Regarding Culture, and Entitlement

[Cunning Witch Angus]

My mum is a Scot. Not of the Rroma or Indian.  

[TeaDidikai]

Angus of the Crooked Way

My mum is a Scot.

She speak the language and participate in the culture?  

[Gho the Girl]

TeaDidikai

Gho the Girl

TeaDidikai

Gho the Girl

I dunno. It just seems kinda weird to. Or awkward rather.

I still pour mead for Odin and Loki.

Quote:

What I mean is, it's sort of like I ran away from home, and didn't speak with my parents for a long time, and then realised what I did was wrong, and now we're talking again.

Maybe it's just how these sorts of things start out. . .

Nice analogy.

Odd thing (or maybe no) once I did, things in my life seem to be getting better. Like that callback from Borders happened only days after I started writing those letters, when I applied more than a month ago.

Or maybe I'm wrong. Too early to tell.

Being coincidental doesn't mean something doesn't have meaning. ~shrugs~

True, but if it's a singular occurence, at least for me it's harder to distinguish what it has.  

[TeaDidikai]

Gho the Girl

True, but if it's a singular occurence, at least for me it's harder to distinguish what it has.

Fair enough. Anyone guess what the next line of this post is?

Test it.  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

TeaDidikai

Angus of the Crooked Way

My mum is a Scot.

She speak the language and participate in the culture?

No, unfortunately. We live in America now.  

[Gho the Girl]

TeaDidikai

Gho the Girl

True, but if it's a singular occurence, at least for me it's harder to distinguish what it has.

Fair enough. Anyone guess what the next line of this post is?

Test it.

Um, this will sound totally unintelligent, but . . . how?  

[TeaDidikai]

Angus of the Crooked Way

No, unfortunately. We live in America now.

Questionable then. There are some traditions of the Scots that would say that you are entitled to certain elements of family/clan privilege within three generations, but then, it would depend on specific factors, like the whys of leaving and what elements you are claiming.

For example, some military organizations would allow up to the third generation of a serving man's family to use their tartan in place of the familial tartan for official events- if he was honorably discharged and in good standing and if the subsequent generations also lived up to the standards of the order etc.

You couldn't call yourself a Celt, but she might be able to. Without information on which group she belonged to and how, I can't say.

Gho>> Ask.  

[Gho the Girl]

TeaDidikai

Gho>> Ask.

Ohhhhhhhh sweatdrop Gotcha.  

[Adalyna]

TeaDidikai

Still a little off.

:< I see. I'm not 100% comfortable with the topic either, as I still am afraid to open my mouth and promptly insert my foot, in regards to the topic. I've been letting this mill around in my brain for a while, and I think it makes a little more sense to me than when I first posted this but it's still a little confusing. Any suggestions how else I can illuminate the subject for myself? Sorry this is taking me a while, never did claim to be a fast learner. I want to understand this a little better before I open up my next can of worms in the learning process. Maybe the difficulty I'm having with this will make it easier when I do understand, to pass it on to people who do not.  

[TeaDidikai]

Asahi Sara

:< I see. I'm not 100% comfortable with the topic either, as I still am afraid to open my mouth and promptly insert my foot, in regards to the topic. I've been letting this mill around in my brain for a while, and I think it makes a little more sense to me than when I first posted this but it's still a little confusing.

No worries. Take your time and ask as many questions as you need. 3nodding

Quote:

Any suggestions how else I can illuminate the subject for myself? Sorry this is taking me a while, never did claim to be a fast learner. I want to understand this a little better before I open up my next can of worms in the learning process. Maybe the difficulty I'm having with this will make it easier when I do understand, to pass it on to people who do not.

How do examples work for you?

Let's get a little specific. If you had to choose between the culture of the Jews and the culture of the Gael, which would you be interested in exploring for the sake of explanation?  

[Adalyna]

TeaDidikai

Let's get a little specific. If you had to choose between the culture of the Jews and the culture of the Gael, which would you be interested in exploring for the sake of explanation?

Mmhhh if I had to choose between these two I'd probably say the Gaels because Gaelic culture has always seemed beautiful to me, at its distance. Not to put down Jewish culture by any means.  

[TeaDidikai]

Asahi Sara

Mmhhh if I had to choose between these two I'd probably say the Gaels because Gaelic culture has always seemed beautiful to me, at its distance. Not to put down Jewish culture by any means.

