# Presents that totally failed **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 9, 2023, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871 "2023-11-09T16:08:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/181 "2023-12-05T13:54:17Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > How do you identify someone’s ancestry if they’re wearing a kilt? Strictly speaking, that’s one of the functions of a kilt. The tartan of the fabric identifies the clan. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/182 "2023-12-05T15:19:17Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > How do you identify someone’s ancestry if they’re wearing a kilt? Just a guess, as it was at a costume party and they looked to be of East Indian ancestry, and were trying to be stereotypically “scottish” putting on an accent and such. It’s certainly possible that they had connections to an actual clan, but I doubted it. It was mainly that I felt they were mocking the kilt. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/183 "2023-12-05T15:29:40Z")
That’s what annoys me sometimes about people who get annoyed about “cultural appropriation”. My kids look to be of Asian ancestry and they are - but I’d be pissed at anyone who got offended if my son wore _lederhosen_ as they are also of Austrian descent. I could see getting offended at someone traditional dress as a costume or under certain circumstances \* but that has nothing to do with the ethnicity of the person wearing it. \* I had a co-worker with Scottish ancestry who wore a kilt for a few days every summer. It was his protest over a dress code that did not allow shorts but did allow skirts. I could understand being offended by that. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/184 "2023-12-05T15:35:15Z")
Really good point. As long as something is worn respectfully, it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/185 "2023-12-05T16:14:16Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > As long as something is worn respectfully, it’s all good. We saw a guy (didn’t take pictures) wearing a kilt on Bourbon Street one year. He had overconsumed and was initially sitting on the curb, then he passed out backwards. Some people were taking pictures. “Up-kilt” pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/186 "2023-12-05T16:23:55Z")
Believe it or not, the one gift I had fail on two occasions was … … MONEY. How is that possible, you ask. Money buys or helps buy the gift you want the most. Well, one recipient who received a card from me with a gift VISA card said she was “disappointed” because it would have been nice to have “a more personal touch” via a gift I would have had to go out and shop for. She wasn’t too disappointed to keep it, though. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/187 "2023-12-05T16:45:26Z")
“The first instances of kilt-wearing in Ireland can be traced back to the mid-1800s, although an ancient Irish kilt unearthed in a farmer’s field was dated back to 1590. In Ireland, a person’s kilt is often linked to their county or region, a proud testament to their lineage and heritage.“ ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/188 "2023-12-05T17:25:21Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I had a co-worker with Scottish ancestry who wore a kilt for a few days every summer. It was his protest over a dress code that did not allow shorts but did allow skirts. I could understand being offended by that. You could understand being offended by his wearing a kilt? Or you could understand his being offended by the dress code? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/189 "2023-12-05T17:59:53Z")
I could understand someone else being offended by him wearing it as a protest. Wouldn’t agree, but I would understand ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/190 "2023-12-05T18:15:25Z")
Except he’s actually has Scottish heritage. So he’s saying “you can’t tell me I can’t wear my own cultural clothes”. A Samoan person wearing a lavalava (I had to look up the name and I am glad that I did) would be similar. I wouldn’t wear either. When I was in middle school in the late 70s a teacher made one of the boys take off his baseball cap in class but one of the girls didn’t have to remove hers. When asked why he said that women can wear hats in church but men can’t. The next day all of the Jewish boys wore kippot and he let it go. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/191 "2023-12-05T18:21:56Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > When I was in middle school in the late 70s a teacher made one of the boys take off his baseball cap in class but one of the girls didn’t have to remove hers. When asked why he said that women can wear hats in church but men can’t. The next day all of the Jewish boys wore kippot and he let it go. Although there was no dress code when I went to high school, teachers were divided into those that allowed baseball caps and those that didn’t. One of those that didn’t, a French-language teacher, Monsieur P.-J., wouldn’t hear about the traditional rule of etiquette that men take off their hats inside but women don’t have to. He said: “On est unisexe ici” - we are unisex around here! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/192 "2023-12-06T04:01:05Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Americans wear socks and sandals despite having no German heritage. Okay. This is funny! ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/193 "2023-12-06T05:01:33Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Because it’s cultural appropriation in a fairly pure form. Kimono is a complicated art form – it’s not just the outer robe. If it’s worn like a dress, or worse, a bathrobe, it would be insulting as an American in Japan, so why would it be different here? > > Maybe I’m wrong and Japanese no longer care if foreigners use their ancient traditional dress however they please. If so, my bad. I think that if they are selling kimonos to non-Japanese, they don’t have a problem with westerners. And I used to shop a japanese website that sold vintage kimonos. As long as you don’t use them to insult or misrepresent the Japanese, I can’t see that very many Japanese people would consider it a problem. What I would consider cultural appropriation “in it’s purest form” would be companies and people who take another something from another culture and use it to make money. Especially if the original culture is poor. For instance, dream catchers originated in the Ojibwe nation, but are now often made and sold by people who don’t know anything about it’s significance. One other issue that someone pointed out. There’s a lot of accusations of cultural appropriation made against white people by white people. It starts to sound less like "treat other cultures with respect " and more like “keep our white culture pure” ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/194 "2023-12-06T10:41:12Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > It starts to sound less like "treat other cultures with respect " and more like “keep our white culture pure” First, ick, and second, what would ‘white culture’ be? Green bean casserole with potato chips? ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/195 "2023-12-06T12:00:02Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Strictly speaking, that’s one of the functions of a kilt. The tartan of the fabric identifies the clan. Which is, itself, a late invention (rather than a historic cultural practice), as I understand it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/196 "2023-12-06T13:05:13Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > We saw a guy (didn’t take pictures) wearing a kilt on Bourbon Street one year. He had overconsumed and was initially sitting on the curb, then he passed out backwards. Some people were taking pictures. “Up-kilt” pictures. Plenty of Scottish people get drunk wearing a kilt. At pretty much every Scottish wedding I’ve ever been to, in fact. > [@doreen](#): > > I could understand someone else being offended by him wearing it as a protest. Wouldn’t agree, but I would understand Some people will get offended by anything, but a kilt isn’t part of some religious rite. You said he has Scottish ancestry, so he has as much right to wear one as anyone else, for whatever reasons he likes. Kilts don’t require special reverence. I also don’t side with the idea that you need to be Scottish to wear one. My Swiss BIL wore one to my niece’s wedding (which was in Scotland, to be fair). The Scottish side of the family were pleased he did and organised its hiring for him. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/197 "2023-12-06T13:12:08Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > There’s a lot of accusations of cultural appropriation made against white people by white people. It starts to sound less like "treat other cultures with respect " and more like “keep our white culture pur WHAAAT? I think, rather, it’s white person’s guilt. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/198 "2023-12-06T14:15:53Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > > [@kayaker](#): > > > > I’ve struggled unsuccessfully to come up with something that’s a part of my culture that would offend me seeing someone of another culture use/do. > > People wearing a kilt who are not remotely Scottish irritates me a little bit. Especially if they aren’t wearing anything underneath. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/199 "2023-12-06T15:17:24Z")
“Is anything worn under the kilt?” “No, ma’am, it’s all in pairfect wurrking orrderr” ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871/200 "2023-12-07T01:48:06Z")
Maybe I should have said “white supremacist culture”. Which is a lot more pervasive in the US than most people realize. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presents-that-totally-failed/992871.md?page=11)