Stop Appropriating Scottish Culture

Said no Scot, ever

---

Freedom!

It must be admitted that in historical terms, the movie Braveheart was a washout.

But I enjoyed it, nevertheless. It was good fun, well-intentioned, Gibson’s always been a talented actor and his accent wasn’t quite the worst I’ve had to endure.

And unlike Brigadoon, at least Braveheart did employ a few Scottish actors.

There are many examples of the appropriation of Scottish culture and heritage, both within Hollywood and elsewhere. Don’t get me started, or we’ll be here all year.

California Dreaming

Although inaccurate to the point of basically being a fairytale, in another sense, Braveheart did a lot of hard lifting for the Scots, at least in America.

I was living in Southern California when Braveheart hit the box office. During my time in the USA, I was regularly questioned about my heritage in ways that demonstrated an almost complete lack of knowledge about my homeland.

I’m not suggesting all Americans should know everything — or even anything — about Scotland, by the by. I’m just pointing out that the understanding of my homeland by Americans was often vague and peculiar — to say the least.

Some statements and questions aimed at me during my time in So Cal:

• Is Scotland in the Ukraine? (I am guessing they meant UK).

• I love your Australian accent (I had never visited Aus at that time and sounded extremely Glaswegian).

• Oh I’m Scottish

• Where is Scotland? A man once asked me to draw him a map on a bit of paper while I was browsing the supermarket aisles. He supplied the paper and pen, so I complied cheerfully. Not sure my map drawing skills are up to scratch, but it got the general point across.

• Are you European? For those who don’t know, the answer to that is no. Scotland is part of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They used to be part of the European Union. At no time have they ever been a part of Europe. Well, unless you count that time we all belonged to Pangaea.

• Why don’t you speak English? I do, I speak English with a strong Scottish accent, and I also speak Scots — which has been designated its own language. I speak a bit of French too. But I don’t speak the Gaelic, as that language has been systematically wiped out, mainly by Westminster and by turncoat Scots assisting Westminster in their attempted Scottish genocide, and survives only in the highlands and islands. “Almost 68% of Western Isles residents are fluent in Gaelic, but only 0.8% of people in Strathclyde.”

• Do you prefer Scotland or America? This question was asked a LOT. I would always smile and say I miss Scotland very much but am having fun visiting America. This was not the response they wanted to hear.

• And then some years ago, right here in Aus I was standing in the queue for Shrek 2 with my children and other assorted children I had borrowed for the afternoon, when an American fellow, upon hearing my accent, asked me in all seriousness what part of Scotland Shrek’s accent derived from. Er, Canada, I think? Came my puzzled reply.

I could go on. I never spoke to anybody during my time living in the States — apart from my friend Jim and his friend Wyatt, whom I met before I moved to So Cal — who knew anything at all about Scotland. Most did not know it was in the UK, many thought it was a province of some kind in Europe.

I wasn’t offended, just surprised.

Whatever. It’s not your job to know about my homeland.

The point is that Braveheart coming on the scene when it did stirred up a lot of interest in Scotland. Conversations were had, and in some ways it sold Scotland as a brand to Americans.

We went from being “Where?” to “Oh, Braveheart!”

A slight improvement.

Yes, Gibson was born in America and raised in Australia. Yes, he appropriated Scottish culture and history and got it really really wrong.

But most of us were delighted that he used his fame to let Americans know that Scotland existed, and I still enjoy the movie.

But even if I’d hated it — So What?

Russ Abbot and other Racist Comedians

I personally detested the English comedian Russ Abbot who was, in my opinion, a loathsome racist. He made a career of mocking the Scottish and denigrating our culture relentlessly.

His cultural appropriation of the kilt, red Celtic hair, and Scots language and accent, not to mention his portrayal of the Scots as drunken idiots, made me quite angry on a number of occasions. To say he was deliberately disrespectful is putting it very mildly.

Considering he was descended from the same men who attempted genocide upon the Scots, his blase racism was a double whammy. Though his father was English and he was born and raised English, his mother was Scottish.

So he should have known better.

To many outside the UK, Abbot being English and mocking the Scots won’t resonate.

But there’s a long and painful history of brutality enacted on the Scots by Westminster which made his choice to mock that nation a dodgy concept at best. And one he definitely knew some would find deeply insulting.

Some will argue, racistly, that the Scots aren’t a race and that there was no genocide. You are entitled to that opinion. And that’s not the argument I am here to make.

The point is this: many Scottish people found Abbot’s humour deeply offensive because of a history of violence between two nations. That cannot be argued with.

Should he have been silenced?

