A call to arms, literally I want you to raise them
'Asleep on the job', hopefully 4 damning words that bring about root and branch review and change within the Scottish game that we have so far never seen.......
Our national association is a cesspit and has been confirmed so by an independent body.
The Rangers support has been immense over the past 6 and half years. Since the financial mismanagement finally kicked in on 14th Feb 2012 and its impact has held us back, we have been nothing short of remarkable and we should be entirely justified in feeling just a wee bit proud of how we have responded to the darkest era in our history.
We are also a bit of a paradox at times. It's well known that a large group however much they have in common have subtle differences too. I'm not going to list (apart from one) the focus of those divisions, they are out there and I hope one day we can resolve them and be as collective, cohesive and united as we possibly can in order to be stronger together.
The one item I want to mention is one which divides opinion and manifests itself as a topic so repugnant we are encouraged (by some) not to raise it as a support. It is said by its critics to be politically motivated, crass, point scoring and beneath us.
When has child safety and well being been beneath anyone who calls themselves a Rangers supporter? I'm talking here specifically in the sporting context within the wider Scottish game.
It's our national game and we all turn up in our tens of thousands every week at Ibrox and in several thousands at away games, so the passion is undeniable. Where is the passion for ensuring child safety within the game we all proclaim to love so much? Are we as a support wanting to be labelled as hypocrites? If we are not united behind the recent report from the BBC that SFA did not do enough then we are letting a generation of children down. Why? For the reasons I listed above? It's not good enough anymore. It's not acceptable anymore for these cases of child sexual abuse to be swept under the carpet.
https://www.bbc.com/...otball/44957320
It is incumbent upon us as the biggest, most successful club in Scotland to lead the charge on this. We should start at the top and shame the SFA into holding a retrospective enquiry into all allegations of child abuse. Never mind the chants about specific people and clubs, call out the authorities who should have acted in the mid nineties when these allegations came to light.
If we are squeamish about name calling then simply raise your hand and support (literally) any banner that calls out the SFA in order that this sordid chapter can be put behind Scottish football. And we must ensure any perpetrators, whether that be clubs found to have been complicit in carrying out a cover up or insidious individuals acting alone are fully investigated.
I frankly think we should be organising a display in support of child safety as a catalyst for the SFA to be held accountable because so far not very much has happened. What would it take for us to show overt disgust about this? This isn't a rhetorical question fellow Bears. Ask yourself what it would actually take for us to finally get off our pious moral high ground and shout about this? How much worse would it need to be? More victims? Would that be enough? How about we have reached that point and we mobilise?
The SFA control the national game. The SFA have not done enough for the welfare of children. I call on the Rangers support, the Rangers groups and the Rangers board to be at the vanguard of child safety. This should be a unifying moment for us. This is not tribal football opportunism, it's simply the right thing to do and we all know it.
WMBB