Scottish cringe

The Scottish cringe is a Scottish cultural cringe claimed to exist by some politicians and other commentators.

These Scottish cultural commentators claim there that a sense of cultural inferiority is felt by many Scots, particularly in relation to a perceived dominance of English culture, partly due to the importance of London, within the United Kingdom, and consequently a sense of Scottish resentment and underachievement. The cringe is said to manifest as:

• embarrassment at aspects of national heritage such as the Scots language and the kilt (see Tartanry)
• a sycophantic attachment to the way things are done in other English-speaking countries, such as England or the United States
• even though part of the ruling nation within the British Empire, a tendency of many Scots to perceive themselves as victims of English colonialism and cultural imperialism within British institutions, such as the perceived marginalisation of coverage of Scottish affairs by the BBC.

Opposition

Opposition has been voiced to the idea that this sense is widespread, with some commentators even going so far as to suggest that quite the opposite is true. Scottish historian Niall Ferguson, in a piece in the Daily Telegraph, put forward a position that in fact:

He then however goes on to list what he sees as "realities" that call into question this "superiority complex" and proposes that "Scotland should go into liquidation".

References

See also

• North Briton
• Scotlandshire
• Scottish national identity
• Tartanry

External links

• Scotland: cultural profile