Quote Originally Posted by MacMillan of Rathdown View Post
Perhaps I am misinterpreting what you have written.

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That said, those who have a surname in common with a recognized clan, who do not wear the strap and buckle "clan badge", are making the rather public statement that they are not part of that clan. They may bear the surname, and wear the tartan of "Clan X" but despite any assertion to the contrary, they aren't part of that clan. Now as unfair or cruel as this may sound, the simple fact of the matter is this: clan membership is based on descent from a common ancestor. To be recognized and accepted as a member of this hugely extended family one must wear the "family" or "clan" badge.

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Far from being a mark of submission, the wearing of a strap and buckle badge is the exclusive privilege of a clansman.
MacMillan of Rathdown, and others who know more about this than me,

Thanks for checking in. This is a subject where I am feeling my way as best I can.

My ultimate goal is to wear my family tartan in a way that is both respectful to my genetic heritage and respectful to my living relatives who really are clanspeople, including the Duke of Buccleuch.

What I hear you saying is wearing the buckled clan badge is more or less my birthright, but to me it seems that wearing that badge as the representative of someone I have never met would be just as unlikely as (ultimately) putting as asterisk next to my US citizenship.

I am aparently grasping this issue by the wrong handle. I will now search for old threads about what it means for an American to belong to a clan.

Thank you for having been gentle.