'There's Only One Taliban'

I nominate this as Ben Sherminā€™s post of the Month! Wayhey, good debate lads, now continue for my enjoyment!

Wahey!!!

The Huddleboard makes Page 23 of The Sun.

Come on The Taliban!

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/3725/thehunek8.jpg

im pissed off i didnt contribute to that thread- would have loved to have made the sun

Yep, just saw it there now - quality exposure for the board. Tremendous use of the old ā€˜Our Boysā€™ phrase by The Sun when talking about the heroic British occupying forces abroad. We also get the token made up quotes from Celtic and forces insiders and then a comment from Nil By Mouth. Thereā€™s absolutely nothing sectarian about hoping the British Army get a good kicking whenever they invade somewhere - cā€™mon the 'ban! Tabloid rags like this might be better advised investigating what the fook the army are doing over there in the first place.

huddleboard response:

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/8564/sunreplysd5.jpg

Could it inferred from that piece that another Rangers-supporting David Murray ended up legless?

[quote=ā€œBandageā€]

huddleboard response:

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/8564/sunreplysd5.jpg[/quote]

Quality response

Feck canā€™t see that stuff in work. Think I know the thread in question though.

Off all the crap

[quote=ā€œBandageā€]Yep, just saw it there now - quality exposure for the board. Tremendous use of the old ā€˜Our Boysā€™ phrase by The Sun when talking about the heroic British occupying forces abroad. We also get the token made up quotes from Celtic and forces insiders and then a comment from Nil By Mouth. Thereā€™s absolutely nothing sectarian about hoping the British Army get a good kicking whenever they invade somewhere - cā€™mon the 'ban! Tabloid rags like this might be better advised investigating what the fook the army are doing over there in the first place.

huddleboard response:

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/8564/sunreplysd5.jpg[/quote]

Posted above the huddleboard clip is outstanding.
Best comeback Iā€™ve ever read.

Quality stuff regarding the returning servicemanā€¦

Taliban no angels but lets face it the US armed the Nicaraguan Contras whose ā€˜party pieceā€™ was cutting the breasts off womenā€¦ No sympathy.

As Celtic fans Bandage and Rock do you find any conflict in your sullying the name of your club in the press (rights and wrongs of the taliban debate excluded).

A neutral who would pick up that paper would have a poor view in the extreme of the Celtic fans in question.

I think its funny though

[quote=ā€œdancarterā€]As Celtic fans Bandage and Rock do you find any conflict in your sullying the name of your club in the press (rights and wrongs of the taliban debate excluded).

A neutral who would pick up that paper would have a poor view in the extreme of the Celtic fans in question.

I think its funny though[/quote]

Not totally sure I get what youā€™re asking there Dan. Do you mean does it disappoint me that Celtic supporters would have such opinions that result in negative articles like this one and, by extension, negative publicity to the club? If that is what you meant, then Iā€™d answer with a resounding ā€˜noā€™. The response from the huddleboard was good in that it emphasised that Celtic supporters are many and varied. Thereā€™s a large body within that support who would have complete and utter disdain for the British forces and unashamedly express their opinion.

Iā€™ve no issue whatsoever with that but a jingoistic outlet like The Sun trying to whip up support for ā€˜our boysā€™ abroad obviously do. I actually donā€™t think it damages Celtic to any degree as tabloids like this have been trying to do hatchet jobs on Celtic and their supporters for years. Even this season, there was a made-up-report in the Daily Record, the main Scottish based tabloid, that UEFA were investigating Celtic supporters for singing the add-ons to The Fields of Athenry during the Barca game. UEFA promptly responded to say that this was 100% untrue but itā€™s a recurring theme and a drum theyā€™ve been banging for so long that nobody really notices it.

[quote=ā€œdancarterā€]As Celtic fans Bandage and Rock do you find any conflict in your sullying the name of your club in the press (rights and wrongs of the taliban debate excluded).

A neutral who would pick up that paper would have a poor view in the extreme of the Celtic fans in question.

I think its funny though[/quote]

I havenā€™t read the article in question but I think I know the thread and I can imagine the Sunā€™s response.

If I had to choose between an apathetic, apolitical purely soccer fanbase or a politicised support Iā€™d choose the latter. I like looking around Celtic Park and seeing Palestinian flags and Basque flags on display. I donā€™t particularly like the Vatican flags but Iā€™d rather people had them and offended people if itā€™s what they believe in, than displayed no allegiances in order to better fit in with the rest of the population.

There are bucket loads of Celtic fans who donā€™t give a shit about the 6 counties or the war in Iraq or the Basque country or Ireland or anything like that and thatā€™s fine with me. I donā€™t like when any of them complain about the others having an opinion though. Celtic have always had a significant element of their support with an interest in various political causes - largely anti-imperialist and broadly left wing. Thatā€™s one of the things I love about the club.

As for media perceptions it doesnā€™t bother me. Celtic have always had a very tough time of it in Scotland. There were calls for them to be banned from the Scottish League in the 1950s by the Church of Scotland as they were a threat to the Protestant ethos of the country. The SFA threatened to expel them from the league for having the gall to fly a tricolour in the 1980s. There was (and still is to a much lesser extent) a very real discrimination against Catholics and Irish immigrants in Scotland and Celtic are reflective of those circumstances. The boardroom will change and become more diluted but itā€™s the fans that represent the club and Iā€™m happy to be associated with the spectrum of beliefs represented by the supporters.