"Full Blooded"

[California Highlander]

I was talking to a friend today about a meme I saw. There was a horse tied to one of those cheap plastic outdoor chairs. The legend stated, "Perception is Everything."

Is perception the operant factor then?

Does one need Scottish blood to be Scottish? Or, is one Scottish if perceived by self and others to be so? Is it possible to be Scottish without ever having touched Scottish soil?

By the same token, is being born in Scotland a requisite to being Scottish? Are some Scots more Scottish as a result of being born in the Highlands rather than the lowlands, cities or larger villages? Are those with connections to certain Clans more Scottish?

Is there some useful term for those that carry Scottish blood but are not of the soil, Americans for example? Or does Scottish require immersion in the culture--even if we understand there are a hundred Scottish cultures depending on where in Scotland one is immersed?

There have been a few threads on this and related topics. My summary of those threads is:

Scottish = Born in Scotland or a vote-eligible resident, or a citizen of the country.
Scottish decent, Scottish ancestry = those descended from Scots, but not "Scottish".

In the US, people frequently say they are "Irish" or "Scottish" or "fill-in-the-blank" and they mean "of that ancestry". They are actually "Americans" not Scottish at all! When someone asks if I'm Scottish, I reply with "I'm from California, but my ancestry is Scottish" or something similar.


I think you can appreciate and participate in another culture, but you really aren't part of that culture unless you are living it. My 2 cents! I know there are many varying opinions on this point.