IS SCOTLAND RACIST?

Wrinkled Weasel has a post on his blog entitled 'Scottish Racism'. I found most of it sad and a little of it offensive, in particular the accusation that the whole of Scotland is racist. In this context I find the word racist is used more for emotive purposes than to discuss any underlying tensions between the English and the Scots.  He makes a reference to the young woman Lucy Newman who was attacked recently in Aberdeen and it was reported the reason was because she was English.  I do not condone any form of violence and I was disgusted to think that a stranger would attack another for any reason, but, when the picture widened and Lucy seemingly had lived in Scotland since she was 4 (she was 17 at the time of the assault), how could she have a strong English accent?  Surely if she'd been educated in a Scottish school with Scots dialects all around she couldn't have held onto an strong English accent.  Also there must have been some dialogue between the aggressor and herself but no detail was given.  It can be easy, in any situation, to use the 'racist' card.  No matter, the abuse of the young woman was Scotland's shame regardless of its motive. 

'I had a low level dispute with someone in Port Seton, which is less than seven miles from where I have lived for the past six years. I was sitting down to enjoy my fish supper, along with other people, on the quayside, when the woman and her daughter on the next seat began feeding the seagulls. They starting swooping and it looked as though I was going to lose my lunch or get it pooped on. So I said, “Do you mind not doing that?” and explained why. Now, you could argue that she should have ignored me, or just told me to feck off. But no, she said, and I quote, “We live here”.'

'The most regular, and mild, and yet most irritating is “Are you on holiday?” Sounds mild enough, but ask that of a black person or a third generation Pakistani and you are on very thin ice.'

Can the above two statements be classed as racist?  I think not. The scenarios could happen anywhere in the UK and beyond. The latter one is rather amusing.; perhaps he's not asked the same question when in England because nobody is interested.  Scots can be nosy but their nosiness is generally not a negative action, it is more of a genuine interest in my opinion.

Many of us now find we are reluctant to open our mouths in public. I don’t mean among the educated classes, I mean in public, among the hoi-polloi and the shopkeepers and low level council officials.

Now this statement is far more concerning as it implies the 'educated' are in some way superior and therefore have no negative thoughts about English people living here and that is nonsense. Not only does it insult our population it is this attitude which creates tensions which, in his view, only the 'great unwashed' harbour.  He also exposes the fact that the English perspective of class is alive and well.  Let me relate a couple of incidents which happened to me during my many years in England (aside from the very regular taunts of being called Jock, being asked why I didn't wear a kilt and the oh so constant 'Auk aye the noo' nonsense).

When attending an event in Sandhurst some years ago, I happened to overhear a very senior officer discussing a young trainee with his colleagues.  I knew this young man was a Scot and the conversation was along the lines of,  "I told him he'd make an excellent officer but he'll never be a ***** gentleman with an accent like that".  As I found this astonishing from such a high ranking military person, who I actually liked, I moved into the group to show my presence. His attempt to cover his embarrassment was amusing as well as pathetic and he wittered on about 'just a joke' etc.  I decided to keep silent.  That was, in my opinion, more humiliating for him than any words I could utter.

The second incident was at a drinks and winks 'do' after a board meeting of a large voluntary organisation.  The chair was a peer of the realm and also a local landowner, a true English gentleman by all accounts.  During the soiree he approached me and said, "I didn't realise they produced people of such intelligence in that primitive land of yours".  How I remember these words and the feelings they produced. His lordship obviously thought he was complimenting me but I thought otherwise.  I resigned within days, but to my shame I did not give the true reason; something I've regretted since.

None of my experiences would I class as racism, just ignorance.  I do realise many Scots have an inferiority complex and it has been borne from years of domination by the larger country of England.  To accuse Scotland of being 'racist' without admitting anti-Scottish tensions exist in England is inequitable.

Accents convey a culture.  Some may lose their accents because they leave a country when young but most seem to be fiercely proud of their roots, such as American Italians and Canadian Scots.  The Luxemburgers, Dutch and Belgiums feel squashed by the Germans and French and make derisory comments about each other.  Tensions exist but I certainly wouldn't call the countries of Luxemburg, the Netherlands or Belguim racist. Cultures differ and human nature demands we preserve ourselves in order to survive.

Perhaps I'm fortunate living where I do as there is very little evidence of anti-English tension. It is well documented that the west of Scotland suffers more, particularly in certain areas of sport.  To say that the government holds the answer is too simple, the answer lies in understanding each other's attitudes - a far more complex exercise and one, if Wrinkled Weasel is to be believed, which can only be understood by the 'educated'.

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