delmontebanana Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 But after I saw how everyone got together to support one of their own, Sakchai, and persevere for a good cause I think I'll be visiting the Shetlands soon cos it sounds like such a warm and nice place Well done to everyone and keep up the fight for Sakchai! Ps. Me and all my friends and family have signed the epetition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriesooky Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 dinna be fooled. Shetland can indeed rally roond noo and again, but dinna assume dat dat maks it a friendly place. Jist as dey can "rally roond wan o their own", they can equally all turn on those dey dinna like. lik most places, dere's da good and da bad. But shetland is not a warm and nice place, unfortunately Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breeksy Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Hi delmontebanana, and thanks for the positive feedback What Shetland lacks for in heat from the sun, it makes up for with the people. It's a small place, and with such clearly defined borders, every individual is more important to the whole. Let us know if/when you are planning to come(I know it won't be straight away) and we can maybe help tell you the best places to go, what to see, what events are on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skellister Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 My family, not including my mother, were never really welcomed in Shetland and I would have to imagine that had I been in the same situation as Sachai, there would have been no "save skellister" rally . Just from reading these forums and various news articles, it seems that Mr. Makao managed to penetrate his way into the local clique and has almost been adopted as a local! Good for him. I don't hold any resentment towards the people of Shetland because I know that is just they way it is and probably always has been. I still think fondly of my time in Shetland and I know that I will return one day to show my family where I grew up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breeksy Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Its interesting that you feel your mother was accepted. but not you or the rest of your family. Why do you think that was? I am sure there are areas that are less welcoming and areas that are more so, but (as a born and bred shetlander way back through the generations) I can honestly say that I don't take issue with people because of their accent or their heritage, I take people for what they are. I know there are some that don't - including someone hosting people at the Folk Festival who was not happy at all because they turned out to be native africans - I think it was the skin colour that offended, rather than the country) but I do hope they are the minority, and they are definitely the minority within my 'circle' including friends, family and colleagues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Welcome to Shetlink delmontebanana, Do stay around and add into any threads you want to and or start your own. All I will add to the "undercurrent" ... is that Shetland, like everywhere else in the world, is just a place with people in it! Some people get on, some people don't! It's just like when you start a new job in a new company. You will get on with some people and others you won't. Some residents of the islands don't get on with other residents, some tourists don't get on with residents or other tourists, some people that decide to reside here don't get on with current residents and or tourists etc.... ad infinitum .... This exact situation will happen wherever you may decide to step. Life and everything you do is what you make of it. I do hope you decide to come to the Islands and make up your own decision! Kind regards, Trout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skellister Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 My mum and her parents were native shetlanders, but my dad and siblings were always referred to as "yanks". I would say that my sister and I were welcomed more so than my father was since we grew up with the other kids. My parents both tried to be involved in the local youth club and various other activities in Nesting, but it just seemed that my father was always on the outside looking in (especially in nesting). He was involved with sports in lerwick and seemed to be more accepted there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriesooky Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 I wis born in shetland, my mother and father were born in shetland, my grandparents were born in shetland, and so on, yet, because i spent a few years away sooth when i wis a kid, i have never been truly accepted back intae da shetland community, neither have my 2 sisters. my dad has a fair bit, but my mother hasnae really either Shetland can be a place where it's whit u can offer dat's important, rather as who u are. Tho, on da flip o dat, despite kening plenty o folk sooth, my best mates are up here, and i widna be wioot dem I dinna begrudge da liks o sakchai being accepted by da influential bunch dat are at da heart o most things dat happen up here, but it does grate on me when i hear stuff lik shetland "looks after their own" when my personal experience is onything but. