The Day I Met The Bigots

I watched them at a distance….filing into their theatre…those commonly
referred to as “bigots” My first impression was one of surprise….
because the “bigots” donned themselves in colours and flags I was
eminently familiar with…Saltires….Union Flags…Red Hand Flags…the flags
of my nation.

Their procession into their theatre was only interrupted as they
stood….respectfully…in front of a statue commerating their fallen
brethren…heads bowed they paid silent homage to the fateful 66. The
respect they showed was far more appropriate than that of one of their
accusers who years ago had sought to seek humour at the statue
commemorating their fallen.

And as I entered their theatre I was I was treated to their choruses.
As they glorified their country, their sovereign, their history and
the battles which forged and shaped all of the former… I confess I
searched hard to find out just what the problem was.

Perhaps it was the tingle at the back of neck which caused a wave of
patriotism to wash over me,,,,which momentarily reminded who I
was…..where I had come from…for a brief moment I was reminded of all I
was meant, and had once aspired, to be….yes that was it…that’s what
clouded my judgment of the “Bigots”

For one thing I would say about the “bigots” they are without
compromise, they are not swayed by fashionable or knee jerk
politics….in fact you could say the things they value are those
timeless principles….faith…honour…loyalty…steadf
astness. Some commentators have referred to them as stubborn….my
impression was that they were resolute…unflinching.

And another chorus started…..this one praising the people of the
Northern territories across the water….saluting their steadfastness
and refusal to submit to the terrorist bomb and bullet. These were the
type of choruses their accusers had found “distasteful”. Apparently it
is “distasteful” to sing songs about a war which shaped our country
nearly 300 hundred years ago. The strange thing is….its apparently
okay to sing about a battle 700 years ago…..and even replace our
country’s national anthem with it.

And amidst all these “distasteful” songs about Ulster….I have to admit
to casting my eye beyond the “Bigots” theatre….across the shores of
our country and across the sea…to the northlands of Ireland.

And there a saw a people….a people feeling isolated…abandoned and
confused. A people vilified by those who are ignorant….and yet a
people triumphed as a “Faithful Tribe” by those who have taken the
time to investigate, explore and seek out the truth.

For like the “bigots” they are without compromise….their crimes appear
to be faith…loyalty and steadfastness before their God…their Sovereign
and their country. Their accusers are those who sought to rule them by
the bomb and the bullet….and when the bomb and the bullet could break
not their spirit..faith loyalty or steadfastness…then the accusers
sought to undermine them by all means political.

It was then that I realised what the “bigots” were doing. They were
sending a message of support to a forgotten and isolated people….their
songs were extending a hand across the sea.…a hand of friendship…
letting them know they were not forgotten…not abandoned. They were
honouring the promises their country had given centuries before. It
seems there are still some within our country who feel it important to
honour promises given,

But back to theatre. The songs stopped…and neither man, woman or child
spoke. For a minute within the theatre there was a respectful silence,
impeccably observed. Again battles from history were on the agenda as
thousands stood remembering the sacrifice of thousands. The husbands…
sons…brothers…who never returned home, and who perished under the
flags so many of the “bigots” donned….were no longer just a cross at
Flanders….the Somme…Ypres. For their memories were alive and their
ultimate sacrifice cherished and respected.

And as the heroes took to the field with poppies embroidered into
their jerseys…I realised this was a club and support for whom the past
was not just important…it was vital….it shaped the people they were
and everything they stood for and believed in. And what they stood for
and what they both believed in and aspired to be…was good.

And as I streamed out of the theatre at the end…it dawned on me that
if I even managed to achieve half of what I truly aspire to be as a
man…then I too would be a “bigot”


RANGERS FOREVER

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