DR BRIDGET McConnell, head of Culture and Sport Glasgow (CSG), the £100 million charity in charge of the city’s culture, said yesterday that she was alarmed by what she describes as a “personal witchhunt” against her by packs of evangelical loonies.
Dr Bridget McConnell
For the past six months, the head of Glasgow’s museums and art has been under siege from Christian fundamentalists, who have vowed to oust her from her job.
McConnell, a detribalised Catholic, told The Times:
It is almost like being physically abused. You get knocked down by it every day and you pick yourself up, but then you come in the next morning and it happens all over again. It’s attrition.
The vendetta followed an art exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) that included a section on homosexuality and religion which led to the defacing of a Bible by visitors to the gallery.
She has received up to 2,000 letters, e-mails and phone calls attacking her and objecting to the art show. There have been petitions and personal visits to her office. Her office has been routinely picketed by groups with a loud hailer, calling upon her to repent, and her staff have been harassed.
Police are known to be concerned at the targeting of Dr McConnell and on at least one occasion officers had to be called to demonstrations outside the art gallery when staff were “seriously intimidated”.
The Bible which provoked the protests
On a website linked to an English organisation called Christian Watch campaigners openly declared their intention to have Dr McConnell removed from her post and said that their aim is to stop the city supporting events and programmes that insult Christ, the Bible, and Christians.
Old fart Bob Handyside, 76, is one of the protesters who believes McConnell was conducting a vendetta against them, rather than vice versa.
We’re not militants, we’re ordinary Bible-believing Christians who want a quiet life. She is on a campaign. She has funded, with taxpayers’ money, three attacks on the Bible. Everyone knows these things would never happen against Islam. Our outrage is far more legitimate then hers; that woman is on £132,000 of public money and she is betraying Christ.
Worryingly, McConnell has also featured on the front page of a BNP newsletter, in an article which claimed that her “misuse” of public money on this exhibition helped the case for reintroducing the criminalisation of homosexuality.
Sermons have been preached in Roman Catholic churches across Glasgow condemning the art exhibition, and this week Paul Mansbacher, a fundamentalist Protestant who proved too extreme even for the über-loopy “Wee Frees” – he was booted out of the Free Church of Scotland for “conduct prejudicial to the peace of the congregation“— wrote to the Archdiocese of Glasgow demanding that she be:
Officially and publicly excommunicated from the Catholic Church funding of ‘blasphemous events’.
Dr McConnell, speaking exclusively to The Times, said:
It is not an exaggeration to say that on every working day from August last year until now I have had to deal with some protest concerning this issue. What is deeply worrying is the fact that those who are protesting are not simply interested in expressing a difference of opinion — which they are entitled to — but want to silence those they do not agree with. The menace, intimidation and misogny expressed in a great deal of the correspondence is deeply worrying.
To get such venom and aggression from total strangers gives you the feeling they would like a public execution. They continually express this feeling that it’s unfair – if we were Muslims we could murder you for this. I’m not naive. I know I’m in a public position and I know the way it works. That’s life and I’m not complaining about it. It’s the way this campaign has become truly personal and quite vicious that I find so unpleasant.
There is an aggression behind it which is really intimidating — and intimidating to my staff too, who have to deal with the calls. It wears you down and you actually do start to feel personally intimidated. You don’t get used to it.
Dr McConnell, who retains the full support of her board, said her organisation had apologised for any offence caused by the displays in GoMA:
Because that was not our intention or the intention of the artists.
She added:
But people do not have a right not to be offended, and arguing that this debate involves an attack on Christianity is, in effect, an argument against pluralism and free speech.
Here are some some of the messages McConnell has received – just feel the love:
• It is an abomination to be gay/lesbian. It is a sin to be sexually deviant. The soul that sinneth shall DIE!
• I challenge you to put a copy of the Koran alongside the Bible. However I know that you will not as the reaction of Muslims would be rather different and CSG, cowards that they are, know it
• How dare you. How dare you. You have only yourselves to blame if you rot in hell.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
January 23rd, 2010 at 1:35 pm
This stuff really sickens me. Particularly when you get some ignorant 76 year old arsehole sticking his ignorant nose in and feeling self righteous. The last thing these dumbfucks will do is discuss an issue: they know and if you do not agree with their loony tunes they want you sacked as alternative to the a few years in the clanger. So much for free speech.
The result is that the nutters are ignorant berks and the people they attack are usually intelligent, decent people trying to do a worthwhile job.
