Scottish outlook on kilted Americans?

[Father Bill]

Mine's a large Talisker, what's yours Bill? Any one else?

Talisker's good; that's what I named my dog! int:

[CMcG]

I suppose many(most?) of us are ethnic some ones. I know I am. I know I am swimming against the tide here, but for me "ethnic-Scot" whilst being accurate in its description, just does not cover what I am trying to say.

Why can't you just be, Canadians/Americans/Wherevers? No one is denying you your roots, no one(in this thread) is saying don't wear the kilt, they are saying wear the kilt if you wish, no one is saying that you cannot recite Doric poetry, no one is saying that you cannot play the pipes, no one is saying that you cannot eat haggis 7 days a week(sorry I am trying to lighten up the post) these are entirely your choice. So I repeat.

Scots are just Scots, so it really escapes me and, dare I say it, many Scots, why Canadians for example, cannot be, well, just Canadians.

Jock, your question goes right to the heart of the entire concept of nationalism, which is a very complex one. I'm going to attempt an answer to your question in regards to Canadian national identity, but bear in mind that in a national radio competition, the winning completion to the sentence beginning "As Canadian as..." was "possible, under the circumstances"

Father Bill summed up some of the social circumstances quite nicely when he wrote:

... we look around at our obvious diversity, and rightly or wrongly, folks like to ask "Where are you (or your people) from?"It helps a lot of folks to understand the cultural points of view of the people with whom they interact which here are often widely and wildly divergent.
...

To put that in perspective, one could easily get on public transportation in many places in Toronto and hear 10 or more languages being spoken, all from different parts of the globe. Nonetheless, Canada is a massive country and there are also regions with much more cultural homogeneity, like Cape Breton or many parts of Québec. In order to integrate our diversity and regional identities under one national banner, the government passed The Multiculturalism Act (1988).

This bit of law “recognizes the importance of preserving and enhancing the multicultural heritage of Canadians” and is interpreted in a couple important ways. The first is that new Canadians are encouraged to keep their cultural traditions. The second is that peoples’ cultures are actively promoted, such that people maintain and/or revive the traditions of their own heritage.

People here are even welcome to participate in and enjoy the cultures of other groups. In these cases, one is not reviled for playing at being something they are not, but rather applauded for their efforts to broaden their cultural awareness – sometimes even granted a sort of honorary status within a community!

As for just being Canadians, though Canada has a short history compared to the Old Countries, there are still some people here who identify as "Canadian," without any qualifier of heritage. I had never met one when I was growing up on the relatively new Western prairies. In Upper Canada, I've met a few people whose families have been here long enough and have blended their blood sufficiently that when asked, "where are you (or your people) from," they would answer Canada. If pressed about their ancestors, I've heard these sorts of people say things like they don't really know, but that they are mostly of "British" stock or perhaps “British with a bit of French,” or even “more or less European”

Canadian-Canadians (to use our famous hyphenation method) embody some of our early national history. Our official national symbols also reflect this history by enshrining our position as part of the British Commonwealth, recognizing the contribution of the founding colonial powers, and including some distinctly Canadian features. See, for example, the Arms of Canada:



It is unfortunate that these symbols ignore the historical importance of our First Nations and Chinese-Canadians, but that is a topic for a different discussion…

Remember that bit in the Multiculturalism Act about enhancing culture? I think it speaks volumes about the place of Scottish-Canadians and the value attached to this hybrid identity that we recently adopted a national tartan (Maple Leaf tartan, 2011).



For comparison with another approach, I think Peter Crowe hit the nail on the head when he wrote:

…
My only further observation would be that in Scotland today, national identity has a civic component as well as an ethnic one. As Kilted Scholar said in an earlier post, Scots (native to Scotland) along with many other Europeans are very cautious about placing too great an emphasis on an ethnic as opposed to a civic national identity, in no small part due to the problems that ethnocentric nationalism has caused the European Continent during the 20th Century.

The USA has a different approach still, which perhaps one of our American friends could comment on...

In a place as multicultural as Canada, there is little fear of ethnocentric nationalism, but I can understand how the specter of the problems caused by it in Europe would make people more inclined to understand national identity in more civic terms… In Canada our social, cultural, historical, and legal framework is geared towards a national identity that is metaphorically created as a mosaic. Civic, ethnic, and regional identities are balanced such that, like a braided rope, the distinctiveness of our parts makes for a stronger whole.

[Phil]

Laphroaig, double, straight up.

However, as a Canadian, I will continue to celebrate my hyphenated culture (Scottish-Canadian, English-Canadian, Danish-Canadian) and will likely feel more comfortable wearing a kilt in Canada than in Scotland.

