Week 13 Impressions by Sasha Shybut

As I contemplated issues that press British culture I was not struck with any particular subjects. I have been interested in the gender roles in pubs as I noted the lack of female presence in pubs. However during my travels to Edinburgh I was struck with a more interesting subject. I was taking a ghost tour with the other Lewis and Clark students and found myself perplexed not by the tour but by a Statue that had “End London rule” written in chalk on it. During the tour I could not stop myself thinking about the relations between Scotland and England. I understand the events that have taken place in history; however, out of principle I was confronted with an inherent contradiction. Why were the English and Scottish on better terms than the Irish and Scottish? The Scottish and Irish have a common Celtic background, which would logically bond the two regions however no such political or economic bond exists. After noticing the public display of discontent I become even more interested in the British identity. As the tour ended we ended up passing another public monument that had written on it “Scottish not British”. The public statements were interesting to me in that I have been very interested in British identity as I do have Scottish heritage. I felt unrest due to the public displays of discontent. However I felt inhibited to query my curiosity with the local Scottish, as I did not know what their reaction would yield.

The group of LC kids I was with decided to visit a few pubs the next night, avoiding the touristy streets in attempt to meet locals. As we entered into a pub we found a group of men who were in about their late 30’s who were obviously local Edinburgh residents. The group I was with noticed that they were sitting in an open area and decided to join them. I was at the bar trying to decide what pint I should order when I turned around and found the group mixing with the Scots. I made my way to the table and sat down next to a man named David who oddly reminded me of my grandfather; perhaps this is just due to my grandfather’s Scottish roots. Perhaps it was the odd sense of familiarity, but I felt comfortable to ask David about, in a boiled down sense, Scottish identity and British identity. I quite bluntly asked David if he felt that he or the Scottish are British, and as to my original hunch he said in a non-offensive response that he felt the Scottish were independent of British identity, but rather just Scottish. The conversation was very interesting to me because it included bits of knowledge that I have learned from this semester as well as personal family heritage.

What was really at stake though? A small region in the world that is discontent with a linguistic issue or a region much like any other country strives to define itself for a collective esteem. Ireland is an easy area of concern in terms of trying to identify itself. In the states people clarify where they are from, but adding qualifiers of what type of Americans they are. The UK has been struggling with the diversity of London and the identity of the new English citizens. The borders and lines that exist which are meant to protect citizens of particular regions, to me, have the potential to destroy the humanistic bond that should exist between all. In order to keep things balanced, I do understand the need for belonging in order to help one facilitate one’s life. My curiosity lays in observing the future, and someday being a part of it, not merely a student in observation.