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(In which I took the theme, "No true Scotsman," too literally at first. Now that I discovered that it refers to a kind of logical fallacy, I don't have time to change my thoughts around. I've got a short freelance assignment for *pay*, a job interview on Thursday, and a huge decluttering project going on here.)
Scotsman. Scotland. Never been to Scotland. When I planned to spend two weeks in the UK -- an Anglophile's dream -- in 1989, I wanted to avoid if-this-is-Tuesday-it-must-be-wherever syndrome, so I limited my itinerary to southern and southwestern England. (It didn't hurt that I could crash on a London friend's sofa and save myself lots of money.) Granted, my friend's parents escorted me on an afternoon trip into Wales, which was a welcome addition, but other than that, I stuck to England and didn't go even as far north as Hadrian's Wall.
None of my ancestors came from the British Isles. In my native state of Massachusetts, being of Irish descent is a Really Big Deal, partly because of demographics and partly because of the Kennedys. Scottish heritage, not so much.
I never even saw the movie Braveheart, because some LGBT folks were urging a boycott of it at the time, and I have liked Mel Gibson less and less over the years. I suppose I need to read a really good history book about Scotland. (Back in high school, I read and adored Victoria Fraser's biography of Mary, Queen of Scots, but Mary wasn't the only person in Scottish history.) Suggestions are welcome.
In my professional life, I've had to interview science professors at the universities of Edinburgh and St. Andrews, but not all of them are actually Scottish. One was from Germany and another was from some undetermined Middle Eastern country (I didn't ask). The strongest Scottish accent I've heard in a while came from an engineering professor in Australia. So what IS a "Scotsman" or "Scotswoman" in these days of globalization?
The referendum on Scottish independence will fall on the anniversary of my mother's birth (just a coincidence, I'm sure). I wonder what will happen.
Scotsman. Scotland. Never been to Scotland. When I planned to spend two weeks in the UK -- an Anglophile's dream -- in 1989, I wanted to avoid if-this-is-Tuesday-it-must-be-wherever syndrome, so I limited my itinerary to southern and southwestern England. (It didn't hurt that I could crash on a London friend's sofa and save myself lots of money.) Granted, my friend's parents escorted me on an afternoon trip into Wales, which was a welcome addition, but other than that, I stuck to England and didn't go even as far north as Hadrian's Wall.
None of my ancestors came from the British Isles. In my native state of Massachusetts, being of Irish descent is a Really Big Deal, partly because of demographics and partly because of the Kennedys. Scottish heritage, not so much.
I never even saw the movie Braveheart, because some LGBT folks were urging a boycott of it at the time, and I have liked Mel Gibson less and less over the years. I suppose I need to read a really good history book about Scotland. (Back in high school, I read and adored Victoria Fraser's biography of Mary, Queen of Scots, but Mary wasn't the only person in Scottish history.) Suggestions are welcome.
In my professional life, I've had to interview science professors at the universities of Edinburgh and St. Andrews, but not all of them are actually Scottish. One was from Germany and another was from some undetermined Middle Eastern country (I didn't ask). The strongest Scottish accent I've heard in a while came from an engineering professor in Australia. So what IS a "Scotsman" or "Scotswoman" in these days of globalization?
The referendum on Scottish independence will fall on the anniversary of my mother's birth (just a coincidence, I'm sure). I wonder what will happen.
