The Auld Enemy in the New Scotland
The Auld Enemy in the New Scotland
This chapter reports considerable experience of harassment in Scotland. But those involved rate the conflict between themselves and Scots as far less serious than the sectarian conflict between Protestant and Catholic Scots has been rated. Devolution and nationalism challenge the identities of the English in a unique way. Their own criteria of English identity for national identity prevent them from identifying with Scotland. They are indeed willing ‘to adopt the culture’ but (psychologically) unable to ‘join the nation’. The real reason why Scottish perceptions of English disloyalty do not indicate an immediate crisis is the absence of a sufficiently acute conflict. There is a self-conscious perception amongst English immigrants that while they might have some conflict with majority Scots, other conflicts have been worse. English immigrants cope with the problem of identity by describing themselves as ‘British’ rather than ‘English’.
Keywords: Scotland, English identity, English disloyalty, acute conflict, English immigrants, Scottish perceptions
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