Neil Lennon is being held up as an example of everything that is wrong in Scottish society by the very people who contribute to Scotlands ongoing slide into social decline. He’s been made the whipping boy by mouthpieces who fan the flames of controversy time and time again. It’s gotten so bad that we now stand at a precipice. The only step beyond this is into abject tragedy. If we step past this imaginary boundary, we step into a world of hurt and tears that could rend the fabric of Scottish society asunder.
The last bastion of impartial journalistic integrity, Phil Mac Giolla Bhain, has reported that Neil and his family have been woken by the police and taken to a safe place no less than THREE TIMES in the past two months.
When, in the history of British football, never mind Scottish, has a manager of a major club had repeated death threats, ammunition and suspicious packages sent through the post addressed to him personally?
Never.
Have the press rounded on the perpetrators of these heinous crimes?
No.
Have they said “Enough is enough, a man’s life is a stake here?”
No.
Have they defended him in any way against paramilitary groups who have stated their intent to murder him?
No.
Have they condemned said paramilitary groups for bringing a social and religious terrorism to visit on a manager of a Glaswegian team?
No.
Let’s get one thing clear. There are people out there who want to murder Neil Lennon. There are beings out there (I say beings because they don’t qualify for classification as Humans) who started up and signed up to a facebook page advocating the tracking down and shooting of Neil Lennon. The press kicked up a massive stink when Nacho Novo’s home address was posted on a Celtic forum, and quite rightly so, but they took it so far that they referred to Celtic supporters as “sick thugs” in a national newspaper.
Where are the voices decrying these facebook pages?
Where are the voices decrying the death threats?
Where, oh where, are the voices decrying the suspicious packages that are intercepted en route to Neil Lennon’s home, where he lives with his wife and children? The media are already screaming to all and sundry that it was only a hoax. They fail to realise that the fact that it wasn’t’t a real bomb (allegedly) is not the point. The aim of the terrorist is to cause terror, to put fear into the heart of its enemy.
Traynor, Keevins, Young and the rest of their ilk would like nothing more than Neil Lennon to quit the Celtic managers post. To them that would be a decisive victory. But history is littered with men who were too proud, who were unafraid of threats, regardless of who made them, to back down. There have been heroes and martyrs made of many, many great men. I hope Neil Lennon isn’t made a martyr.
If anything does happen to Neil Lennon, by the maker I hope not, but IF anything does, then these people must be held accountable. The media clique who so arrogantly portray Neil Lennon as a problem and as a pariah and an enemy of their society must be made to account for their contribution.
Today, tonight, wherever you are, Celtic fans, brothers, friends, we must stand behind our manager. If they want to get him, they’ll have to go through us first. Unfortunately these cowards and bullies can’t, and will never, stand up to us as a collective. They’ll perform their indecent acts under the cover of darkness, in the shadows. They’ll disseminate their propaganda and try to subdue us by any subversive methods available.
Today, a day when Richard Gough – ex Rangers captain – can go on air on BBC Radio Scotland and say it’s okay to kick Neil Lennon in the face because “He gets under your skin” I despair. I am sick to the pit of my stomach over the antics of the Scottish media and of the fans, players and staff of that other disgraceful Glaswegian team. I am driven to tears by it. I am ashamed of Scotland.
It seems such a trite turn of phrase to utter, but we have never been up against it as bad as this. We have to unite as one body, as one people as one cause and stand together against the bile and hatred. Solidarity.
Hail Hail.
