SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

[derrickvalchar]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

u guys really lifted my spirits i was real down earlier some one told me all the tartans are fakes and u guys really cheered me up thanks

[Kelly d]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

Derrick,

We proclaim we are Americans of Scottish Ancestry. I found it more acceptable! The fake tartans thing, I must research it. I do know many many more tartans exist now than they did at the time of the Colonies.

[derrickvalchar]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

I MIGHT BE AMERICAN OR BORN IN AMERICA BUT LET ME TELL U ALL SOMETHING U EVER FEEL UR HEART IS SOME WERE ELSE U MIND UR SOUL ITS NOT HERE WITH ME RIGHT NOW ITS SITTING IN THE HIGHLANDS WERE I KNOW I BELONG SO WEIRD THAT I WOULD SAY THIS BUT IT IS AS I FEEL MAYBE ONE DAY THAT SCOTTISH RED HEAD WILL APPEAR AND I WILL BE READY FOR HER BUT I DONT KNOW DESTINY AND INTUITION WHAT IS IT SAYING MAYBE ONE DAY I WILL KNOW OR NOT LOL

[macaverty]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

Been here and read all this before in the old forum...... it's really quite simple and no matter how you dress it up it's like this..

Born in Scotland, yes, you are Scottish

Born anywhere else, you aren't Scottish

Quite simple isn't it

[Kelly d]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

MacAverty,

Derrick is learning about blood ties and actual birth. Derrick is my son and we have lots of Scottish Ancestry. Mother is instructing him.

Personally, I don't care for the terminology of Yank because we are all southerners...

[laney]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

Been here and read all this before in the old forum...... it's really quite simple and no matter how you dress it up it's like this..

Born in Scotland, yes, you are Scottish

Born anywhere else, you aren't Scottish

Quite simple isn't it

I agree,
it doesn't offend me when people say they're Scottish, you must admit we are all fabulous lol
But I find that here in the States a lot, when someones has a relative born in another country they do think they are from there also, I think the terminology is the problem, they are of Scottish descent, but unless it says it on their birth certificate then they're not.
Besides why aren't people proid of where they come from without having to be something else? Maybe since we know it's easier?

[Kelly d]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

Laney,

You have a very good point but the last census I took in the States, I had to list what ethnic background I came from. I remember it was very strange compared to other census I had completed. American Scot is what I listed. I don't know how many had to do this but it would have been the year 2000 in Kansas.

Was it just Kansas Census who did that? I wonder why it was done that way in the first place? Is it cause of the African-American issue?

As for me, I have dual citizenship.

[sandyc]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

BUT not Scottish citizenship, because that does not 'exist'...
Sandy

[Kelly d]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

Nay Sandy C, I never said that. :)

[Alastair]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

You often see quoted that there are 5 million people in Scotland but 50 million people of Scots descent around the world.

That seems to mean that Scotland does recognize that there are people of Scots descent that weren't born in Scotland.

I would even say that there are likely only some 4 million Scots as I would guess at least 1 million people living in Scotland are not Scots. Like there are 144,000 people from Poland living in Scotland. There must also be quite a number of English and Irish people living there also. And then when you look at people from the Commonwealth countries there must be a considerable number.

Apart from the Native Indians everyone in America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all came from somewhere else. And it's still just 4 centuries and mostly just 2 centuries that people arrived in the New World.

I've been told that the white population in America is now in the minority. The Mexican or Spanish speaking people are now the largest ethnic group with the Black people from Africa making up the second largest ethnic group. It seems to me that the Mexican peoples are expanding at a fast rate as they have by far the largest birth rate.

And so I think it is quite natural that people like to know where they came from. Canada is known for it's wide spread of ethnic groups. I believe in Toronto there are some 230 languages spoken there and Canada is well know for being a friendly country for ethnic groups from all over the world. When Hong Kong was given back to China many of the people there moved to Canada. That is actally why BC has such a high price for homes as many of these new immigrants came in with lots of money. As Canada is still part of the Commonwealth it attracts a lot of immigrants from these countries also.