I have had some nutters say to me, including recently, why do you attack religious people the way you do. Live and let live, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Oh yeh! You mean when unelected bishops try to block legislation on euthanasia; when an atheist is told “no one without faith on Thought for the Day; and plenty of other examples.
January 23rd, 2010 at 2:19 pm
It looks like this lady has been subjected to a direct campaign of intimidation by a particularly nasty group of people, christians.
Sadly what she initially did, which was to apologize for any offence caused, was the wrong thing to do. In apologizing to these muppets, she has given their pathetic arguments weight. Now christians (and the other god botherers) as we know are not the forgiving type and will continue to hound this woman, as they now have the scent of blood.
When it comes to aggressive religious types like this, I have often found that the old phrase ‘Never Apologize, Never Explain’ works wonders. Cut them off before they start to whine, and never feel bad about it.
January 23rd, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Tony e. I am with you on this one. When did a christian apologise for a secular opinion? What is there to apologise for – causing offence? All this leads to is giving special status to religious opinions. As soon as you aplogise you may as well invite them to advance. Something else, of course, is that many of these religious campaigns are planned and ready to roll when the target is identified. Some of these people writing to attack have neither read the “offending” article, book etc. An excellent example of this in Midnight’s Children. Most of the muslims who went to war on this couldn’t read it if they wanted to: they haven’t they academic ability.
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:16 pm
She hit the nail on the head: these people don’t just want to express outrage–they want to silence anyone who doesn’t agree with them.
Probably a good rule of thumb for deciding which memes are useful and which ones should go the way of the dinosaurs.
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:18 pm
I couldn’t give two tosses what the Christians think, but surely the good doctor must have anticipated their outrage. It was blatantly predictable. Why create such a headache for herself?
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Ian, why the hell should anyone self censor for fear of upsetting these retarded morons? without those prepared to disagree with such people we would never have crawled out of the dark ages.
January 23rd, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Come on now we all know what religion does to a lot of disturbed people makes them violent in the name of their god. Anything seems to go for them.
Just my theory is that they are all getting uneasy as to how religion is going, and going it is.
Surely their time would be better spent by speaking out about abusive priests, but no this can not be done because obviously they think because priests say they believe in a god they should be left alone.
Seems one law for one and one for another.
January 23rd, 2010 at 7:58 pm
I wonder if the fury is directed at all the different versions of the bible or just the King James version if that is what it is. Or what about if the bible is in another language – say Welsh, Armenian, Russian. Some of these fundies have weird ideas. Here are a few I have heard: the bible was written originally in English; Jesus was white – this from a deep South USA crazy and his “evidence” was “have you ever seen a painting of Jesus where he was not white?”, the apocrypha was “something you have invented to cause trouble” (he had never heard of it), the suggestion that the christian religion had been supported by Constantine for political reasons was “the daftest thing I have heard from you so far,”.
Where ignorance is bliss etc……………….
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:09 pm
What a nice bunch of people they are. So full of Christ’s love and all.
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Its a valid piece of modern social “art” – the point being – that women have NO voice in the bible or church, and so to let them put footnotes or comments – whatever they may be – is relevant to a developed society in which nothing is above scrutiny or criticism, and the fact that what they wrote was offensive, vulgar etc – is surely a cathartic outpouring of genuine feeling.
Their resentment, hurt and venom, is presumably the only thing in that book that is real!
I can’t stand modern art by and large (I’m an artist myself) but this piece was very interesting.
If it upset idiots – then good. The NEED to be upset. Their petty imagined grievance is literally NOTHING compared to the damage to humanity caused by the bible.
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:25 pm
The one thing the objectors got right is that the museum wouldn’t have done the same with a copy of the Koran.
Perhaps the christian brigade have seen how successfully muslims have intimidated just about everyone in the UK and are taking a leaf out of their book.
January 23rd, 2010 at 9:55 pm
‘Christian Watch’? Not a good idea for a religious group to choose a title that actually sounds like an atheist’s blog. All I saw in the five minutes I was clicking round the site was a mewling, spewing little Frankenstein’s monster of a UK fundie group – angry stuttering heart of Christian Voice, huffing lungs of Christian Institute, long nose of Christian Legal Centre, Iris Robinson’s bile duct…
Skull a bit empty though.
