At the Highland Games I attend, there's one tent where the guy who holds forth is pretty vitriolically anti-English. The only problem is that his history is only about two-thirds correct and he ignores things done by his own ancestors that weren't so wonderful, either.

I must say that it really bothers me to hear this attitude and I've taken to just passing over that clan tent when he's there. If your ancestors, nine generations ago,did something horrid to my ancestors, eleven generations ago, I'm going to treat it as "history" not a personal vendetta. What makes it hurtful in my mind is that when peope cometo his tent to ask about geneology information, he wraps up a lot of anti-English with his helpful information, and for someone who really doesn't know anything, that's not very productive.

The Scots areguilty of jut as much bloodshed and persecution as the English are,who have just as gray a history as the Irish. Here in the USA most of us are "mutts" anyway, and to hold a grudge andmake comments like that just seems stupid to me.