Two Telling comments? The Answer Perhaps?

[Nathan]

Totally agree with the last few posts, but one part of Nathan's comment ("Some even mock the traditional culture as backward.") especially struck me. Let us ( and Scots) not forget that many once considered all of Highland culture, not "just" the kilt, as "backwards" & "barbaric". One would hope that at this stage that more people would abandon such notions, that any culture is somehow less, and that those who choose to wear the kilt are not necessarily doing so to attract attention, but for a myriad of reasons, one often being for comfort, another as a connection to ones past. IMHO these are not "Birgadoonary", eccentric, nor foolish. A wise man once said:" if you don't learn the lessons of history, you are doomed to repeat them."

And the thing is, the people I'm talking about are descended from Highlanders themselves. Some just view themselves as cosmopolitan urbanites in comparison and don't like being stereotyped as fishermen, farmers or rural, step dancing, fiddle playing, bag piping country folk. If someone grew up listening to Nirvana and his dad listened to Hank Williams, that stereotypical image doesn't always fit. When the stereotype doesn't fit, people rebel against it.

The thing is, the traditional culture is still vibrant and alive for a lot of people, especially in rural communities, but it is certainly stronger in some communities more than others.

My mother grew up in a Gaelic-speaking household and she and her cousin would make fun of their relatives with their "country buck" Gaelic accents when they'd come in to visit from Iona.

Old vs. new, city versus country, preservation vs. progress and other false dichotomies that define us.