~wince~ Just as a heads up- the Anglicization of the title for the Gaels is considered offensive by some of the Gael, at least one of whom is rather vocal about it here.

So here's the skinny.
Ireland has a long mytho-history of invasion, war and treaties. The short (and highly oversimplified) explanation is that the Gael are the last of the peoples to have won the land. The gods thereof made a treaty that bound the Gael and others to proper behavior. This behavior includes a set of legal standards and expectations for certain relationships- including the dynamic between the Gael and specific gods and is carried down within the successive generations.

Basically it became a group that was bound by their honor and word to maintain a relationship to the exclusion of other peoples.

Reading this, I'm not sure it will make sense. If we accept that the gods are real people, individuals who made these oaths, they issued a contract between them and the people they shared the land with.

Does this help?  

[Adalyna]

TeaDidikai

~wince~ Just as a heads up- the Anglicization of the title for the Gaels is considered offensive by some of the Gael, at least one of whom is rather vocal about it here.

I think I know who you're talking about, and I meant no offense to anyone. sweatdrop Maybe I should have chosen the Jews?

TeaDidikai

So here's the skinny.
Ireland has a long mytho-history of invasion, war and treaties. The short (and highly oversimplified) explanation is that the Gael are the last of the peoples to have won the land. The gods thereof made a treaty that bound the Gael and others to proper behavior. This behavior includes a set of legal standards and expectations for certain relationships- including the dynamic between the Gael and specific gods and is carried down within the successive generations.

Basically it became a group that was bound by their honor and word to maintain a relationship to the exclusion of other peoples.

Reading this, I'm not sure it will make sense. If we accept that the gods are real people, individuals who made these oaths, they issued a contract between them and the people they shared the land with.

Does this help?

That makes perfect sense to me. If a god told me not to tell anyone we were talking, I shouldn't go telling people. Nor am I running on the assumption that I have any right to know what the Irish say to their own gods. When put that way it seems as simple as respecting others privacy. Of course prior to being here it never really occurred to me gods might not want everyone's attention. I think I'm getting there, I'm probably still a little confused.  

[TeaDidikai]

Asahi Sara

I think I know who you're talking about, and I meant no offense to anyone. sweatdrop Maybe I should have chosen the Jews?

You're fine. Just keep learning.

Quote:

That makes perfect sense to me. If a god told me not to tell anyone we were talking, I shouldn't go telling people. Nor am I running on the assumption that I have any right to know what the Irish say to their own gods. When put that way it seems as simple as respecting others privacy. Of course prior to being here it never really occurred to me gods might not want everyone's attention. I think I'm getting there, I'm probably still a little confused.

I'm glad it made sense! In a similar way- the Wica are a closed culture. So is Judaism.

One thing to consider is that Open and Closed cultures aren't so much categories, but a scale.

For example, the Wica are not as closed as the Gael. There are numerous covens one can train with and find the correct one in order to be brought into the religion. Likewise, one can attain conversion to Judaism through the proper channels- but one doesn't need to be Jewish to attend a synagogue. On the other hand, you have people actively trying to convert people to Roman Catholicism and the Latter Day Saints, but they restrict participation in certain elements of their practices- such as communion for the RCC and Temple services for the LDS.  

[Adalyna]

I guess some of what i read on M&R has had me confused as well. Such as a girl saying she was confused about whether believing in fairies is a sin or not, and others making fun her or anyone who replied. Someone said you can believe whatever you want, and someone else then accused them of culture rape. Though in some context I can see how belief can be used to justify immorality, how in this context is it culture rape? Are for example fairies, or maybe the spelling faeries, or elves or some other fantasy creatures, a product of oathbound knowledge being spread around? How am I to know then what culture rape is and is not, there is fairy stuff everywhere, just go to the mall and there's calendars by Amy Brown. If fairies/faeries = culture rape then I'm guilty of this on so many levels. I didn't want to open up this can of worms yet, but I feel like its the only way to help sort out some of this confusion.

In another example after reading some of the recommended reading list I thought of purchasing "Witchcraft Today" by Gerald Gardener. I figured if he founded Wicca his books would probably be public domain. Why would he break oaths within his own faith?
I know my questions are getting pretty silly but I think it will help clear some things up. confused