January 23rd, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Haven’t we heard this same old hate-speak before? The religious in their defence of the indefensible have no case, so instead use threats to silence their critics because it is easier than debate. Perhaps someone can correct me if wrong, but are not death threats against the person a criminal matter? If so what are the Police doing about this, probably nothing, maybe because the Police in the UK are rather heavy with Masons and Christians and quietly agree with the protesters.
Something the protesters seem to have missed is that the bible used in the art display was written on by members of the public and not the art gallery staff so shouldn’t the protesters vent their collective spleen at joe public? And another thing, for the benefit of any religious trolls reading this: the bible is just a book, a vile and disgusting book, a waste of paper so why not deface it.
January 24th, 2010 at 12:10 am
Of coarse they would not have done the same to the koran!!
They can’t. Not because of fear of the PEACE LOVING islam, but because it is in arabic!!! Do you or most english people read arabic???
2nd-ly-most of the people in the area are english and xtian so using the koran would again not given much response.
3rd-ly- Deface the buybull??? I heard they wrote in the margins about the passages. Put a 12gauge shotgun up to it and shot—that is defacing!!!!
4th-ly – Ya they would be scared to use a koran.
Let see – the PEACE LOVIN islamic just sort of casually try to kill some cartoonist for drawing a picture of a long dead pedophile.
A bunch of PEACE LOVIN xtains get all pissed off cuz some people wrote remarks in a book of badly written stone age myths.
Why yes I can see they are very different religions. RRRrrighttttt!!!
January 24th, 2010 at 7:43 am
“I challenge you to put a copy of the Koran alongside the Bible. However I know that you will not as the reaction of Muslims would be rather different and CSG, cowards that they are, know it”
Ah, fatwÄ envy…
January 24th, 2010 at 11:24 am
What I think happenned here is a blinkered christian woman decided that the world loves christians and that if she invited the world to write in a bible they would all write nice things because they love the bible.
As usual, christians only see and hear what they want to.
January 24th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
In a way, this type of Xtian is envious of the Jihadists false indignation. Besides, it is yet another Xtian myth they are so tolerant as the article proves!
January 24th, 2010 at 11:52 pm
I’m fed up with the ‘you wouldn’t do this against Islam’ argument. Yes, there is a section of Moslems who feel justified in murdering anyone who mocks their beliefs. In a similar way, if you go into certain pubs you’ll find someone who’ll stick a broken glass in your eye socket if you say that your football team is better than their football team. Does this mean I am a beacon of politeness and restraint for merely headbutting someone who doesn’t support my team? Does this make anyone who criticises my team big sooky cowards because they’re not having a go at someone more violent?
Christian people are often insulting and offensive to athiests (they don’t often realise it, though). Strangely enough, athiests don’t go around telling them they’re cowards because they’re not being equally offensive to homicidal lunatics.
NB! I don’t mean to suggest or imply in any way shape or form that Moslems are homicidal lunatics. I’m talking about those who’ve perverted the true meaning of Islam. Islam is a religion of peace. Furthermore, I think that your football team is vastly superior to mine.
January 25th, 2010 at 1:31 am
Sean O’Doherty: “Fatwa envy.” Perfection!
January 25th, 2010 at 11:58 am
Gordon Campbell
January 24th, 2010 at 11:52 pm
I’m fed up with the ‘you wouldn’t do this against Islam’ argument.
True though, isn’t it Gordie?
January 25th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
It may be partially true but does that mean anyone should be grateful for them not beheading anyone who mocks xianity?
January 25th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Let’s keep to the important details here.
This was done by Christians, from the Metropolitan Community Church. Why would they use a Koran?
Atheists didn’t put on this display, they merely choose to point out that anonymous threats are low.
January 26th, 2010 at 3:53 am
Andrew: “True though, isn’t it Gordie?”
Personally, I’m happy to debate, disagree with and criticise any religion or belief: Islam, Christianity, Bokononism, whatever. Artists have criticised Islam & the Koran. And many leading Christians have been weak and ingratiating to the thugs who demand blood in response (as in the Rushdie affair & the Danish cartoons).
My point, dear Andy, is that I don’t threaten to behead you when you mock me, and you don’t threaten to behead me when I mock you. And neither of us gets a free kick for pointing out that there are some stupid, ignorant, nasty little people out there who do think beheading is a Pretty Good Idea. And in response to those people – well let’s just choose our tactics wisely. We don’t have to choose martyrdom, but let’s not roll over and surrender like the Archbishop and the Pope.