Have You Ever Had Your Tartan Disputed By A Stranger?

[Bigkahuna]

Unfortunately, every clan and tartan has it's "baggage." And there are twits the world over looking for an excuse to take offense at imagined slights.

Of course, I take offense at such twits, so perhaps I'm not so noble as I think myself to be!

Resolved: I shall avoid, to the best of my ability, giving offense to any person. I will offer sincere apology to any soul that I inadvertently offend.

And I will offer blunt force trauma to any thick-witted lout who insists upon....

Hmmm... perhaps I should work a bit more on my resolution?

As Mark Twain said" I hate dueling. Should anyone challenge me to a duel, I will take them gently by the hand and kindly and lovingly lead them to a quiet place and kill them".

[Phogfan86]

I'm usually the person who's walking up and offering an incorrect guess, but it usually goes more like this:

Me: Beautiful kilt. Chisholm, right?

Poor unsuspecting schlub who just wishes I'd go away: Ummm, no. Munro, actually.

Me: Yeah, that's what I said. Munro.

Me (internal dialogue): Not even close, bonehead.

I ran into the dad of a kid I grew up with years after we'd grown up and moved away. He still lives cattycorner from my childhood house where my mom still lives. Yep, he was certain that I was wrong that my late father was actually dead.

[dfmacliam]

The closest I came to this.. is at the Arlington Texas Highland Games...
A lady told me.. you are the only one here wearing that kilt.. (I am in an solid colored Saffron kilt), I replied yes ma'am.. she says its good to see someone wearing a University of Texas kilt.. ( their school colors are burnt orange and white).. I tell her its not a UT kilt but an Irish Saffron, she shrugs and says...oh..

[M. A. C. Newsome]

A friend told me once of a man who approached him at a Games while he was wearing his Black Watch kilt. This man, whom he had never met, wanted to know what gave him the "right" to wear "that kilt."

So my friend began to explain that it was the Black Watch tartan and that his father had served in the Black Watch. Furthermore the tartan was used as a hunting tartan by the Clan Grant, and his surname was Grant.

But before he could get through both of those very fine reasons for wearing the Black Watch tartan, this stranger interrupted him with, "No, that's the Murray tartan, and you are not a Murray, so you can't wear it!"

My friend tried to explain that he was wrong about the tartan, but the man wouldn't listen. Eventually my friend had to walk away.

Funny how someone so protective about "others" wearing his tartan wouldn't even recognize it himself!

Nothing like that has ever happened to me, personally, though I do often get people disagreeing with me when I show them their tartan at the museum. The conversation usually goes like this.

Them: "Can you show me what the _____ tartan looks like?"

Me: "Sure, no problem." (Flipping through swatch book). "Here it is."

Them: "No, that's not it."

Usually it is because they remember seeing a piece of the tartan years ago at a Highland Games or a trip to Scotland that had a slightly different shade of red in it. Or they saw the "ancient" colors and I am showing them the "modern" colors, or something like that.

So I try to explain that these tartans can be woven in a variety of shades, and all that. A lot of times they may begrudingly accept that is their tartan, but they still seem unsusre. More than once I've had a person just flat out not believe me.

[slohairt]

I have had tartans I've worn disputed many times. Usually it's by someone from Scotland as well. They will then proceed to regale me with some 'family tartan history' and other nuggets of information concerning kilts and Scotland in general. (Most of which is incorrect!) Sometimes I give them my business card but this doesn't deter many of them. They'll keep on going as if I just fell off the turnip wagon yesterday!

[davedove]

... though I do often get people disagreeing with me when I show them their tartan at the museum. ...

... A lot of times they may begrudingly accept that is their tartan, but they still seem unsusre. More than once I've had a person just flat out not believe me.

That attitude always amazes me. That someone would flat out not believe an expert on the subject is just baffling.

Now, if something I thought had been disputed by an authority, I might not just accept what was said, but I would certainly question my knowledge do further research.

[Paul]

Hey Colonel,

If my grandfather Murdoch Macdonald hadn't been dead since 1972 I'd have guessed it was him. He never allowed Campbell's Soup in his home and when I took a job with Campbell Ford in Kingsport, TN back in 1970 he had a hemmorage. "How can you work for a Campbell!!?" Hey, it was a recession, winter, and I needed to feed my family....sorry okay....

We're kinda driftin' here but its fun to hear the stories.

The other thing that's happened to me a few times is someone will walk up to me and announce with certainty what tartan I'm wearing...and they're wrong. They don't much appreciate being corrected...even gently and politely.

Ron

Some of the Campbells were too busy in Ireland to worry about murdering people accross the water!

[sirdaniel1975]

I've had this happen to me on several occasions. Normally I get through pretty good "I can talk real fast when I want to." (I was born in NY)

I do have an observation of this type of situation or any of the like.
(With great sarcasm) The enlightened ones who approach us kilted folk asking us these strange questions and then attempt to straighten us out... are usually not wearing a kilt or tartan of any kind. Usually t-shirt and jeans or shorts. If they are such an expert and so proud, where is their tartan?

[Canuck]

When walking around in a black leather kilt I get asked "what tartan is that ?" I reply "Mennonite" and walk away

[dfmacliam]

That's funny...