I guess you could say that among the least of Jack Gibson’s idiocies is that he knows fuck all about Scottish football.

“Any argument about skin colour soon forces us back to inner purity. We know where this leads.”

That’s absurd. It’s like saying that a belief in the NHS will inevitably lead to a belief in Stalinesque purges, year zero and the destruction of intellectuals, the middle classes and anyone that wears glasses.
I’ve never understood this argument that recognising difference (in skin colour ir anything else) inevitably leads to the imposition of a hierarchy. The human brain is hard wired to recognise difference (from itself), that’s it, not better, not worse, just different. The imposition of hierarchy is a social construction which is manipulated by politicians and idealogues, there is nothing inevitable about it.

Hey Matt, I hope the context made it clear that “Any argument” means any argument about being English. We were not discussing skin colour but whether this difference can be made a defining one for who is and is not a member of a nation. ‘Gibson’ can’t allege that there is ‘an English race’ but wants a biological definition. Superficially, please excuse the dreadful unintended pun, skin differences seem natural and allow you to make an ”argument” about the English having to be white, as if this is all open and just about “recognising difference” as you say. But think about it: if you accept this what is the nationality of a black baby born of white parents, who had one black ancestor? You are into ‘essence’ and ‘inner purity’ and the realities of fascism. As I say, we all know where this leads.