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Dammit, Jim, Scotty is Scottish, not an Irishman!
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Map: Robert Morden. Ireland, west; Scotland, northeast.
Right after the much-anticipated release of the new movie Star Trek, I was delighted. Overall, the movie was phenomenal. However, there was a comment from an audience member after the film which made me close my eyes and clench my fists.
"That guy didn't do a very good Irish accent as Scotty."
I let the anger pass. I took a deep breath. I didn't hit anyone. Still, how is it that someone could think Scotty is Irish? For goodness sakes, his name is Scotty, not Mr. Irish.
This confusion, however, is not limited to moviegoers (and I won't call that commentator a fan, because any real Trekker knows that Scotty is from Scotland, and Chief O'Brien of Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Colm Meaney, is Irish).
While Scotland and Ireland have both had wars and conflicts for their independence from the British, they are in fact two different and distinct cultures and have even disagreed over ownership of islands.
Confusing the two might be an innocent mistake, but most people from Scotland are Protestant, and most people from the Republic of Ireland are Catholic. The (English) planting of Scottish lords in Ireland has feuled a centuries-long conflict. Therefore, confusing Scotland and Ireland might lead one or the other to be offended depending on his or her political views.
Furthermore, there is an ethnic group known as the Scot-Irish. This refers to the descendants of the aforementioned Scottish people given authority in what is now Northern Ireland. Many Americans can identify themselves as being of Scot-Irish ancestry. More confusing still is America's melting pot status--some of us are Scottish, Irish, Scot-Irish, or all of the above. As tensions cool in Northern Ireland and Americans remain removed from the situation to varying degrees, it only makes sense that such a mixed ancestry would be of little consequence in America.
Ireland and Scotland have different languages, dances, myths, and cultures. The uillean pipes, for example, are an Irish instrument, while in Scotland, the larger, more familiar bagpipes are played.
If you don't know about these cultures or their similarities or differences, you should--and education is the key to battling ignorance or indifference.
Now that we've cleared up any confusion, I hope no one refers to Star Trek as Star Wars...
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