I must admit that I have never equated BBC’s “Songs of Praise” with insecure white supremacy.
Then again, I don’t live inside Gregory Campbell’s head.
This is what he thought of a religious programme put out by the Beeb.
There really isn’t any need for me to editorialise on this dear reader.
However, over the last few days, ordinary folks who are not across the necessary details of the DUP world view have been playing catch up.
I’m reminded of the calls and message I was getting from journalists in Britain in 2017 when the DUP did a deal to keep Theresa May in Number Ten.
These colleagues were amazed that a party with such views could attract significant electoral support in any part of the UK.
Now, there wasn’t any need for serious journalistic digging on the matter as the DUP were hiding in plain sight of the London media.
It was just another example of their longstanding ignorance of North Ireland that goes back to the creation of that confected polity on this island.
For the uninitiated Gregory Campbell is Westminster MP for the East Londonderry constituency.
He has described himself as “Loyalist” and seems to delight in baiting people from a nationalist background.
Campbell certainly didn’t get the memo about “parity of esteem” when he made this intervention in Stormont in 2014.
His sneer at the Irish language and his angst at the racial composition on Songs of Praise come from the same racialised belief system.
For all to be well in Gregory’s world, everyone and everything must be like him.
This Tweet from Sean Og Garland puts it rather well.
Thankfully, Campbell’s appalling views are being challenged.
I suppose that regular readers will not be surprised that Gregory tried to use his position as a Westminster MP in 2012 to see if something could be done to help his tax-dodging club.
Of course, he failed, Hector held firm and Rangers were liquidated.
Now Gregory’s DUP colleague Mr David Graham is heading up Sevco’s PR effort in Glasgow.
Consequently, I’m sure that the Everyone Anyone campaign is coming along just tickety boo.
After all, there is much to do to bring the Ibrox klanbase blinking into the 21st century.
The experience of Conor Goldson in 2020 would tend to back that up.
When Ibrox is finally full again the songs of praise are for a member of the KKK.
So no one should be surprised at what dwells in the darkness of Gregory Campbell’s head.
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He is right. If it was all white the outrage would be staggering. Classic double standard.
Phil,
Can’t say it’s enjoyable seeing Billy Fullerton’s ugly mug again.
The Billy Boys formed a branch of the British Union of Fascists before WW2.
It’s interesting that they had fellow travellers in the SNP whose leaders were keen to collaborate with the Germans during WW2 and in fact their future leader Arthur Donaldson was interned because of it according to a report by MI5.
It’s important to remember that before WW2 the BUF (and the Billy Boys) and the SNP were not only ant-catholic and anti-Irish, they were also virulently anti-semitic. The whole 9 yards.
So, Phil when posting pictures of Billy Fullerton, it would be equally appropriate to post pictures of Arthur Donaldson not to mention Andrew Ewart Gibb, the SNP leader before WW2, who was also a virulently anti-catholic and anti-semite, and who liked to quote Hitler in his speeches.
Just think Phil, you could have been learning Gaelic as a third language, after German and English!
I see no problem with what Gregory Campbell has said. He is not racist but merely making the point that there is no diversity in this.
What a class phrase – “My existence and love defies your hate and fear.”
It puts me in mind of “liberate your minds and give your souls expression. Open up your hearts … “ 🙂
So the songs of praise programme was diverse was it? Aye right. So if you think Britain is the greatest country in the world, that Brexit is fantastic, as evidenced by the vaccine success, that a governments responsibility is to control its borders, that there should only be legal immigration, that children are best served and nourished by a mother and father in a loving married relationship then you are a racist, bigoted, homophobe? Is that about right? Maybe in your world pal, not mine. And I’m tell you something else the majority of the Celtic support agree with me also known as the silent majority. Yours in Celtic Jimmy
A nice wee rant. Not 100% sure what it was all about, but a nice wee rant nonetheless. I admire a nice wee rant…..even when I’m not entirely sure what it’s about. In fact, when I have a wee rant myself, I sometimes wonder when I’ve calmed down a bit, just exactly what the fuck I was ranting about. But hey, I generally feel better just for having had it.
Dear Gregory’s angst will no doubt be fully assuaged in next year’s competition if he finds a token Orange band among the “choir” entrants and a couple of Scottish referees among the judges.