hate crime....

[Kiltedfirepiper]

This news item appeared in the BBC Scotland News today:

Police probe pipe band race abuse

Cumbria police are treating the abuse as a hate crime
Young Scottish musicians say they were subjected to racial abuse during a carnival parade in England.
Cumbria Police confirmed they are investigating the weekend incident and are treating it as a "hate crime".

Members of the Annan Juvenile Pipes and Drums, from Dumfriesshire, said they were targeted while performing at the annual carnival in Aspatria.

They said they were forced to endure anti-Scottish taunts and foul language from a group of teenage girls.

Insp Dave Barr, from Cumbria Police, said members of the pipe band had reported the incident on Saturday.

The people who have been intimidated were obviously being targeted because they were Scottish or dressed in Scottish regalia

Insp Dave Barr

Cumbria Police

"They informed us that during the parade a group of young people - predominantly young girls - made anti-Scottish comments towards them and sang some anti-Scottish songs," he said.

"I understand that water bombs were thrown as well but that is something that we see at most carnivals, to be honest."

He said the police would investigate the incident thoroughly.

"We are treating it as a hate incident because the people who have been intimidated were obviously being targeted because they were Scottish or dressed in Scottish regalia," said Insp Barr.

"That is a prejudice and we treat all of these incidents seriously.

"We do not want people being turned away because they believe they are going to be subjected to this sort of behaviour."

[Kid Cossack]

Hmm, so THAT'S how the Scots were finally defeated . . . the English sang nasty songs at them! (Hey, where's that "eye roll" smiley . . . ?)

[Kiltedfirepiper]

yeah ...that was kinda my thoughts....but I wanted to wait till someone else posted to see what the tone of the post would be

I've been called some nasty things while wearing my kilt.....have we gotten so thin skinned?

I figure if you "call the cops" when someone is taunting you, then they win...they got to you and that was their goal..... i donno...maybe I just really dont give a R A what people think, and therefore am not affected by it

[Kid Cossack]

snip

I've been called some nasty things while wearing my kilt.....have we gotten so thin skinned?

snip

I agree with you---I've been mocked (a little) while kilted, and mocked on other occasions as well. I never really felt the need to run crying to Mummy about it, and certainly wouldn't run to the police over a matter of words and water balloons.

[Kid Cossack]

I guess it's something we Americans, or we Texans, or maybe just this Texan, have/has trouble understanding, the "racial" aspect of it.

I suppose I paint the race lines with a very broad brush, and I (or Americans, or Texans, or once more just me) never really thought of the Scots and English and Irish as different races---at least in the modern, bureaucratic, anti-discrimination type way.

Then again, when I was first in Central Asia, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the distinctions between "nationality" and "citizenship."

My take on the situation is that it's just bad joss all the way around, from the English lassies taunting the pipe band to the official police reaction.

[slohairt]

I guess it's something we Americans, or we Texans, or maybe just this Texan, have/has trouble understanding, the "racial" aspect of it.

I suppose I paint the race lines with a very broad brush, and I (or Americans, or Texans, or once more just me) never really thought of the Scots and English and Irish as different races---at least in the modern, bureaucratic, anti-discrimination type way.

Then again, when I was first in Central Asia, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the distinctions between "nationality" and "citizenship."

My take on the situation is that it's just bad joss all the way around, from the English lassies taunting the pipe band to the official police reaction.

Dia Dhuit!

That does seem to be a common consensus in North America I've noticed. Unfortunately, generalizing different cultures is not often a good thing. It can be especially insulting when one equates the conquered with the conquerers!

When asked at job interviews (or other situations) what additional languages I speak, I'll reply "Irish." Nine times out of ten, I'll receive responses like "what's that? I didn't know they had a language." or they'll make a joke of it saying things like, "top o' the mornin' to ye!"

Reinforcing racial/cultural differences is often viewed as negative, but it CAN be positive. By reinforcing your culture's differences with a neighbouring culture, you force people to actually learn something of it instead of subscribing to stereotypes.

But you're right, crying to the police about some girls making fun of you whilst piping? Man, I bet there were some laughs at the station that night!

On a related note, I remember a particular instance which happed to me: I was leaving my apartment wearing my saffron kilt and full regalia off to a wedding. A young black man said to me, "Where's your f**king bagpipes, h*mo!" (Beavis and Butthead-esque laughter then ensued from his cohorts.) I replied "Right where you left your bongo drums, brother!" He then got angry and said, "That was really racist!" Apparently the irony was lost on him.

DISCLAIMER: I, of course, have nothing but great respect for African cultures, and, as a musician, find their traditional drumming styles particularly fascinating.

[fluter]

I've been mocked (a little) while kilted, and mocked on other occasions as well. I never really felt the need to run crying to Mummy about it, and certainly wouldn't run to the police over a matter of words and water balloons.

I feel sure most of us here could hold our own.

What makes this incident so bad (as it's reported) is that it was a youth band that was targeted. One wishes that the end of the story had been that the girls' parents, or perhaps a group of large, Cumbrian footballers, had taken them in hand & made them apologize.

[Archangel]

This is a hat I wear at work.

The point is that why should people have to put up with it? If you are strong enough to withstand it, good for you. History has shown that one, or both, of two things will happen: they'll find somebody weaker than you; or they'll get a bigger mob than yours. Silence has never worked for long.

I see enough people sick from stress, taking time off, getting disciplined for absenteeism, or out of the department. Let the aggressor take the heat, and do the time.

A story my mum told me as a child: when Hitler was a child, someone made a joke about the Jews, forty years later....

And, yes, English/Scottish rivalry is still very strong, and sometimes people get carried away. They have to be stopped.

(It's not racism. It is harassment based on nationality or place of origin.)

[morrison]

Hmm, so THAT'S how the Scots were finally defeated . . . the English sang nasty songs at them! (Hey, where's that "eye roll" smiley . . . ?)

I think some stolen waterfilled sporrans were thrown back too!

[cessna152towser]

When I was with Ann on holiday in the south of England a few years back a young man took exception to my Scottish accent and punched me in the face and came out with a load of racial abuse. Well I'm not a fighter but I did have a lot of stamina and I just stood there and screamed abuse back at him and dared him to hit me again now that other people were watching. He slunk away in the crowd. I reported it to the police but of course he couldn't be traced. Happily people like this are in a very small minority and most English are friendly towards Scots. It happens the other way too, that while 99.9% of Scots will welcome English visitors, there is always the one bad apple who will destroy his country's good reputation by bad behaviour.