Update: Culture Clash as American School Bans Kilt

Nathan Warmack and date

On December 7, I posted an article in the "Other News" section of this newsletter's web site about 18-year-old Nathan Warmack. He is proud of his Scottish heritage so he wore a kilt to his high school's dance. He probably looked rather masculine. After all, he is 6 feet four inches and is a star defensive lineman on his school's football team. Nonetheless, the school principal told him to go home and change into a pair of trousers. The principal proclaimed, "Well, this is my dance, and I'm not going to have students coming into it looking like clowns."

That command has now sparked a debate about freedom, symbols and cultural dress in the United States. Lots of people of Scottish ancestry are protesting.

One quote I noticed is from Tom Wilson, a Texas commissioner for the Clan Gunn Society of North American, a Scottish heritage organization: "To say the traditional Scottish dress makes you look like a clown is a direct insult to people of Scottish heritage and those who live in Scotland."

You can read more in the Kansas City Star's web site at http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/13446523.htm.

I notice there is no mention of an apology or of a rescinding of the order by Principal Rick McClard.