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Exiled in a kilt

A rant

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by
kilted exile
, 07-06-2008 at 11:37 AM (2019 Views)
Sic Transit Gloria Scotia. We have sold off our nation, heritage & culture for a tartan dishtowel.

As I have previously mentioned I was working down at the Scottish Festival yesterday. As a volunteer I get free admission so I thought I'd go down early and have a look around. I wish I hadnt. The blood began to boil and the anger set in.

Scotland has more to offer to the world than pipe bands, highland games and little baubles/trinkets. Yes the games & the pipes are an integral part of our culture, but there is so much more. We are a nation of inventors, engineers, scientists, but people dont care about that - they want their vision of the man in a kilt, and we bastardize ourselves to give it to them.
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  1. Virgil's Avatar
    Of course. I always remember the great Scottish enlightment, especially David Hume and Adam Smith. Unfortunately a man in a kilt is picturesk, and that's what captures people's imagination. When others think of Italians for instance it alays seems to gravitate to the Mafia. That kind of upsets me.
  2. 's Avatar
    That is true for all cultures/nations I think... When you go on a holiday, the locals try to demonstrate their more "entertaining" characteristics, rather than offering something "intellectual".

    I think it is alright, depending on the time and place. For entertainment purposes, pipes, games and a man in a kilt...

    Virgil> When I think of Italians, I cannot pass pizzas... Mafia is becoming something I associate more and more with Americans (thanks to Coppola and "Godfather" movies! )
  3. mtpspur's Avatar
    I plead guilty for usually thinking bagpipes first and then the Highlander TV series. But also aware that I do know the difference between the tourist image and the real thing--no offense was taken.
  4. Virgil's Avatar
    That's true Scher. American movie industry is obssessed with the mafia. Not just Coppolla but Scorsese especially and others. And don't forget The Sopranos on HBO cable TV. I must admit I enjoy most of these movies myself.
  5. andave_ya's Avatar
    yeah. It is more than angering when a people willingly enforce a silly image instead of standing straight and tall behind the real thing. That is one of the things that really bugged me in Lebanon - any sort of intellectual topic is mostly taboo in conversation although the Lebanese people are some of the smartest in the world. They hide behind fashion and clothes and friends and food. Maybe this thing is common in many countries? America isn't much better...
  6. motherhubbard's Avatar
    Listen, I know it’s the pits when we are stereotyped and then find ourselves selling that image for a buck. It could be worse though- you could be from the Ozarks. This is our stereotype http://www.deniskitchen.com/docs/bios/bio.dogpatch.jpg . I only live about fifteen miles from Dog Patch USA which was a theme park as well as a community. When I was younger this was where all of the kids worked over summer break. They would dress up as toothless, inbreed characters who married their cousins and were highly educated after the third grade.
  7. Virgil's Avatar
    You are absolutely right Mom-H. That is terrible. And what's worse are the comedians who get milage out of that, especially the ones from the south.