Religious Bigots (7 August 2014)

I have no idea how many people were killed at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, but I'm sure it was a lot less than the 100,000 or so Scots who lost their lives in World War I.

One hundred years later the various Europeans countries who lost so many of their citizens during that terrible conflict came together to remember the fallen on both sides of the conflict and pay tribute to the war dead.

As listened to the coverage of thee events on TV and read the often moving reports in the newspapers, I found myself thing about the Orange Order parades in Glasgow which celebrate a great 'victory' of one side over the other, in a tribal atmosphere of triumphalism as opposed to peace and reconciliation.     

I wonder what the reaction would be if Israel celebrated its military 'victory' over Gaza with a public parade through the streets to which only Zionist Jews were invited?

Yet that's exactly what the Orange Order parades in Scotland and Northern Ireland are all about - exclusive events which are organised by and for bigoted elements within the Protestant community, and which are anti-Catholic by their very nature.

The whole nasty business makes about as much sense as the northern states celebrating their victory over the southern states during the American Civil War, by publicly rubbing the losers' noses in their historic defeat once a year.

So if you ask me it's time to start challenging these religious bigots because their behaviour is an embarrassment in 21st century Scotland.