Scottish Festival Peeves?

[BoldHighlander]

I do agree that there are far too many Jack Sparrows. What about Captain Morgan? Now there was a pirate...

...or Henry Avery/Every. My distant cousin Thomas Hollinsworth sailed with his fleet raiding the Indian Ocean.
But I digress...

BUT, my biggest pet peeve.....

is to go to the Pub Tent and not find any decent ales! I don't much care for lagers (and lite-beer isn't real beer), and I'm never sure why a German or Belgium style wheat beer is served at a Scottish function, but why can't we get a decent Scottish, British, or even an Irish ALE?

At the local Bellingham games we are fortunate in that our local micro-brewery (Boundary Bay) supplies real ale, including 'Scottish' ale

[Colin MacBean]

Holy **** guys calm down.... This is nuts. Stay on topic or else this topic is going to get locked. Second what's with all the double posting? There is an edit button for a reason.

There is a difference between wearing something for fun or wearing something just plain wrong. If someone has their kilt backwards I would say it would be reasonable to inform them of this. Informing someone that their 'claymore' is stupid is a much different scenario.

[Alan H]

Now you're putting words in my mouth. Do I grimace at some things I see at games & festivals? Sure -- but i'm not going to lose sleep over it. My point was that you were being a little judgemental in criticizing what you perceived to be judgemental attitudes.


T.

1. Bold added by me. Thank you. Than you for pointing out that this stuff is not worth losing sleep over. You're not going to lose sleep at it. I would suggest that "grimacing" is even too much. Maybe a little smile .... an eye-roll. A chuckle. A kind word to the nice guy who has his first kilt and is wearing it backwards...etc. THAT would be about right.

2. Was I being judgemental?

HELL yes. This place is packed to the gills with "judgemental" stuff all the time, from WHITE SOCKS to this entire thread which is all about telling us all what HORRIBLE things you see at the Games. You bet it's judgemental, all the while we pretend to be "Ladies and Gentlemen" and pussy-foot around the knee-deep judgement calls that come down all the time on X Marks.

I'm actually glad to see this thread, even though it stinks to high heaven of an overwhelming superiority attitude. At least people are putting the pretty "dandelion" aside for one thread and actually writing what they think.

[Alan H]

Holy **** guys calm down.... This is nuts. Stay on topic or else this topic is going to get locked. Second what's with all the double posting? There is an edit button for a reason.

There is a difference between wearing something for fun or wearing something just plain wrong. If someone has their kilt backwards I would say it would be reasonable to inform them of this. Informing someone that their 'claymore' is stupid is a much different scenario.

Hear, Hear!!! Spot on.

[Arlen]

Neo Nazi, White Supremacists groups I can do without.

A few guys showed a sense of humour about the issue. Thank God.

The rest of it smacks of so much "holier than thou" attitude that it makes me sick.

Todd, if you all are so horrified by how awful the Games are here in the USA, then buy a plane ticket and go to Scotland and attend the events THERE. THere...THERE in the Ancestral Motherland where Everything is So Much Better.

Alan, I DO go to the games back home in Scotland. And I do get annoyed at people wearing absurd outfits but shrug it off because it's their life and they're having fun. People wearing a Kilt badly aren't hurting me and it doesn't take a lot for me to gently and politely point them in the right direction to a more flattering and much happier Kilted life.

But, coming from Scotland and placing a lot of value in my family, country, history and heritage, I reserve the right to get as fuming angry as I want when I'm told by someone who's never been to Scotland that it's perfectly O.K. to view Scottish culture as and perpetuate the view of Scottish culture as fat blokes badly doing SHA, drunken idiots swearing and pretty much the same as Irish but with more Kilts and more throwing stuff and blue paint.

And I think that's what most of us are really getting upset about. All of those little niggling things we dislike but 'let it be because it's harmless fun' add up over time and change the overall view of Scottish history and culture.
And, while I think ranting about it and being a mean idiot isn't going to do any good, being justifiably upset and trying to be a polite and decent person while you point people in the right direction is no bad thing.

[macwilkin]

Well said, Arlen. You said so much better than I did (durn iTouch!)



T.

[YoungMan]

Then get on your local Games Organizing Committee and demand that such people not be allowed in the Gates. That's right....if someone shows up, ready to pay to get in, but they don't dress according to the standards determined by the committee, if an athlete isn't in good enough shape, if a piper doesn't play in tune well enough, if there is a *hint* of "re-enactor", if any faerie makeup is seen, then kindly send them packing.

Don't stand for the "watering-down" of the Culture. Make a STAND. If people can't be respectful, can't dress properly, can't get in shape to do the athletics, can't practice up to be a Grade I piper, and so on, then kindly refuse to take their entrance fee, and send them packing....with a smile, of course. Create your very own, pure, Celebration. GO for it.

