We Must Never Forget

25 years.  25 years.  We are fast approaching the 25^th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.  April the 15^th 1989 is a day that will live long in infamy and lay heavy in the hearts.  My tears, my sorrow and my thoughts laid firmly with the 96 and those that loved them I was 7 at the time, and have previously, for this site, written about my experience that day for whatever it was worth although incomparable to those there present.  As a result you will read pieces much more eloquent than mine and filled with much more raw hurt and pain than mine and I urge you to do so.

I write this piece today removed from my usual light hearted take on things as I feel compelled to try and address a disease that is growing.  For years, fans of Liverpool FC have had to deal with ignorance and as a family walking alone in the pursuit of justice and attempting for the truth to be told fighting against the establishment and that rag suitably summed up by Rihanna as an ‘ass hair’ as it was so full of sh!t.  This fight has not been without its toll and cost, our own and the only Iron Lady is sadly missed and please please please continue to donate whatever you can whenever you can to this cause.  Ignorance, unfortunately, is par for the course.  People will see nuggets of information and run with that regardless of validity, ergo the damage of a headline.  The disease I am referring to now is apathy.

For me this is an appalling turn of events and something that comes with time passed.  Add in the hugely positive developments we have had in recent years and for the lay person this whole cause may have finished.  A prominent example that comes to mind is from the comedian Alan Davies, an Arsenal fan, bemoaning the fact the Liverpool FC would not play on the 15^th, thus reducing the rest period for Chelsea and their ensuing Champions League tie.  More recently and what has stirred my inner anger is the reaction in part to the FA gesture of a 7 minute kick off delay and 96 empty seats at Wembley.  I have seen this described as OTT, bemoaning as to why this gets so much exposure compared to Bradford or Ibrox as well as the usual idiocy of ‘victims’ and so on.

Whilst the grief, pain and upset is continually carried  by the people of Liverpool, both club and city, the anger, questions and outrage belongs to everyone.  This is not just a Liverpool FC grievance, this issue effects EVERYBODY.  It is time to put club rivalry to one side and unite.  Whilst the date 15^th of April 1989 is synonymous with Liverpool FC, this could quite easily have been 11^th of April 1981 and Spurs sons, daughters, fathers or mothers never returning home.  At this point I urge you to go to this site: http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/report/

Out of respect for the victims, the families, to ensure in the first part the disaster never happens again and justice is finally achieved.  We must not forget and must continue to question and move forwards:

• ·         Why was Hillsborough still used even though safety assessments commissioned by Sheffield Wednesday in 1978 showed it failed to meet minimum standards?
• ·         Following the near Spurs miss, Hillsborough was not used again until 1987, what prompted the decision to return there?
• ·         24,000 fans through 23 turn styles?  Why was the capacity totals not altered?
• ·         The SY Fire service requested provisions for emergency exits as the only possible one was forwards, why was this ignored?
• ·         Issues at both 1987 and 1988 semi-finals were ignored, why?
• ·         Why was Brian Mole replaced by David Duckenfield?
• ·         SY Police prioritised Crowd Control over Crowd Safety, why?
• ·         Why was Gate C opened?

I have but 1000 words here and could go on, but these are just a sample of the many questions that need answering, all drawn from the report.  This is a tragedy landed on the lap of Liverpool fans but could easily have been another team.

This is only half the story.  As we all now know the whole situation gets much darker.  The scrambling to save face and cover back exacerbated the pain, and the country knowing what it knows now (Liverpool fans have known for 25 years) should leave people terrified.  This is something that is not Football specific, this could have happened at Glastonbury, a pop concert, a theatre, a comedy gig, a peaceful demonstration….essentially at anytime and at any place.  Huge mistakes were made and covered up with blame laid at the feet of the innocent!  Minors checked for alcohol, demonised in spite of heartbreak, the use of a red top to flood the world with misinformation (the power of headlines).  Just where did ‘The Truth’ come from?  I doubt that odious toad McKenzie was alone in this.  In the current climate we have to be careful as to what we write on this subject, but everything I have written is fact and found here http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/report/

The reason why Hillsborough should never be forgotten and should continue to be remembered in any and every way it can be is because 96 people died, is because it took 25 years to get answers.  This is not some crazy conspiracy theory, it happened.  Read again http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/report/

Nobody and I mean nobody should ever attend a social event and not come home.  As Liverpool fans we will be faced with trolls at this time of year and increasingly apathetic onlookers and our role, our fight has to be to challenge and educate.  Get this out there http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/report/

As always my thoughts and prayers go to the 96 and their families.  I will never forget, I will never give up.

If you can do nothing else, tweet, Facebook, Snapchat, shout loudly http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/report/ and lets get the actual truth out there.