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Originally Posted by oneofthefew
McHan, the key point in the comment you quoted is: As for you, if I read what you say correctly, you are at least 2nd generation American from parents that were born of Scottish ancestors.
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This is correct. I am farther removed than 2nd generation, however, as per my family's geographical relocation.
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You realise of course the further back you have to go to find the people who left Scotland the less likely we are to accept you as being Scottish - mainly due to the increased possibility of non-Scots getting into the family mix, but also from the fact that the people you are directly descended from were no longer Scottish themselves!
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Yes, I realise this. That's EXACTLY what I am challenging. I realise that YOU (pl.) have a hard time accepting a foreign-born person with a Scottish ethnic identity and heritage *as* authentically Scottish. MY point is that I am Scottish WHETHER OR NOT you agree.
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However, the above doesn't take away your obvious Scottish heritage - as long as you realise that is NOT the same as being Scottish!
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Huh? Last I checked, the Scots in Scotland base their Scottishness on EXACTLY the same thing I do mine... heritage. There is no more legal category called "Scottish," since you are subject to the crown of England and merely Britons. What makes you different than the English or Welsh, for example, is your family identity and self-perception. Is your Scottish identity so fickle as to disappear if you were, for example, to move to England?
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In your case that reality is that you are American - as you yourself admit!
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The reality is that I am an American. Yeah. So? My mates who are of African, Native American Indian, Mexican, Chinese, etc. ethnicities are NO LESS AMERICAN THAN ME. The question is NOT about citizenship, but about heritage, self-identity, etc.
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When you are able to claim your Scottish citizenship, which I don't think you will manage as easily as you seem to be under the impression you can, then maybe you can claim to be Scottish!
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1. There is no such thing as "Scottish citizenship" as far as I know, so nothing to "claim." Residents of Scotland are citizens (or subjects) of the Great Britain. 2. I never said nor implied it would be "easy" to claim this status, nor have I a desire to do so. If work or other life circumstances had me relocating to Scotland, however, it would make sense to become a resident/citizen/subject. This process would not be difficult to go through, albeit it would take a few years.
I was a permanent resident in Russia, where I lived for most of my adult life. I am fluent with the language and am as close to being a native Russian culturally as one gets. I never was under the delusion that I was Russian, however. I could even have become a voting citizen. That would NOT have made me Russian. I wouldn't have ceased being Scottish.
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However, don't expect all us native Scots to accept you as such as we'll just see you as an American wannabe Scot - much as we see you just now!
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Well, then I'll just have to live as the target of your bigotry. I can take it. Other cultures (even sub-cultures) act quite differently to their own than you seem to. Israelis with their "right of return," the Japanese and their attitudes to Japanese who hold citizenship elsewhere, etc. Nevertheless, my point remains. I am Scottish. I don't need your permission or approval to be so.
15th August 2007, 16:44
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