Of course, I won't be allowed in the Gates. God forbid, I might wear white socks and though I call myself an athlete, I actually carry a spare tire around my ample gut.

I trimmed the quotation down to emphasize the points I'm covering.
Alan, I think there's a misunderstanding between my argument and what you perceive my argument to be. I made no note or comment about those competing in traditional Scottish events or re-enactors.

Firstly, I don't think the field of competitors should be limited to the highest caliber or the most "fit". Those competitors are making a solid effort to participate in and appreciate the spirit of the gathering, Scottish culture. Their performances are judged and ranked based on established criteria.

Secondly, I draw a distinction between re-enactors and LARP. LARP by definition takes place in a fictional reality. Re-enactors seek to replicate events of historical significance. The latter I think make a valid contribution.

And while I can appreciate the sarcasm in your entrance screening suggestion, I think many gatherings would be better simply posting a note on their website suggesting that attendees come with the goal of celebrating Scottish culture and traditions. A little effort on the part of the "regulars" and a few years should see a more appreciative and informed group of first-timers.

[Alan H]

Alan, I DO go to the games back home in Scotland. And I do get annoyed at people wearing absurd outfits but shrug it off because it's their life and they're having fun. People wearing a Kilt badly aren't hurting me and it doesn't take a lot for me to gently and politely point them in the right direction to a more flattering and much happier Kilted life.

But, coming from Scotland and placing a lot of value in my family, country, history and heritage, I reserve the right to get as fuming angry as I want when I'm told by someone who's never been to Scotland that it's perfectly O.K. to view Scottish culture as and perpetuate the view of Scottish culture as fat blokes badly doing SHA, drunken idiots swearing and pretty much the same as Irish but with more Kilts and more throwing stuff and blue paint.

And I think that's what most of us are really getting upset about. All of those little niggling things we dislike but 'let it be because it's harmless fun' add up over time and change the overall view of Scottish history and culture.
And, while I think ranting about it and being a mean idiot isn't going to do any good, being justifiably upset and trying to be a polite and decent person while you point people in the right direction is no bad thing.

I've been to what...I don't know, 30, 40 Games now? Are there drunk guys? Sure. But there are drunk guys at rock concerts, and drunk guys at the beach and drunk guys at the Japanese Oban Festival. Nobody thinks that being a drunk guy is "Scottish Culture".

I've never seen blue face paint at a Games.

You wrote this:

"And, while I think ranting about it and being a mean idiot isn't going to do any good, being justifiably upset and trying to be a polite and decent person while you point people in the right direction is no bad thing."

Spot on.

[Arlen]

I've been to what...I don't know, 30, 40 Games now? Are there drunk guys? Sure. But there are drunk guys at rock concerts, and drunk guys at the beach and drunk guys at the Japanese Oban Festival. Nobody thinks that being a drunk guy is "Scottish Culture".

I've never seen blue face paint at a Games.

You wrote this:

"And, while I think ranting about it and being a mean idiot isn't going to do any good, being justifiably upset and trying to be a polite and decent person while you point people in the right direction is no bad thing."

Spot on.

Unfortunately, at some of the games I've been to I've seen drunk guys sporting 'I drink because I'm Scottish/Scotsmen can drink anyone under the table/Scotch Irish Drunk festival' T-shirts and more blue facepaint than I could fit on my entire body. (Short as I am.)
Maybe it's just a better class of games further west.

As for the fat athletes, I'm not an A**. I carry around more weight than I should and haven't competed for a few years now. And even the best athletes back in Scotland carry around a bit of a spare tire sometimes.
But I was honestly astonished here to see guys competing who were so obese they needed a rest every 100 paces and couldn't even fit a giant tablecloth around them to use as a Kilt. I just... I don't even know what to think of that.

Alan, I think you and I are on the same page about just being nice and helping people improve their outfits/kilt etiquette etc without yelling at them, but BOY do I get angry at the amount of people who hear my accent and say 'I love Scotland because they don't mind getting really drunk/I'm also Irish/do you like this Kilt I made it from a picnic blanket/ you must be really good at drinking people under the table!'
At least I can usually just calm down and take it in my stride.

After all, when I first met Diane 6 or so years ago I was sure all Americans were fat, loud, obnoxious, selfish, arrogant Texans wearing Hawaiian shirts and telling me ho silly and quaint my country was. America wasn't worth a damn and the only decent Americans were the ones with the sense to move away.
Boy, did I learn my lesson better with her gently teaching me some of the incredible culture and history here than I did with all the people yelling at me and telling me I just didn't understand.

[Alan H]

I've written a number of replies and erased them in the interest of some decency of manners and restraint.

The thread is about "nit picking" and as Cajunscot and Arlen have pointed out, while some things we see at the Games may be a bit "off" they don't lose sleep over it.

Something to remember.....Don't lose sleep over it.

I think I've written enough, and will bow out of this thread from here on out.