At the gas pump

[bdkilted]

Heading home the North Texas Irish Festival today (yes they let Scots attend and even put up clan tents), and had to stop and get gas at the Pilot station in Waco. While filling up, there was a black couple on the other side of the pump, and when he saw me still in my kilt he "Hey, Scotland right?" I replied yes, the kilt is Scottish. His wife asked if there was a festival this weekend. I told her not here, but I am heading home from one in Dallas. They both agreed that the kilt was cool and wished me a good day, and pulled away. Then I hear from behind me, "Is that a kilt?" I turned around and another black guy had pulled in behind me. I said yes, it is a kilt. He told me he didn't mean to be rude, but wondered why I was wearing it. I told him I frequently wear one when meeting friends for dinner as it is a comfortable garment, but today I'm wearing it because I'm return home from the North Texas Irish Festival in Dallas. He replied, that's great I have a friend that wants one, but doesn't know where to get one. I told him that there are several places he can buy one, but mine was made by J. Higgins in Kansas. He then asked if I knew what snap chat was? I said yes, I know what it is. He then wanted to take a picture, so I agreed. He said he was posting it today with the title, "killing in the kilt." n
Can't say I've ever had anyone wanting to post a picture on SnapChat before. Interesting time at the gas pump today.

[48HofC]

Out of curiosity, why does their colour have to be pointed out or have to do anything?

[Liam]

Out of curiosity, why does their race have to be pointed out or have to do anything?

Race is a Victorian invention that was intended to explain the different physical appearances of humans. It is still practiced by many who believe people are defined by their physical attributes such as skin colour. These people are racists. There is only one race - the human one!

[Geoff Withnell]

Let's quickly get back to discussing reactions to the kilt before the conversation goes off the rails, please.

[bdkilted]

Because the response I usually get (including that morning at the hotel) from many people of color is; pointing, then laughing, then running away to find friends so they can point and laugh.
The positive actions of these 3 folks were a pleasent surprise.

[O'Callaghan]

Race is a Victorian invention that was intended to explain the different physical appearances of humans. It is still practiced by many who believe people are defined by their physical attributes such as skin colour. These people are racists. There is only one race - the human one!

I don't think that's quite true. The emerging scientific picture is that different races (although now you're supposed to call them clades - I suppose race is a bad word) are made up of different mixtures of the various hominims (until recently called hominids), i.e the different pre-human groups. Only negroids are pure homo sapiens, and then everyone else is part neanderthal, some are part denisovan, and some are partly something else that hasn't yet been isolated. Caucasians are a homo sapiens/neanderthal mix, with AFAIK nothing else. It is a sad state of affairs when the scientific consensus is not regarded as politically correct.

The only tangential relevance to kilts is that the broadest cultural association of kilts is with celts, and the celts were caucasian. It is a mild curiosity that others should have an interest in kilts, but nothing more nor less. After all, why shouldn't anyone wear whatever they want?

One of my favourite musicians, now sadly deceased, was Phil Lynott, the black front man of the Irish rock band, Thin Lizzy. Now, surely no-one would deny that he was an Irishman? He was from Dublin.

[jumary]

Please shut this thread down, so we can get back to kilts. This has nothing to do with any reason why I would spend time on this site.

[MacGumerait]

Let's quickly get back to discussing reactions to the kilt before the conversation goes off the rails, please.

I agree Geoff .

I've had quite a few reactions to the kilt while at a gas station either going to a Scottish Festival / Highland Games or going home . Most all have been quite interesting discussions and positive .

After a while of this happening , I began to think gas stations were the perfect place to debut the kilt .

Quite a cross section of all people , not everyone goes to a shopping center but everyone does stop to get gas sooner or later .

Cheers , Mike

[Father Bill]

Gentlemen, further mention of race on this or any other thread will in evitably result in flags for you. It is inappropriate, and you were already warned once by my colleague. Someone coming along this thread for the first time may yet still choose to flag your comments, so be warned, you are really quite close to the line and probably well over it. I for one am deeply disappointed.

Consider this an official warning.

[Steve Ashton]

"cultural association of kilts is with celts, and the celts were caucasian"

I would like to point out the the word Celt does not refer to a culture or have a cultural basis. It is about linguistics. To be Celtic is to speak one the languages in the Celtic Language family. Because they spoke a similar language it would follow that they were culturally similar within the same region and period but saying "I am Celtic" means "I speak one of the Celtic Languages".

There were and are many Celtic language speakers that span thousands of years. But the Hallstatt Peoples were quite distinct culturally from those who created the much later circles of stones just as the Gauls who sacked Rome were culturally different from the first Welsh peoples although they both spoke a language in the Celtic language family.

This idea that there was, or could be, a shared Celtic culture is a fairly modern concept. The modern "Druids" gathering at Stonehenge today are not Celts unless they speak Celtic.