorant will take of context and use to their own agenda as kids on both side lose parents and their own lives. This is not Israel v Palestine or the region v evangelicals, or evangelicals v everyone, its sociopathy v reality and until they get wise they will always be in conflict and people will suffer and die. HH