Stan Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 One of my favourite childhood books was "Little Black Sambo", which was pulled off the shelf for the same reason golliwogs were taken out of circulation.I like to call a spade a spade without having to think about the social implications.Having said that, I still try to think twice before opening my mouth; I don't deliberately set out to offend people...it just happens sometimes and I have to apologise. Let's hope no-one takes offence to that too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouth Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 Gollywogs are back - you can get them in the shop opposite-ish the Queens Hotel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooks Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 Noticed them the other day. Good luck to the folk running the shop hope it doesn't turn out like the rather 'real' looking cats sold in another local shop in the past year or two. Immigration would go crazy on that one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lastpubrunner Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 I've found all the topics on this subject to be most interesting ! Especially, what constitutes a Shetlander. However, I feel that one important aspect has been overlooked . . . . . . . Shetland has always been a seafaring nation and this has led to Shetlanders settling all over the World. If two native born Shetlanders had a child in (for example) Japan, would that child be considered to be Japanese ? Shetlanders may say that the child is Japanese, but I'd bet that native Japanese people would say the child was a Shetlander. So which is correct ??? My own Grandparents (both native Shetlanders with family history in Shetland dating hundreds of years) actually met in Liverpool (and my mother was born there); though they did go back to stay permanently on Shetland. I'm sure that Liverpudlians wouldn't consider my mother to be a 'scouser', just because her parents lived there for 18 months. Shetland has always been a place from which people travel. My grandfather travelled all over the world with fishing and whaling fleets as did many other Shetlanders. Conversely, there was an article in a daily newspaper which investigated the places where people were happiest in their retirement. Shetland was third on the list. Apparently, quite a few people from England and Scotland are retiring there; some for just the summer months and others permanently. Is this going to lead to an ageing population in Shetland ? I can't remember if or not I've been called a 'soothmoother', but Shetland is such a wonderful place that I'll keep going back whatever they call me ! I particularly admire the regional dialects in Shetland and I sincerely hope that they don't disappear. I knew a very old lady who died just a few years ago, who was born on Havra - last inhabited in about 1920 ! At times, it was if she was speaking a different language - what a wonderful voice she had. Interestingly, I was given a CD of Icelandic poetry and it sounded very similar in terms of intonation. All part of a similar Norse/Norn heritage I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloke Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 Soothmoother and proud of it. Least i'm no a Sassenach. It's a joke, a joke, only a joke. Sassenach is a word used chiefly by the Scots and to designate an Englishman or a Lowlands Scot. It derives from the Gaelic Sasunnach meaning, originally, "Saxon". The modern Scottish spelling is 'Sasannach'. As employed by Scottish English or Beurla-speakers today it is usually used in jest, as a (friendly) term of abuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 I dunno about this one to be honest. I know it can be derogatory, but it depends on the context. I was born in Shetland, but my folks are from Falkirk and Manchester respectively. They moved up in '74 to manage a hotel in Unst and totally fell in love with the Islands. The auld man loves the folk scene, is into his boats and rates Up Helly Aa over Christmas. My mum likes the people and has said there's no way she'd ever move back south. I still cringe when she tries her hand at Shetland dialect (she sounds like a ridiculous fusion of Vera from Coronation St and Violet Tulloch), but otherwise they seem to fit in. The auld man says they aren't soothmoothers, as they flew in via Sumburgh, so never arrived via the "sooth mooth". I think he's clutching at straws, but can see his point. I've been called a soothmoother before, as my accent isn't exactly broad Shetland, although I can do a convincing Whalsay man (“Ah’ll hey a cuppa choy hun a shaffa kek buoyâ€). It's never offended me, but like I say it depends on the delivery. If someone was to be aggressive about it, I wouldn’t necessarily perceive it as some miss-guided racial slur. I’d be more inclined to assume that the guy was an ass and have found that a simple “Away and ride your cousin†is an equally effective retort. Like any word or phrase that serves to highlight a difference from the perceived norm, “soothmoother†can have negative conations. However, in the grand scheme of things, I’d be more inclined to question the person’s motives for using the term rather than the actual term itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudias Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 I dunno about this one to be honest. I know it can be derogatory, but it depends on the context. I was born in Shetland, but my folks are from Falkirk and Manchester respectively. Greetings to your folks Ally. I hope that the Old Man has added 'Marypark'to his repertoire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 Greetings to your folks Ally. I hope that the Old Man has added 'Marypark'to his repertoire. I couldn't tell you Claudias - last song I heard him and his band play was parody of a Robbie Williams number called "Let wiz entertain dee", which morphed into a shetland reel, after which I fled the Hall in shame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanman Posted July 14, 2006 Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 I'm a Glaswegian but get called a soothmoother sometimes. It's a very general term and has never offended me. However, the worrying part for me is the generalisation puts me in the same bag as all others from mainland Britain. eeeek!! What would your avarage Shetlander (northmoother) call someone from say France or New York who arrived on the Isles via said south mouth? A Soothmoother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breeksy Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Am I average? I'm not sure. I would probably call them 'French and 'American'. For some reason I really only apply the term soothmoother to britlanders... and I'm not even sure why Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Whole time I have just used soothmoother for folk fae the UK. There is no malice in it. If folk think so then tough luck as it wont stop me useing the term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moorit Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 AlyBaly wrote: If calling someone a 'soothmoother' is a crime worthy of being chucked off the committee, .................... I think that anyone who is giving support to this guy surely couldn't have read the full article. I saw on this forum the full content of what the ex committee member wrote on his Bebo site before the MODS edited it out. A lot of people keep referring to it as if it was just by him using the word 'soothmoother' that the committee forced him to resign. If you could read what he actually wrote you would see there was a lot more to it than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 I don't mind being called anything, provided the intentions behind it are good. Contrarywise, should someone intend malice, they would make my own name sound as an insult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlady Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 I don't particularly like the expression "soothmoother" but I really don't know why.. My affectionate expression for my next-door neighbour was that she was an "affiliated Shetlander" She liked it, but I have no doubt someone will find it offensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlyBaly Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 moorit wrote,I saw on this forum the full content of what the ex committee member wrote on his Bebo site before the MODS edited it out. Did you see it on Bebo before it was "cut & pasted"?Was it word for word?In the same context? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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