Scottish Stereotype

[Rainbow]

There's something I've been wondering about this stereotype that's rather strange. How come the Scottish stereotype characters are often old guys? I mean, I know there's younger ones (like Groundskeeper Willie on The Simpsons, he at least seems younger than Skinner) but it's rather odd to me. I've almost never seen Scottish kid characters in American cartoons. Is it because in American stereotypes, old people are thrifty and wear plaid blankets across their legs?

Here's a good example of what I'm talking about:
He appears with a kilt, Donalds shirt, a bonnet, glasses, sideburns, and a
> cane (he also has a thick scottish accent). He is a character (that
> appears out of a cloud of all things)

While I can't shed much light on this issue, I'd like to point out that
this is not actually a character, but a depiction of Donald's "thrifty
personality", which is why he appears out of a cloud--Donald is merely
thinking about what these characters say.

An interesting thing to note, though, is that although this Scottish
character is supposed to be the thrifty side of Donald, he does not look
like Donald, the way his spendthrift side does. Instead, he is old and
wears glasses. One can't help but wonder why.

(this is quoted from a mailing-list thing I found on the Internet,
here's the link to the whole thing it's from )

I found it while searching for "Scottish stereotype" on Google.

MK Mod Edit: Made long-ass URL to a clickable link to fix horizontol scrolling.

[StarlightJupiter]

Well, for me personally, when I think of scottish I picture Sean Connery ( I LOVE him! <3) I just can't help it. He is probably one of the most well known scottish people in the world and he's old now. Maybe that's why?

[Rainbow]

I have a question for anyone who has read the ORIGINAL version of "Wind in the Willows" and not just seen the Disney version. Is Angus McBadger elderly in that version too or is it just the Disney movie? Because that's where I first saw the Scottish stereotype (actually, he was the first Scottish character I ever saw, and that cartoon got me interested in accents and stereotypes, so far as I remember).

[Tarkan Atilla22]

I canna answer your question, Rainbow, but I have NEVER pictured Scottis to be old.

I've always pictured them as young (like 20's-30's) men in plaid kilts, wearing barette-like hats, mebbe carrying a bagpipe or a rifle if he's a military man.

Trivial fact: In Roman times, "Scotland" actually meant "land of the Irish", and a "Scot" was an Irishman. They called Ireland "Hibernia" for who knows what reason. *shrugs*

[MysticalChicken]

When I think of the word "Scottish" I think of Shirley Manson.