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skellister Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 I wis born in shetland, my mother and father were born in shetland, my grandparents were born in shetland, and so on, yet, because i spent a few years away sooth when i wis a kid, i have never been truly accepted back intae da shetland community, neither have my 2 sisters. my dad has a fair bit, but my mother hasnae really either Shetland can be a place where it's whit u can offer dat's important, rather as who u are. Tho, on da flip o dat, despite kening plenty o folk sooth, my best mates are up here, and i widna be wioot dem I dinna begrudge da liks o sakchai being accepted by da influential bunch dat are at da heart o most things dat happen up here, but it does grate on me when i hear stuff lik shetland "looks after their own" when my personal experience is onything but. I have to admit that when I first learned of the Sachai situation, I was quite surprised, but not in a bad way. I was just happy that someone from the outside with seemingly little association (no blood relatives) to shetland was being supported in such a warm way. I thought that things must be quite different than they were when I was there. Now reading about your circumstance I can see that it seems to be situational type thing and it probably depends on your friends more so than your roots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breeksy Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Skellister - I don't think fathers are generally accepted in the youth club type situation - certainly there are no fathers helping at our local youth club, and it took some time to get used to the father that came to playgroup, as it had been a woman only place before that. When I went south it took me a while to feel 'accepted' and the reason I did was when I found the friends that were true friends. That always takes time, no matter where you are. A Shetland friend that now lives in England is having the same problems there - not because she is from Shetland, but she just hasn't met anyone she really 'clicks' with as a friend yet. And yes, there is good and bad, there are personality clashes, there are personal issues that cloud judgements everywhere, Shetland included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skellister Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Skellister - I don't think fathers are generally accepted in the youth club type situation - certainly there are no fathers helping at our local youth club, and it took some time to get used to the father that came to playgroup, as it had been a woman only place before that. When I went south it took me a while to feel 'accepted' and the reason I did was when I found the friends that were true friends. That always takes time, no matter where you are. A Shetland friend that now lives in England is having the same problems there - not because she is from Shetland, but she just hasn't met anyone she really 'clicks' with as a friend yet. And yes, there is good and bad, there are personality clashes, there are personal issues that cloud judgements everywhere, Shetland included. I agree that people often have a hard time when they relocate to new areas and that is something that I have done quite a lot in my lifetime. The place that we, as a family, had the hardest time being accepted was shetland. I don't know if this bothers you, but that is my experience with shetland. Like I said before, I hold no resentment because I have several generations of family from there going back to great, great grandaparents. I was just sharing my alternate perspective in response to the original poster (who's opinion is based on "save sachai"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breeksy Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Yes, it does bother me that people are not accepted based on the person that they are, and are instead sidelined because of where they come from. It bothers me a lot. I have a real dislike of bigotry of any description. If you dislike someone because of a personailty clash or a different attitude to life, thats one thing - but discounting someone because of where they came from is simply ignorant behaviour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skellister Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Yes, it does bother me that people are not accepted based on the person that they are, and are instead sidelined because of where they come from. It bothers me a lot. I have a real dislike of bigotry of any description. If you dislike someone because of a personailty clash or a different attitude to life, thats one thing - but discounting someone because of where they came from is simply ignorant behaviour. I am just happy for Sachai that he has been able to experience the support that he has because it would be sad for him to have to go back to Thailand to a place where he really doesn't know. I moved to Shetland around the same age as Sachai and went through primary and secondary school there and even though it wasn't the most ideal experience growing up, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I was able to experience so many things that I wouldn't have been able to had I grown up in the states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartanlass Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 U get that anywhere to be honest! Just in somewhere like Shetland wi its small communities its more noticeable. Its made worse if u aint "normal" I dont feel like im wanted where i live as aint a Shetlander n dont have any family that are Shetlanders apart from my 2 kids who were born here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 But after I saw how everyone got together to support one of their own, Sakchai, and persevere for a good cause I think I'll be visiting the Shetlands soon cos it sounds like such a warm and nice place Well done to everyone and keep up the fight for Sakchai! Ps. Me and all my friends and family have signed the epetition. Welcome, Delmontebanana.Sadly this forum is cursed, like all other forums, with idiots who spit venom and try to create hatered amongst the members.These idiots are not representative of Shetland. They are just trolls who are against everybody, especially Shetlanders.The warmth and support shown for Sakchai is the normal feeling for Shetlanders towards 99.9% of the human race...The remaining 0.01% are the trolls who are not members of the human race. Thanks to you and your friends for signing the petition. And believe me you will be more than welcome when you come to Shetland. If you want any advice about travel to Shetland, feel free ask on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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