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On air at 17&18GMT: Pride and its limits

Ros Atkins Ros Atkins | 15:20 UK time, Wednesday, 20 April 2011

Julius Malema is, as you'll know, the head of the ANC Youth League and he's been in court today. Some Afrikaaners want an apartheid-era song with the words "shoot the Boer" to be banned and Mr Malema is the man best known for singing it. In the witness stand, he argued that the song is not meant to be taken literally. Here's how the story is being reported. At the art of the debate is the extent to which pride in one's past and one's identity should be expressed, even if it offends and alienates others.

In Scotland, we're seeing a related discussion after the revelation that parcel bombs have been sent to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and two high profile supporters.

This is just the latest symptom of a problem that reaches back decades in the history of Scotland's two biggest football clubs. Rangers and Celtic have huge and passionate followings and as such are no different to many big clubs around the world. But both sets of fans on occasions will sing sectarian songs that evoke far more than football (you'll see here Rangers ).

Though this is not precise, Celtic draws its support from the descendants of Irish Catholics who emigrated to Scotland after the Great Famine and from across Ireland, Rangers from Scotland's mainly Protestant community and from Unionist communities in Northern Ireland.

Both sets of fans say their expressions of identity through songs and flags celebrate their culture and past rather than advocate violence against their rivals. But they divide on whether all songs are acceptable.

We'll discuss where pride reaches its limits.

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