Identity in the Scottish Diaspora

[ThistleDown]

Just a few quick corrective notes here and then I’m away from this sadly contentious thread. My friend Richard McBain told me today that he is disappointed his remarks in a casual games conversation have been misunderstood. What he recalls saying is that he is not yet comfortable in his role on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, not that the Council made him uncomfortable. His Dad, the hereditary Macbean chief, is 88 now and in looking towards the future is involving his son and heir in the traditions and obligations of clan chiefship. He said he was sorry, too, if his remark about aging was misunderstood. What he meant to get across was that if any younger generation takes umbrage with an older one’s opinion all it has to do is wait for the inevitable passing on and then it can become the older and take its turn trying to explain its firm opinions to the new younger.

I’d say Richard is settling in very nicely because that’s certainly how traditions of hereditary chiefship work.

If anyone here wants to read about all this diaspora stuff from an academic and not a one-sided perspective, there's nothing finer that Tom Devine's 'To the Ends of the Earth'.

[Reiver]

Just a few quick corrective notes here and then I’m away from this sadly contentious thread. My friend Richard McBain told me today that he is disappointed his remarks in a casual games conversation have been misunderstood. What he recalls saying is that he is not yet comfortable in his role on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, not that the Council made him uncomfortable. His Dad, the hereditary Macbean chief, is 88 now and in looking towards the future is involving his son and heir in the traditions and obligations of clan chiefship. He said he was sorry, too, if his remark about aging was misunderstood. What he meant to get across was that if any younger generation takes umbrage with an older one’s opinion all it has to do is wait for the inevitable passing on and then it can become the older and take its turn trying to explain its firm opinions to the new younger.

I’d say Richard is settling in very nicely because that’s certainly how traditions of hereditary chiefship work.

If anyone here wants to read about all this diaspora stuff from an academic and not a one-sided perspective, there's nothing finer that Tom Devine's 'To the Ends of the Earth'.

Thanks for the correction....I may have mis understood his 'old boys club' comment but didn't mean it in a negative fashion.
I suspect I got a bit of it correctly and part of his learning curve in speaking about these subjects is to say exactly what you mean or do not say it at all. When you have a certain authority in subjects casual comments might lead to a response one does not intend or one would rather keep private.
I think he'll do very well in that role and have always thought so as I've seen him partake, rep the trad of hereditary Chieftains as Tanist about 5 times now.