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Archiver > CAMPBELL > 1997-05 > 0864589799


From: "Edd" <>
Subject: Campbell bashing
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 12:49:59 -0700


Yesterday I attended the Highland Games Festival in Orange County,
California, where I ran headlong into a fair amount of Campbell bashing, to
wit:

1. From the MacPherson tent:
"You're a Campbell? Ah, the Campbells -- a bunch of lowlanders."

2. From the Clan Chattan tent:
"Well, all you have to do is visit the actual site of Culloden and
they'll show you where all the Scotsmen...all the Highlanders lined
up, and then where all the Campbells lined up with the English.
They always supported the English."

3. From a sales tag attached to a tartan product from Ingles Buchan,
a textile manufacturer in Glasgow:
"...The Argylls were leading figures in the Scottish Reformation but,
for their part in the infamous Massacre of Glencoe, the Campbells
were generally detested in the Highlands. The name, in Gaelic,
means "Wry Mouth." It may refer either to a physical trait or to
an untrustworthy character."

4. From the Can Donald tent:
"...Glencoe...[a bunch of snipped stuff]...Glencoe...[a bunch of
snipped stuff]...Glencoe...[a bunch of snipped stuff]..."

5. From too many others in general, those who take the past too seriously:
See 1, 2 and 3 above.

The Campbell presence, at least at this annual festival, should be more
than it is. The people manning the Campbell tent were very friendly and
courteous, and should be commended for their volunteer efforts on our
behalf. But in addition to friendly faces, a Campbell presence should
provide *more* than adequate information. Our presence should provide the
*true* facts of Campbell/Scottish history. We should include notable
achievements and contributions of Campbells/descendants and Clan/Clan
Society efforts to the betterment of not just Scotland but other places as
well. And, yes, I am volunteering to help between now and next year's
festival. So you may feel free to pass on my email address to whom it may
concern.

Can someone please re-post the brief facts of the Glencoe and Culloden
events? I know some info is available on the Campbell website, and that
it's been discussed adinfinitum, but it always will be, so we may as well
get used to it and get armed with the facts in "sound-bite" form.

For Glencoe, the questions are:
1. Was the attack manned only with Campbells?
2. Where in the chain of command did Campbells fit in?
3. How was the attack carried out -- by total deceit?
4. What are the facts of earlier, historical attacks by MacDonalds on
Campbells?

For Culloden:
1. How many Campbells on BPC's side?
2. How many Campbells on the crown's side?
3. How many Scots fought for BPC?
4. How many Scots fought for the crown?
5. How many Highlanders fought for BPC?
6. How many Highlanders fought for the crown?

For the sake of academic curiosity, how much of the united crown was Scots
a the time of Culloden. In other words, today we know the Queen Mother to
be 100% Scots -- correct? In those terms, how Scottish was the crown in
'45?

As someone who has written for politicians, advertising copy and
screenplays, believe me when I say we really need to have "sound bite"
answers -- one to five lines -- to the Glencoe and Culloden issues. The
answers don't need to be comprehensive, nor could they possibly be, but
they do need to be "speakable" -- "conversational" -- which means short,
concise, simple and to the point; few people want to stand there listening
to us go on and on with a lengthy text-bookish diatribe. We may feel
delighted by thinking that we really impressed someone with the extent of
what we could spew forth, but after the first 15 seconds they stopped
listening and never heard our impressive knowledge. The only thing they
found "impressing" was to get out of there -- QUICK!

Okay, there's my 2 cents worth. Hahahahaha.....

While at the festival I was also measured for a kilt which brought up
several important questions re weight of fabric, color, weaver, pleats,
buckles, and quality of kilt construction. I'll get into those specific
questions and what I learned in another post.

Thanks for your ear -- uh, in this case I think that should be "eyes."

Later,
Ed

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