I don't know about more comfortable but you are probably going to be in more company from the sound of things. In all my trips to the Highlands and Islands I have yet to see anyone kilted. I did not go to any tourist shops mind you but kilts seem to be less common than hens' teeth thereabouts. No doubt there will be some that are trotted out for special occasions but the locals I have talked to, while wishing they had a kilt, have a lot of more pressing calls on what money they have. Jock may have a better take on this as he lives there whereas my visits are just for a week or so fishing. I know this may rain on a few parades but kilt-wearing is probably even less common in the Highlands (and Islands) than here in the (dirty word I think from much of what has been said before) Lowlands. Whether it is because kilts are more readily available here or incomes are generally higher I don't know but as an ethnic Lowlander as opposed to an ethnic anything else I will continue to wear my kilt with pride.

[CMcG]

While we are toasting each other, I'll raise a metaphorical glass of Dark Horse to all my friends here on Xmarks.

Cheers!

[Jock Scot]

I don't know about more comfortable but you are probably going to be in more company from the sound of things. In all my trips to the Highlands and Islands I have yet to see anyone kilted. I did not go to any tourist shops mind you but kilts seem to be less common than hens' teeth thereabouts. No doubt there will be some that are trotted out for special occasions but the locals I have talked to, while wishing they had a kilt, have a lot of more pressing calls on what money they have. Jock may have a better take on this as he lives there whereas my visits are just for a week or so fishing. I know this may rain on a few parades but kilt-wearing is probably even less common in the Highlands (and Islands) than here in the (dirty word I think from much of what has been said before) Lowlands. Whether it is because kilts are more readily available here or incomes are generally higher I don't know but as an ethnic Lowlander as opposed to an ethnic anything else I will continue to wear my kilt with pride.

You have it about right Phil, mind you, I think that we have more midgies up here!

[Nathan]

I don't know about more comfortable but you are probably going to be in more company from the sound of things. In all my trips to the Highlands and Islands I have yet to see anyone kilted. I did not go to any tourist shops mind you but kilts seem to be less common than hens' teeth thereabouts. No doubt there will be some that are trotted out for special occasions but the locals I have talked to, while wishing they had a kilt, have a lot of more pressing calls on what money they have. Jock may have a better take on this as he lives there whereas my visits are just for a week or so fishing. I know this may rain on a few parades but kilt-wearing is probably even less common in the Highlands (and Islands) than here in the (dirty word I think from much of what has been said before) Lowlands. Whether it is because kilts are more readily available here or incomes are generally higher I don't know but as an ethnic Lowlander as opposed to an ethnic anything else I will continue to wear my kilt with pride.

This sounds familiar. In Cape Breton kilts are a rather rare sight although many people own them. They aren't considered appropriate for daily wear by most folks. You typically see them on pipers, on soldiers, at some weddings and at some ceilidhs and (some, not all) Scottish festivals. People don't kilt to work for example because it would be considered ostentatious. I wore a Kilt to my Highschool graduation for example but if you drove around Cape Breton, you would notice the Highland culture everywhere, but people don't feel the need to wear tartan 24/7 by any stretch.

As an aside, I hope you don't think it was me who was saying Lowlands was a "dirty word" because, like I said, the Lowlands produced a great and storied culture that is responsible for much of modernity.

Here's a health to you as well! *pours a glass of fine malt*

[Father Bill]

Well, then here's to the bloody midgies!

[Jock Scot]

Well, then here's to the bloody midgies!

Now the trick is to drink so much Talisker that when the inevitable midge swarm arrives(talking mid-May to Mid-Sept--------the rest of the year is regarded as essential whisky drinking training for the midge months)and having pounced on their victims and talken a pint or four of blood the midgies then fall off drunk.

[CMcG]

Now the trick is to drink so much Talisker that when the inevitable midge swarm arrives(talking mid-May to Mid-Sept--------the rest of the year is regarded as essential whisky drinking training for the midge months)and having pounced on their victims and talken a pint or four of blood the midgies then fall off drunk.

That is brilliant!

If I ever make it back to Scotland, I'll have to give that a try int:

[Father Bill]

Which may inadvertently answer the question, "What to Scots wear under...." The obvious answer is "Lots & lots of bug repellant!"

Now the trick is to drink so much Talisker that when the inevitable midge swarm arrives(talking mid-May to Mid-Sept--------the rest of the year is regarded as essential whisky drinking training for the midge months)and having pounced on their victims and talken a pint or four of blood the midgies then fall off drunk.