Look, I’m of Scottish descent, but I’m not Scottish. It’s been generations since anyone in my family has seen scotch heather in anything but a photograph. I never went to a Scottish school, sat in a Scottish pew, and while I can understand the Scots dialect I couldn’t speak it to save my life. I have a few fragments of old traditions, some of which no one in Scotland even practices anymore. Sure, I like a nice dram of whisky or black pudding as much as the next guy, but I also enjoy sushi, that doesn’t make me Japanese either. So why would it make any sense to refer to myself as a Scottish-American? If I were a recent import or maybe 2nd generation, sure it makes some sense, but I don’t have the foggiest clue what life in Scotland is like. If you dropped me in Glasgow or Aberdeen without GPS in my pocket and asked me to find my way around I wouldn’t know where to start. So what gives me the right to call myself Scottish anything? Because my family held on to a few comforting traditions from a Scotland that’s been gone for more than a century?
There’s a very old trope that the land seeps into your blood over time and no matter how far you roam from it, it calls you back, and shapes your character. It’s from the same school of thought that coined the phrase “Blood and Soil” and murdered people in gas chambers. It’s not a philosophy I have much attachment to, in spite of the fact I have one of those in my bloodline too.
ThunderQueen@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I mean, the american expirement is pretty new. Most other countries dont seem to have the same levels of immigrant and indigenous cultures. It makes sense that it seems odd to them. But many people here are from all over the word and they usually keep some form of tradition alive as a way to connect with that.
GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
Actually most other places have far more indigenous culture, because the dominant socio-economic group is the indigenous people of that place. The existence of an indigenous minority is pretty unique.
ThunderQueen@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I suppose what i mean is non normative indegenous culture. The predominant culture in the US is western pop culture. So indegenous cultures have to fight a lot harder to maintain their identity here
IHatePepRallies@discuss.online 2 days ago
Ahh, understandable. :)