Of course not. Some people, including many Scots, thought he was funny.

His cultural appropriation, mockery and racism angered me.

So I changed channels. And coped.

The Simpsons

A while back, was a furore over the voice of Apu in the Simpsons. It was declared that Apu is a racist character.

I’m not Indian, so I won’t try to speak on behalf of Indians.

But I can’t help but notice that the mocking racist stereotype of Groundskeeper Willie has never been the subject of a permaffended justice warrior’s ranting.

When you’re Scottish, living abroad, you quickly get used to people trying to impersonate your accent.

It’s always — or very nearly always — truly terrible. Most people are very poor at impersonating accents, and the Scots accent is not an easy one to impersonate.

But for the most part, it’s good-humoured, so I play along, laugh, and make cheeky comments. My favourite riposte is to smile and say “Very good, now try that with a Scottish accent!”

But though I rather enjoy most attempts at my accent by well-meaning strangers — I find everything about the character of Groundskeeper Willie offensive and annoying.

And the disrespectful portrayal feels very deliberate on the part of his creators — at least to me.

Should the creators of The Simpsons care?

Of course not.

Did I stop my kids from watching The Simpsons? What do you think? They’re still quoting old Simpsons episodes to this day. I went to see the movie when it aired in 2007, because they were clamouring to see it. I laughed, and said nothing whatsoever about Groundskeeper Willie.

Yes, the character evinces cultural appropriation.

Yes, I find him offensive.

No, that’s not a reason to censor The Simpsons.

I got over myself and laughed at the parts of the show I did find funny.

Another option would be to change channels.

“Fucking Grow Up”

I disagree with Tom Walker’s hilarious rant (below) that cultural appropriation is not sometimes inherently offensive.

I believe that it can indeed be offensive.

But — as the man says — so fucking what?

Play the Reverse Feelings Card - and Uno your opponent in the game of Feelpinions.

I find your offence extremely offensive. Delete it.

Let’s be extremely clear here — cultural appropriation is a normal human trait — one shared by all groups.

Every race and ethnicity appropriates the best, and sometimes the worst, of other cultures.

And thank God for that.

Unless you’re a fan of segregation, of course.

Take it away, Tom (the swearing is his):

“Oh it’s cultural appropriation, oh it’s stealing from other cultures.

So is eating Sushi, so is dancing The Macarena, so is shopping at Ikea, so is putting your back out attempting the Karma Sutra.

It’s all fucking cultural appropriation. We all steal the best bits from other cultures (and the Macarena).

Surely life is about opening yourself up to the world, not shutting it out.

You take this to its natural conclusion, it’s the end of art, its the end of fiction, no writer will ever be able to write anything but their own personal experiences, every book will have to be a fucking autobigoraphy.

Segregated restaurants, Italian for Italians, Mexican for Mexicans. What are we left with — fucking Greggs?…

Segregated concerts. Lionel Richie and Jay-Z for the blacks, fucking Adele and Coldplay for the whites, although Adele will no longer be allowed to perform because she’s too heavily influenced by MOBO — which of course makes her a fucking racist.

That sound you can hear is the sound of Martin Luther King spinning in his grave as his dream of little white and black kids playing together being judged by the content of their character, not the colour of their skin is being pissed on by well-meaning liberals.

Fucking grow up.”

Couldn’t have said it better.

Liberal Segregation

So, unless you’re a fan of segregation, we’re going to keep culturally appropriating one another’s heritage.

Some of us will be offended. Some won’t. Some — like me — will sometimes be offended and understand that my offence simply doesn’t matter.

“Cultural appropriation” means learning from one another, borrowing the good bits, and sometimes taking the piss.

And it is about freedom. The freedom that allows us to offend, be offended and take the piss. That same freedom forges bonds, friendships and changes the world, one person at at time.

Cultural appropriation is just a luxury class phrase for what everyone has always done throughout history. Borrowed, learned, integrated — and yes, sometimes mocked.

It’s normal, it’s human, and it happens with every culture. It’s part of the process when different ethnicities and cultures merge.

And it will never. Ever. Stop.

So you have two choices — continue to snivel, or get over yourselves.

In Iran, they are currently hunting down young girls for the crime of dancing and showing their hair on international women’s day.

But do keep ranting because a white chick has dreadlocks and some pretend aliens in a movie are doing “Blueface”.

Never fear, I will fight for your right to hold your incredibly stupid opinion.

Because free speech is the keystone of civilisation.

So please, continue to blat your disingenuous, vapid, ignorant point of view.

And I will continue to defend to the death (or at least to the kicking) your right to do so.

---