Scottish outlook on kilted Americans?

[Derek]

And so it should be with kilts. If anyone (Scottish or otherwise) doesn't think you should be wearing it... Tough. Beans.

Cant fault that CDN .. Keep it simple I say ...
Shame if AA has left ... AA please dont leave .. you will be missed.
Iechyd Da
Derek

[Phil]

Well I suppose I should stop contributing to this thread now before too many more stamp their feet, pick up their ball and leave.

[Singlemalt]

Well I am certainly happy to let this subject drop, however at least personally, I want to clear the air that I am not mad at anybody and not going anywhere. As I said in my posts, attitudes expressed in some of the posting make me sad and disappoint me. However, I have no right to be angry at someone who when is asked his opinion on something then gives an answer I don't like. All I can do is put forth my point of view, express my opinion, present alternate ways of looking at the issue and I have done so and feel better for it. When the choice is between spirited debate and silent anger I will stand up and ask to be recognized every time.

[Peter Crowe]

Well I am certainly happy to let this subject drop, however at least personally, I want to clear the air that I am not mad at anybody and not going anywhere. As I said in my posts, attitudes expressed in some of the posting make me sad and disappoint me. However, I have no right to be angry at someone who when is asked his opinion on something then gives an answer I don't like. All I can do is put forth my point of view, express my opinion, present alternate ways of looking at the issue and I have done so and feel better for it. When the choice is between spirited debate and silent anger I will stand up and ask to be recognized every time.

***

[OC Richard]

Canada has kept greater ties to Great Britain than has our southern neighbour

Interesting that you brought that up, because I work with a Canadian and she has often mentioned how strong the British cultural influences were in the area where she grew up.

About "keeping" ties to Great Britain, I talk to tourists from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand every day and they often mention how foreign, how "Spanish" Southern California is, and are surprised when I tell them that large portions of the USA were NEVER part of the British Empire. Even Appalachia, not that many miles from the Atlantic coast, wasn't settled by whites until after the American Revolution, and therefore never knew British rule. What does this have to do with the discussion? Perhaps not much, but under the circumstances I would expect there to be a large cultural divide between those in the USA and those in Britain, and this divide often comes to the forefront in discussions like these.

[neloon]

Well I suppose I should stop contributing to this thread now before too many more stamp their feet, pick up their ball and leave.

And I too shall return to emulating the tactics of the ostrich for another few years

[Father Bill]

Point well taken. You're giving historical/ geographical explanations to what I've felt and observed. Thanks for bringing that up!

Interesting that you brought that up, because I work with a Canadian and she has often mentioned how strong the British cultural influences were in the area where she grew up.

About "keeping" ties to Great Britain, I talk to tourists from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand every day and they often mention how foreign, how "Spanish" Southern California is, and are surprised when I tell them that large portions of the USA were NEVER part of the British Empire. Even Appalachia, not that many miles from the Atlantic coast, wasn't settled by whites until after the American Revolution, and therefore never knew British rule. What does this have to do with the discussion? Perhaps not much, but under the circumstances I would expect there to be a large cultural divide between those in the USA and those in Britain, and this divide often comes to the forefront in discussions like these.

[Woodsheal]

Oh, the hell with this....I'm just going to get rid of my kilts and stuff and go back to wearing pants full time.

Apparently you can't please none of the people none of the time and rather than go around offending people that I've never met, I jus give up.

Nice knowing you all the past seven years.

Best

AA

I haven't reached AA's point yet, but I do admit to at times feeling sort of silly regarding this whole kilt thing - and threads like this DO tend to reinforce such thoughts. My ethnic background is English, Irish, and Sardinian - with some vague family tradition about some other ancestor who was from Scotland, but tenuous and uncertain at best. So, kilt-wearing is hardly part of my "heritage." I just like wearing the things, but also feel like a phony for doing so.

I'll hang onto them for now... (but, I could sell them and put the money towards some other toys. More reenactment clothes! Another flintlock! Hmmm....)

[Cygnus]

I can understand where most folks are coming from on this, and I didn't think I'd chime in here, but here goes...

It is hard when something you hold dear starts slipping into the "mainstream" - I think most people, especially the free-thinking kilt-wearers on this forum, have experienced this. I have always been a huge fan of ska music and had been listening to it for years before it enjoyed its brief moment in the late-90's limelight. I felt pretty conflicted as the radio started playing music that I actually enjoyed, as new bands cropped up, and as people that didn't really "get it" started attending the shows that had once been relatively small and "underground" events. I liked that my music was getting more attention, but I hated the fact that there were people listening because it was cool - people that didn't really understand the music's history or the subculture that had grown up around it.
I also have a friend here in the US that has been a HUGE Dr. Who fan for the past 25+ years, and it is interesting to see how he delights and despairs in the show's sudden popularity here. It's the same thing, the culture around the show is becoming fractured - new groups are popping up and, even worse, he finds himself being lumped into this group of new Dr. Who fans who wouldn't know Tom Baker if he walked up and kissed them.
Add a few hundred years of history, and I think you get even more intense feelings around the kilt. We're changing something that has extreme cultural and sentimental value; suddenly those who dress in a kilt because they are Scottish and have real cultural events that call for it are being lumped together with eccentric foreigners and other "kilties".
Which is not to say that there isn't any permeability in those long-established groups; from Dr. Who and ska music to the kilt. Jock Scot (and others) come here to educate the uninitiated in the proper way to wear the kilt; to bring us into the fold, as it were, rather than having us be rogue elements that do little for the kilt's history and reputation. I, for one, am very grateful to them, similar to the way that I am grateful to those few people that took me in and introduced me to ska before it was (briefly) popular. If it wasn't for folks like them, we would be missing out on a great deal of knowledge, history, and the respect that comes with them.
So a big thank you to all of the Scots on this board who, despite your misgivings and worries that we're making off with a symbol of your nation, are always on hand with sound advice and careful suggestions. With your help, I hope we can wear your national dress in a way that inspires pride and that makes you proud (or grudgingly accept) to count us among the kilted.
It's unlikely we'll all move to Scotland, so I, for one, won't meet that particular criterion, but I will do my best to wear it well otherwise!
Maybe I'm a bit Canadian in my outlook (referring to one of Father Bill's previous posts), but I can't wrap my mind around the "it's a free country, I'll do as I please" mentality. I suppose I can understand being your own person and doing as you please, but if you simply want to do as you wish, why frequent a place where advice is requested and given on how to do things properly? Why go out of your way to learn about traditional kilt construction methods, other clothing, tartans, and history? I'll be the last person to tell somebody they don't have the freedom to wear what they like, but I truly don't understand how what I have seen on this forum and that particular attitude can coexist.

[freddie]

Excellent, John! We have a meet up of Kilted English brethren place and date to be determined in July, 2014!

Count me in. Look forward to it.