Over all we're a great mix of people and I see no conflict between being an American but being proud of your Scottish roots.

That said local Scots do seem a bit mixed in their reaction to someone claiming Scots descent and I really don't understand that. I would judge that most Scots are happy to meet people claiming Scots descent. There are however a minority that seem to disagree with this for whatever reason. The fact that more Scottish history is being taught now in our schools should eradicate that issue.

Scots have always been great travellers and most went voluntarily to America but even with the Highland Clearances many still chose to go to America although they could have gone to Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.

Today most are quite a mixture of ethnic groups due to inter-marriage. Just look at the number of people that say they can claim descent from multiple clans and also Scots descendants that also claim English, Irish, Dutch, German, French, etc. ties.

The Scots as a race have been tremendously successful all over the world and I think part of the reasons for that is that were the great innovators and were very enterprising in their endevours. They thus make ideal pioneers as they were often better educated and at a particular time led the world in industry. That meant every country wanted them. In the early years of the country they had a marvellous reputation for fighting and so were just the people you wanted to spearhead the push into new parts of the country.

The Scots-Irish were also another group that made great progress in America. These were Scots that moved to the Ulster plantations and settled there for a couple of centuries and then in great numbers emigrated to America. This was the stock that most of the US Presidents came from.

I'm now also a Canadian and am very proud of my new country but I do retain a pride in my Scottish roots.

It is often said that Scots simply adopted their new country and got on with their lives. The only time they became visable as Scots was when they came out to attend a Highland Games or a Burns Supper. Apart from that they were simply part of the American culture. While they might have first settled in groups they often then moved into the wider population all over the country. This means they were never really visable as Scots. In part this was eventually recognized by the Scots-Irish as they formed the Scots-Irish Society around 1893 as every ethnic race had books written about them and some of the Scots-irish felt it was time that their story was told. It was through them that we first learnt of the tremendous contribution they had made to America.

I believe that Scots and Scots-Irish make up around 2.8% of the American population now. However way back they probably accounted for some 20% so they played a large role in opening America for other ethnic groups to follow.

And so if you have Scottish roots then I'd certainly say that is something you can be proud of as our ancestors played a major role in the opening up and development of America. Local Scots also should be proud of their descendants given what they did in the world.

Alastair

[LuRose Williams]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

I surely cannot maneuver the chat system....duhhh...I am an American with Scottish descent..

[LuRose Williams]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

Yes Alastair, The American Scot was quite innovative is settling the Eastern and Southern portion of the US. They were the majority of the founders of America being intelligent and innovative as Master Masons, builder, fishermen, coalminers.,medicine and scholastics, etc etc...this is why the Expats sailed under deplorable conditions from exile in Scotland to America.

I used to say I was thouroughly a Scot by blood and American by birth, Well...DNA sure messd that up..!! I guess I have a lot of Irish so now, I am a 3-4 part Scot and American...Always a Southerner, Never a Yank...

[LuRose Williams]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

I am from Texas and I am Scot and I am Salishan Native American from the Colville Reservation in Washington and I am also Derricks, Grandmother...

Thanks for the comment.

[LuRose Williams]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

I think perhaps the Americans or Non Scotland persons, tend to say : I am Scottish meaning they are of Scots descent by blood not by birth. They don't seem to know there is a locale difference...

Thanks..

[LuRose Williams]

Re: SINCE I AM A YANK DOES THAT NOT MEAN I CAN BE SCOTTISH

Alastair, just a small note...My MitroDNA matches a Salishan woman of the Colville Tribe of Washington. Her name is Quintaskat, Her Native name is : Mourning Dove and she is the first ever Native American to win the prize in the Literary field. Her father and mother were both Native American of the 7th recognized tribes, Her grandfather was either a Scot or Irish that came years before to settle Canada...