Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the Kilt isn't 'just clothes'.

[Bugbear]

I thought it was funny Bug.

The memory of the last time I joked about that subject on the forum came back to me after I posted... It kind of got ugly...

* It was just a comment about Santeria and chickens.

[chrisupyonder]

If he did not have a Scottish accent then maybe his grandfather or Gt Gt Gt Grandfather was Scottish so this makes him an expert. Never wore a kilt himself so he feels inadequate and threatened and inferior by your extremly smart appearance.

He is not worth the bother thinking about and err and... Oh why should I bother posting about him, he is nothing.

[RockyR]

There are jerks everywhere in the world... even Scotland.

[chrisupyonder]

I just remembered... This might cheer you up English Bloke.

I was in the supermarket in Thurso last week picking up a few things, bread, milk etc. I had just passed a couple in the isle, about 50 ish and heard him say to her "Aye that guys in his kilt". She. "Well he looks a lot smarter than you, I'm fed up o washin those scruffy old jeens. Ya should get yours outa the wardobe now and again and shake the mothballs off". Him "mumble, mumble, mumble. gerraway wi ya woman"
I just had to go round to the next isle to have a good laugh.

*** for the kilties!

[Jock Scot]

Humm, how am I going to say this tactfully? You are quite right, to some, many possibly, Scots the kilt IS something more than "just clothes". However:-

There is no excuse for bad manners at anytime and I am really sorry that you and your daughter had to put up with such. But like it or not------not in our case--- there are some Scots, more than perhaps we on this website imagine, that do hold the same, or similar opinions as that rude fellow.

Now I have no idea, sadly neither have you John, what the real issues were with this unfortunate fellow as the opportunity for an enlightening discussion was not there, but it would be wise for us ALL to be aware that the kilt means more to some Scots than to some of us here, and as in this unfortunate situation, there are some cases where you come across a Scot who voices a robust opinion and, in this case, not only badly but offensively------as they can and I am afraid on occasion, do.

To be absolutely honest this Scot has had considerable difficulty with some of the attitudes and opinions voiced here, from time to time, on kilt matters too, but I have had the benefit of being able to digest some(not all) of these over the past few years on this website. On the other hand, most Scots have not.

John, when and if I have the good fortune to bump into you, sometime in the near future, I hope you will be wearing the kilt and maybe we will share a wee dram or two. This Scot is very sorry that you have had such a bad experience with one of my Countrymen.

[madmacs]

I was in deepest Englandshire (in Yorkshire to be precise)

Shoulda gone to lancashire... or have asked him why he was south of the border... prob didnt even have his passport with him...

[mookien]

"I suspect (although I possibly generalise) he'd be another weddings and hogmanay only kilt wearer who doesn't want anyone but a qualified scot to wear the kilt, yet with the same breath will be moaning that home-grown kilt makers are under threat. Failing to see the irony of "If you don't use 'em, you'll lose 'em". I wonder what he'd be saying in a decade's time if he went to buy a Kilt and all that was available we're £400+ imported PV's of the same poor quality that 10 years before were retailing on the Royal Mile for just £40. And all those wonderful British Woolen Mills and Scottish Kiltmakers were a distant memory. Put out of business by a lack of local demand."

John: I suspect what you wrote above (or something like it) pretty much sums it up. Some people relish being belligerent for its own sake. You were just his latest "fly-by" victim.

Rational discussion and compliments would likely not have changed much. I wouldn't worry about it . At the time it seems you kept a cool head and mostly ignored him. Now, forget him. He's not worth worrying about.

mookien (John)

[CMcG]

Sometimes I wonder, is it worth the hassle?...

<snip>

I'm seriously tempted to put my Kilts away. I can't really be bothered with fending off this kind of dullard bigotry!!

As for the title of this thread "Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the Kilt isn't 'just clothes,'" I would tend to agree; the kilt isn't just clothes. The kilt is AWESOME clothes! I certainly don't belong to any regular ol' tee shirt and jeans forums, anyway

The couple times that I have worn the kilt 'oot and aboot' no-one was rude to me like the fellow that approached English Bloke. In and of myself, however, I didn't feel quite right; I realized that I prefer the kilt as special occasion clothing. I think it's great when people wear their kilts as everyday clothing but I know that this runs against the grain of many social conventions, not just against grumpy Scots.

If one wants to go against the norm, they must be prepared to deal with the slings and arrows of the "dullards." For some people, it's like water off a duck's back but this incident seems to have stuck in English Bloke's craw. For myself, I'm sometimes a bit sensitive about the fact that I'm in Canada wearing the national attire of Scotland based mostly on my decidedly mixed heritage...

EB, what was it that bothered you the most about this guy's rude behaviour? I don't think you'll really give up kilting but how seriously are you thinking of putting your kilts "away" and what does that mean?

In the end, I think the kilt is worth a hassle. I know there are some circumstances where I'm more likely to get a pat on the back and free whisky, though, and I tend to focus my kilting on those situations...

[Whidbey78]

I've had more than one stranger blindside me with the "You're ancestors didn't come from Scotland so you can't wear that" bit. That's when I really should just run around in circles shouting something about dilithium crystals and the laws of physics so they'll leave me alone. Unfortunately, self control takes over and I usually just ask them how in the hell they can tell. They usually shut up.

I used to argue with those jerks, but finally realized that it wasn't worth the effort. Ignorance can be treated, but stupidity is incurable.

[Nighthawk]

Shall I place a curse on him?

You're Christian, aren't you? I'm the board witch. I should turn him into a newt.

The memory of the last time I joked about that subject on the forum came back to me after I posted... It kind of got ugly...

* It was just a comment about Santeria and chickens.

That plays so well into my comment!

So- English Bloke- He wasn't even man enough to stick around and wait for the retort. He hit you and ran away. Why should you have the least concern what a coward like that has to say? You're English- and you had the... shall we say... manhood to at least try to defend your views, which is more than he did, after he attacked your manhood! The word "hypocrite" comes to my mind.