I was labelled a potential IRA supporter just because of my name

Old traditions and ‘culture’ are failing as barriers break down in our increasingly globalised world, writes Jim Duffy

Are you really who you think you are? I was recently on a plane trip to the UK. I got chatting to the chap sitting next to me, who was also from Glasgow. The Glaswegian accent is well-rehearsed and stands out a country mile.

As we chatted, it seems we shared a similar knowledge of the city. But, I knew that at some point in the conversation I would be asked the stand-out question 99 per cent of Glaswegian men ask each other when they get blethering.

Two minutes later and out it came. Are you a Celtic or Rangers man? Bingo! My standard reply to this is that I do not follow football at all, which is quite true. But, as my new travelling companion was only too eager to tell me, he was a Celtic man and this made me think.

Why do we take up identity positions and how do these ultimately polarise?

So much of our lives has been socially constructed by others over the decades and centuries. Our names, for example, can pinpoint where we are from, which area of the country and what team we may or may not support.

With a name like Duffy, I was immediately pigeonholed by some as a “tarrier” when I joined the police some 25 years ago. This meant I was ostensibly from one side of the religious divide and for some even more extreme officers, a potential IRA supporter.

When the chips were down, would I take a position? Would I take a side? Unfortunately, by labelling me with this anachronism, my mindset immediately pitted me against them. And the “them” and “us” binary is causing even more problems nearly three decades on.

The problem is not the identity position that you are given, labelled with or adopt, but the easiness and willingness of many people to simply accept these positions. As we are in election mode just now, choices will have to be made on which political party to vote for. Or will it be which leader you decide to vote for? Are you left or right? Did that position stem from where your parents put their cross in the box? Did they get that leaning from their parents? And so on...

If you are a woman, will you take a position in brushing aside the “pale, male and stale” politicians that may be on offer and place your X for Jo Swinson or Nicola Sturgeon? Or does it not matter what gender a political leader is?

Then we have the “us’ and “them” of country versus country. If I suggest to you that I am a global citizen, you may chortle or even raise an eyebrow. But, although I was born in Glasgow of Irish descent, I feel very much wedded to my position as an individual person on this planet.

That for me means wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home and I do not wish to be slotted into a nationality box, just because it suits someone else to do so. Scottish Independence and all that it could entail will indeed precipitate a clear and decisive “us” and “them”, both within the country and internationally with our neighbours. Albeit, and I have to concede here, that although an inward-looking policy for many, it may now lead to Scotland indeed being more European. A more outward-facing position in a world of polar opposites, some may suggest.

Choosing to think one way or the other, outwith neatly constructed boxes is not easy. One can be an advocate of social justice and welcome immigration for prosperity. Or conversely, a hater of the “underclass” and an advocate of “send