2 Comments
User's avatar
Richard Sprague's avatar

Reminds me of David Hackett Fischer who argues persuasively in Albion's Seed that the Scots-Irish (which was originally a pejorative) have a unique identity descended from the borderlands people of England and Scotland. He traces how their social customs remain in place among their descendants, whose ideas about violence, sex, thrift, etc. are noticeably different from the other early immigrants (Quakers, Puritans, Virginians).

Expand full comment
Michael Dolzani's avatar

That's quite interesting, Richard, and goes along well with the resemblance to the Highlanders. Alienated isolation resulting in a kind of paranoid anger that quickly turns violent. Of course, no intention of stereotyping--after all, the Scots-Irish are not the only ones who have gone what we now call the MAGA route. But, yes, there does seem to be a cultural factor. Thanks for being such a faithful reader--your comments often show up in the first hour, and that's a compliment.

Expand full comment