Inappropriate Wear

[CollinMacD]

Although I do believe he is an embarrassment to the United States, Scottish Traditions, and the people of Scotland, providing he is following the rules of admittance its within his right or freedom. He certainly is disrespectful to the museum he is visiting, but you can't fix stupid, and that is just stupidity. Trust me, I just came home from the Scottish Games in Virgnia, I never saw so many swords, dirks, and daggers of every description and the costuming that was going on was even stranger. The parade of the Clans, was more like the parade of the clowns. It was not very encouraging seeing so many adaptations of Scottish dress, past and present.

I just don't understand what the fascination is with trying to impress the public with carrying edged weapons, certainly does not correspond with Modern Scotland. There are so many people, especially since you can purchase just about anything across the internet, that people love to live in fantasy land. I would believe this person is one of those who like to dress the part without learning about the history or culture, so sad. Regardless of what you feel, he really is doing nothing wrong, but he is just wrong... I am sure this is not the first nor would be the last..... I am sure my Grandfather is turning in his grave on what goes on here in the United States with Scottish Dress and the games. CHEERS...

[Tobus]

Although I do believe he is an embarrassment to the United States, Scottish Traditions, and the people of Scotland, providing he is following the rules of admittance its within his right or freedom. He certainly is disrespectful to the museum he is visiting, but you can't fix stupid, and that is just stupidity.

He might actually have been breaking the law with that sword, but I'm not knowledgeable enough on it to say for sure. That part of it is still a bit unexplainable, in terms of where he got it and how he managed to travel to the castle without issues. Even here in Texas, where it only recently became legal to carry a sword, it would raise a lot of eyebrows. It is not normal behaviour anywhere. And we no longer live in a world where a strange-looking dude carrying a weapon can just be ignored.

As for the outlandish nature of the rest of his outfit, yes, clearly he is within his rights to dress in a manner that is foolish, disrespectful, and culturally insensitive. figheadair chose the correct term here: inappropriate. His outfit is highly inappropriate outside of a child's theme party or costume event - doubly so at a war memorial - and I just have to wonder what kind of mental process is going on when people do things like this. It requires a complete lack of understanding of, or utter disregard for societal norms and etiquette.

Harmless though it may be, it's just plain bizarre to the point where I would wonder about his mental status. I don't say that to be mean-spirited, but just as a genuine concern about what drives a person to do this. Abnormal behaviour is usually a sign of of an abnormal mental state, and a common telltale sign is loss of social inhibitions. That may or may not be going on here, but his appearance is so ludicrous that I'm certain others who saw him wondered the same thing. The costume could be laughed off just as one would laugh at the crazy man swearing at the mailbox on the street corner, but the sword brings it to a level of discomfort that warrants a wide berth. There have been way too many instances lately where people say, "I should have paid attention to the signs of his mental state".

[MacKenzie]

Inappropriate? Yes.

A bit weird? Yes.

However: Scottish Medieval Rock bands, Celtic battle bands (yes, that's a genre), Outlander, Braveheart, etc. and on and on. All of the things I've come to call "Scottish Medieval Pop Culture"...

Surprised? No.

[PatrickHughes123]

Inappropriate? Yes.

A bit weird? Yes.

However: Scottish Medieval Rock bands, Celtic battle bands (yes, that's a genre), Outlander, Braveheart, etc. and on and on. All of the things I've come to call "Scottish Medieval Pop Culture"...

Surprised? No.

Let's not forget Celtic Rock/Bagpipe Rock. Although, I imagine that's what you meant by Celtic battle bands.

[CollinMacD]

Inappropriate? Yes.

A bit weird? Yes.

However: Scottish Medieval Rock bands, Celtic battle bands (yes, that's a genre), Outlander, Braveheart, etc. and on and on. All of the things I've come to call "Scottish Medieval Pop Culture"...

Surprised? No.

ON STAGE as performers and part of an act, not in public visiting such a revered Scottish Landmark. Performers do this as part of the act, fools do the later to be noticed.

[Allan Thomson]

Surprised at some of the objections on this thread to some of the other aspects of 'modern' Scottish Culture.

OK I can't stand some of the stupid groups you see dressed in plaids and drumming in the streets, but what's wrong with some alternative interpretation and application of the pipes? For example excellent and clearly very skilled pipe bands like the Red Hot Chilli Pipers? OK maybe not everybodies cup of tea, but they do apply modern tunes to the pipes very well in my opinion?

[Allan Thomson]

For an example listen to this?...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5DVhoel7AA

How can you say there's not skill there? And I don't think it's disrespectful to the culture.

They're not wearing way out outfits though.....

[Allan Thomson]

Actually come to think of it even some of the more wackier and way out modern interpretations of Celtic culture can have a certain appeal.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXm8JdC4k4c

For some reason delivering a lecture about the innaproriate wearing of highland attire isn't the first thing that came to mind if I was to meet the besporraned lady.....


I wonder why one of them calls herself the snake charmer?..... must be a reference to her Asian ancestory? I know Bagpipes are pretty popular in India and Pakistan...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g50Un5QD2u0

[MacKenzie]

Surprised at some of the objections on this thread to some of the other aspects of 'modern' Scottish Culture.

No objection at all here. For example: I happen to like Saor Patrol - I have all of their discs - and I think the Clanranald Trust is a great thing.

I like Outlander and Braveheart... and Brave too.

My point was, given the amount of Scottish "culture" of late - right or wrong - it doesn't surprise me that some outliers would take the "costuming" to the streets (or museum in this case).

Likewise, today it would not surprise me to see someone in "proper" kilt attire here in good ol' central North Carolina. Twenty years ago it would have.

[Allan Thomson]

Indeed, no doubt there would have been some 18th C Highlanders turning in their graves as seeing some of the interpretations of their culture produced by the Georgians and the Victorians, which we now regard as the correct attire.....