Two Telling comments? The Answer Perhaps?

[cizinec]

if I donned a cowboy outfit in Texas I would show the same traits as visitors apparently do here.

That is extremely unlikely in either Texas or Oklahoma. I wear cowboy boots and hat a lot. I went to Oklahoma State and we had a Polish immigrant who always wore boots, jeans and hat (and declared in a very thick accent that he was from Oklahoma). You'd never know he wasn't a native until he opened his mouth. There was a time when city people would ask you where you left your horse. Those days are long gone. I've seen Vietnamese, Indians, Chinese, Koreans, English, Irish, Arabs, Serbs, Russians, Africans, Mexicans (who have their own awesome style), you name it, dressed in boots and a hat. That's just how you dress down here.

In Wyoming there is currently a minor dispute because one of the sheriffs declared that his deputies were no longer allowed to wear cowboy boots, as they are not conducive to the job. His days as sheriff are numbered.

If you walked into a shop, bought a pair of boots, jeans, belt with a big buckle, a pearl-snap cowboy cut shirt and a cowboy hat, you could walk out anywhere in Texas or Oklahoma and fit right in. My goddaughter's father is from Scotland, and he wears cowboy boots. I never thought to myself, "What a poseur, wearing cowboy boots and being from Scotland." He did lecture my 12 year-old on how he was not wearing his kilt "properly."

If I saw somebody in London walking around in western wear I wouldn't see it as someone wearing my traditional national dress or costume. The person would just be wearing normal clothes that happen to be more normal for my part of the world. If they had a Brit accent, I'd probably buy whoever it was a beer for having such good taste.

From what I can tell from this discussion, it seems to me that Scots are defensive and WAY too concerned about "fitting in" with the rest of "modern" UK and EU.

We have songs about what we'll do to somebody telling us to take off our cowboy hats. Ask a Texan why they are wearing boots and you're liable to get punched. They don't feel the need to explain how they dress to anybody. The way they dress is sort of a symbol or code for that message. Scots seem to have a book of apologies when asked why they are wearing a kilt. Why? I would think they'd be a little more fighting mad for insinuating that their culture is inferior, that to be a "modern, sophisticated" man, you have to wear trousers.

Maybe that's the difference between a Scot wearing western wear in Texas and a Texan wearing a kilt in Scotland. Maybe it's because we see Texas as an open culture that can be joined by anyone from anywhere and it makes complete sense to us that you would want to participate in and increase how awesome we are. Maybe the Scots in general believe the kilt is only to show ethnic identity and closed to outsiders. I'm not saying that for members of this board or for all Scots, but that seems to be the general tone.

I always thought the Scots were more like the Texans of the UK: no excuses, no apologies, lots of pride. We're not super fond of Yankees telling us how to live and I reckon Scots don't like being told what to do by folks down south. Now I'm beginning to think a lot of Scots are more like the bad Okies: "Well, I'm FROM Oklahoma, but I'm not anything like the other people there. Watch how sophisticated I can be by talking down my own people."

I've never been to Scotland, but this discussion makes me want to pack up my boots and hat and go. If anyone in trousers asks me, "Why are you dressed like a cowboy?" I'd ask them, "Why are you dressed like you're English?"