Parsimonious Scots: Do people still think this?

[Pangur Bán]

Please read this paragraph from UEFA.com:

Vogts of no confidence
UEFA.COM: Friday, 06 June 2003

He may have led Germany to glory at EURO 96™, but Scotland manager Berti Vogts is hardly treated with honour and respect in the German press. Ahead of Rudi Völler's side's UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier against Scotland in Glasgow, German tabloid Bild has turned up the heat on the former national coach with a campaign to "to blow away McBerti and his bagpipes". With the man who scored Germany's winner at EURO 96™, Oliver Bierhoff, cheerfully behind them, the newspaper has been encouraging readers to send in their favourite Scottish jokes, with the 50 funniest ones winning a trip to Glasgow for the game. Celebrating the Scottish reputation for being careful with their money, Horst Sexaner from Stuttgart wrote: "How do you make Scottish tomato soup? Serve hot water in a red bowl." On a similar theme, Gerhard Gils from Frankfurt recounted the story of the Scottish boy who told his father: "I saved a pound by running behind the tram today". His dad replies: "You idiot, if you'd run behind a taxi you would have saved £20."

There seems to be a universal impression that the Scots are tight-fisted, stingy, miserly and parsimonious.

Ok, those were some German jokes about the Scots. However, I've heard those jokes from Americans, Englishmen, French folk, Russians, Greeks, Australians, Italians, and even Turks (a carpet salesman in Istanbul had a lot of fun recounting stingy-Scot jokes).

Disney's Scrooge was deliberately given a Scottish accent The Simpsons jokes about it too; (e.g. Willy cleans himself with Ajax ;
Burns’s son says of an empty cinema: “It is emptier than a Scottish pay-toilet”)

But is that impression really so common among ordinary people? And if so, why?


BTW, I'm not offended by the jokes; some of them are actually funny.

 

[stormbind]

I have never heard any of these before. It's good you can take them in good humour!

However, I'm extremely offended that the Germans think they can insult Scotland! That's the job of the English and we take it very seriously

 

[Hitro]

That's the most common stereotype for Scots I know. The broadcast of the football match today of course also involved several more or less funny remarks about it.

Hey, but see it this way, it's pretty much the only thing that at least for a few times prevents you from being regarded as "English".

 

[Pangur Bán]

Originally posted by Hitro

Hey, but see it this way, it's pretty much the only thing that at least for a few times prevents you from being regarded as "English".

Shouldn't education be doing that?

 

[Hitro]

Yeah, and education (by our respected elders) tells us that we had a pretty nasty war basically against the Russians, the Americans, the French and the English.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Originally posted by Hitro
Yeah, and education (by our respected elders) tells us that we had a pretty nasty war basically against the Russians, the Americans, the French and the English.

Tell your elders not to forget the Poles, the Serbs and all the others.

 

[Hitro]

Too late, they already did. And they wouldn't listen, after all "they were there".

Btw, did you watch the football match today? Those strange three guys who sang the Scottish anthem pretty much confirmed the other clichés about Scots.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Originally posted by Hitro

Btw, did you watch the football match today? Those strange three guys who sang the Scottish anthem pretty much confirmed the other clichés about Scots.

I had to listen on the radio. I couldn't really hear it because of the fans, but it seemed out of tune with the singing. Anyway, I am going to watch the highlights now. I will repond afterwards

 

[sysyphus]

If you don't like those stereotypes then make sure you never watch any episodes of Monty Python's FLying Circus. Half the show is based on mocking the Scots, notably the famous Scottish poet and his legendary poem "Lend us a Quid"

Every nation has its stereotypes, I'm not too bothered when American television portrays Canadians as slow-witted pseudo-Inuits who dress in mukluks and say "eh" alot.

Well... mostly because that's what we're really like.

Nonetheless, stereotypes aside, I'm sure most people view Scotland as civilised as anywhere else.

 

[Pillager]

No, I don't think it's true, and I've never been given a reason to think otherwise. Sure, we joke about it, as we joke about the Welsh and, erm, certain animals, or Liverpudlians and crime, but it's never struck me as a stereotype with any truth behind it.

 

[Greadius]

Look at the bright side: you have better stereotypes than the Irish (amongst those who know the difference ). It is a testament to the strength of Scottish culture that you're seen as such a universal symbol of humor! When is the last time you heard any jokes about the Welsh (outside of the UK)?

 

[Pangur Bán]

@ Greadius: I suppose you may have something

@ Hitro: Didn't get to see the anthem, but everyone seems to have liked it. What was wrong with it BTW? What clichés were confirmed by it?

 

[Hitro]

Originally posted by calgacus
@ Hitro: Didn't get to see the anthem, but everyone seems to have liked it. What was wrong with? What clichés were confirmed by it?

Not by the anthem, but by the guys singing. Three guys wearing kilts who looked like they could have been recruited in the next pub around the corner.
Which fulfils the Scottish clichés of wearing Kilts all the time as well as drinking.

Probably those guys were some kind of famous singers, which would only prove my ignorance of fame.

 

[Pillager]

Originally posted by Hitro

Not by the anthem, but by the guys singing. Three guys wearing kilts who looked like they could have been recruited in the next pub around the corner.
Which fulfils the Scottish clichés of wearing Kilts all the time as well as drinking.

Now there are a couple of stereotypes of the Scots that I have seen proof of. Well, the drinking one at least.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Originally posted by Hitro

Not by the anthem, but by the guys singing. Three guys wearing kilts who looked like they could have been recruited in the next pub around the corner.
Which fulfils the Scottish clichés of wearing Kilts all the time as well as drinking.

Probably those guys were some kind of famous singers, which would only prove my ignorance of fame.

OK. I think that the Tartan Army has probably been the main point of contact between Scots and Germany in recent times. Before that, it was probably mercenaries. So that cliché is not too surprising

I think they might have been professional tenors. That's what the commentators were calling them anyway.

 

[MrPresident]

Wait, let me get this straight. Germans were telling jokes?

 

[Hitro]

They sent them in.

 

[MrPresident]

Germans making fun of Scottish stereotypes, the irony is delicious.

 

[Hitro]

Well what did you expect from a guy called Horst Sexauer?

 

[MrPresident]

I don't think the forum rules allow me to answer that question.