Do we have to be?

[Rigged]

I wear kilts because I like them. That's the nature of the answer I give most people when they ask. If someone insists that I must have some Scottish heritage if I'm wearing a kilt, I can give them a vague and rather distant family connection to Scottish royalty.

I also understand the society we live in. Most people associate any kind of skirt with feminine attire and that's why they ask in the first place.

A man has to have a reason to wear something other than trousers, otherwise he's either gay or mentally unstable.

I live in a community that has a large number of recent immigrants from Mexico, India, and the Middle East. Mexicans don't have any cultural equivalent of a kilt or unbifurcated garment for men. They call it, "La Ropa" -- "The Dress", meaning a woman's dress. There's no way to explain a kilt to them except in the context of a garment worn by Scottish men. Then they want to know why a black American is wearing a Scotsman's garment. Out of context, it's still "La Ropa."

I've had this conversation with my landlord who is a Mexican immigrant. He's doing some remodelling on the apartment downstairs.

I brought my caramel workman's UK down for him to look at. He likes the kilt and understands the comfort and practicality of it, but will never wear one because it's outside of his culture.

Which gets back to my political campaign to promote the kilt as modern menswear in a new social and cultural context. I want to make the world a safer place for guys who want to wear kilts.

That puts me at odds with feminist and freestyle propagandists who see the kilt as a unisex garment or just any other skirt, but so be it.

Well, there I go, tilting at windmills again...

[macwilkin]

This thread reminds me of one of my favourite Scottish sayings:

"We're a' Jock Tamson's Bairns. Who's Jock Tamson? Weel, he's God."

We're all God's children.

Cheers,

T.

[phil h]

I think it will further harmonise the relations among different cultures. It is not to say that one must act like a scot when he is wearing a kilt. But I think we can appreciate one another more. It will stop and make people think about themselves and others.

It is fun, at least for me, to cross the line and have fun with it. I just think most of us are taking things too seriously and over analyse everything. It makes us worry about things that are yet to happen. But doing something different than the norm is only going to evolve the human as a whole. If we don't dare to be different or to have independent thoughs, we will still believe that the Earth is flat.

If you don't have to Chinese to eat won ton or Cajun to eat jambalaya, why do you have to be a celt to wear a kilt?

well put bro 8)
I have a suit from chinatown and a shirt I like to wear.
people ask ask me why the chinese siut?
"coz I like it" I say "you like chinese food"?
"you don't have to be chinese to eat it do you"
"I like chinese clothes, so I wear them"

[Aaron]

Glen wrote:

Has it become such a cultural thing that only Celts wear kilts?

Short answer; no, of course not.

Long answer;
I'd have to say that my whole reason behind wearing the kilt (hang on to your pleats boys, I'm about to blaspheme) would be that it doesn't matter what I wear. Now before you go reaching for the single malt to get you through this post, let me explain that I do respect the traditions of the kilt, the culture that it comes from, and would never purposefully disgrace it. I am not, however, Scottish. I'm mostly Irish and Welsh but I'd have to say that that means little when it comes to my decision to wear the kilt.

Raphael wrote:

I think it will further harmonise the relations among different cultures. It is not to say that one must act like a scot when he is wearing a kilt. But I think we can appreciate one another more. It will stop and make people think about themselves and others.

I couldn't agree more with this. I firmly believe that anything that confronts people's preconceived notions and makes them have to wrap their brains around a new concept helps a society. They may then be more careful in their consideration of others as individuals instead of simply lumping them into this category or that based on first sight (white, black, purple, poor, rich etc...)

But most importantly for me is that it helps ME not to lump people into categories (we all do it to some extent, be it good or bad). Anything that reminds me not be judgemental towards others helps me to be a better human being to them no matter what their predilections. Life is so much bigger than what is perceived by my puny intellect, and I feel that I would be morally negligent not to try to expand my tiny world to include every aspect of humanity.

Beyond that, kilts are pretty damned comfy!

Cajunscot, what is the tartan in those pictures of the SA troops? It reminds me of Stewart Hunting, but I can't see a red stripe. Any ideas?

[macwilkin]

Cajunscot, what is the tartan in those pictures of the SA troops? It reminds me of Stewart Hunting, but I can't see a red stripe. Any ideas?

Gordon. The Cape Town Highlanders were an allied regiment of the Gordons, now part of the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons).

In the British Army, is is a custom that British regiments are "twinned" or "allied" with units from other nations in the Commonwealth.

Cheers,

T.

[macwilkin]

Anything that reminds me not be judgemental towards others helps me to be a better human being to them no matter what their predilections. Life is so much bigger than what is perceived by my puny intellect, and I feel that I would be morally negligent not to try to expand my tiny world to include every aspect of humanity.

Aaron, have you been reading Robert Burns? :mrgreen:

Seriously, a tip o' the bonnet tae ye for this insightful and thoughtful comment in your post. Burns believed the same thing.

Cheers,

T.

[Aaron]

Cajunscot, thanks for the tartan check and the compliment. It's hardly an original thought though, and I can't claim to have done anything more than shamlessly steal it from a good many and better men that have come before me and had the sense to put it down in writing.

[akaussie]

What I'm about to say probably verges on blasphemy with some of you Wink, but I'm not particularly interested in Celtic music, and I have never drank a Guinness or a single malt Scotch (I'm more of a martini guy- I hate beer. I'm hopeless, I know...)
Thats it leave the room!!! (just kidding, I too am not keen on guiness) tastes like liquified vegimite!!

As for the kilt being for scotts only try telling that to a masiae warrior (I hope I spelt that right) about his lion skin kilt and play fair!

[Alan H]

I figure if you're not wearing a tartan that has some huge historical connection, wear what you bloody well want. The flip side of that logic says that if someone chooses to wear pants, they're not "wimps" or "kowtow to popular culture" necessarily. They just happen to choose to wear pants....just like you or I choose to wear a kilt. Sometimes I wear pants. Sometimes I'll be wearing a kilt (soon).

Kilts are not BETTER than pants. Pants are not BETTER than kilts. They're just clothes.

....or a dashiki, or the sumatran MUG (blanking on the name) or a pareu a la south pacific islands or whatever someone chooses to wear. As long as it doesn't break the law for indecent exposure, it shouldn't matter a hoot what someone wears. Wearing something outside "the norm" doesn't make the person wearing the different piece of clothing "better" or "stronger" or "more manly" or anything. It just means they choose to wear a different piece of clothing.

So it should be. Except that in the real world, we know darned well that it doesn't work that way.