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Sectarianism : An Irish or British Problem?
If over 600 people had clicked on a Facebook page calling for Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger to be shot I am sure that you would have heard about it in your national news. T.V., papers etc.Heard about it ad nauseum. It would have been been condemned by politicians,football administrators and civic leaders.
Particulary if it was revealed that there was a sectarian motive behind the internet campaign.
Yet such an event has happened recently and it did fail to make the national news. Glasgow Celtic manager Neil Lennon was the target of such a vicious sectarian campaign. The Facebook page called for the support of 100,000 that want to see Neil Lennon shot. The page was closed down after two days so who knows if given more time maybe the target figure may have been reached.
Some people may dismiss the campaign as a joke. Others as the work of some kind of social networking nutter. However this would be a mistake. I say this in light of the fact that Lennon and two of his players- both Catholics from N.I.- Niall McGinn and Paddy McCourt- have had bullets sent to them in the post.
This sinister development was revealed when Post Office staff in Belfast and Glasgow discovered packages of bullets addressed to them in the week after Celtic beat Rangers in the first Old Firm derby this year.
All three daily pass graffiti containing death threats and U.V.F. slogans outside their homes.
Is this unusual? Not if you live in N.I. On the weekend the bullets threat emerged the Co. Derry village of Garvagh was subject to a wave of sectarian attacks. Homes and cars were attacked by petrol bombers. In the following days G.A.A. clubs, Catholic schools and community centres were targeted. The lives of men women and children were put at risk. For one reason and one reason only. Because they were Catholic.
These attacks whether in Glasgow against high profile targets or against ordinary people in N.I. also have one thing in common. They were planned and carried out by men and women who feel that Catholics have no place in British society except as second class subjects of their Protestant Crown.
Am I imagining this? Some may say I am. However lets consider the evidence. The British Ambassador to the Holy See, Co. Down man Francis Campbell, issued a warning to Pope Benedict over his invitation to Anglican opponents of female priests to convert to Catholicism two years ago. Ambassador Campbell expressed the view that it could lead to discrimination aand even violence against Catholics in Britain.
Campbells views are interesting : The crisis is worrisome for Englands small mostly Irish origin, Catholic minority. There is still latent anti – Catholicism in some parts of England and it may not take much to set it off.
He warned : The outcome could be discrimination or in isolated cases even violence against this minority.
In the event violence was avoided. However all reports indicate that bigotry against Catholics has continued in Britain, [particulary Scotland
Accordingly is it so suprising that the co- ordinated campaign against high profile Catholics, the Celtic manager and players has occurred. But remember this is a British not an Irish problem Sectarianism was an essential tool in the creation of the British State in the 16/17 centuries .Thus is it so suprising that it persists in the early 21 st century amongst the most Neanderthal of the Crowns subjects