I always think ofAmericans of Irish and Italian descent (the Catholics) and possibly Greek as being very prideful in their heritage because it wasn't so long ago that we had the first Catholic President. And I don't believe we've had an Italian-American president ever. And it certainly wasn't too long ago that they were semi-segragated into neighborhoods. Certainly in my mother's time.

My school had a whole lot of kids with Irish ancestry. This created problems for the rest of us on St. Patrick's Day, because if we didn't wear green, it was, "Hey! You're dissing our heritage." If we did wear green, it was "You're not Irish! You have no right to that green shirt." (I usually went with something like a white t-shirt, jeans, and leprochaun barettes.)

I think that most people here are aware of their own cultural heritage, and whatever the cultural heritage of their particular section of the country is. There was a dance studio near where I grew up that offered Irish step dancing. When the state started requiring that all elementary school kids learn Spanish, one town nearby protested because they wanted their kids to learn Polish or Italian. In American History class, we learned about all the waves of immigration, and how they shaped the country. I don't really see anyone rejecting their heritage.

the name is not theirs to brand

Yes and no. They certainly have no right to demand payment if someone uses the last name McDonald as a last name. But if my name was Pepsi & I created a new soft drink and wanted to market it under my own name, I'd be SOL.

Whole rivers get dyed green, for heaven's sakes!

Crazy Americans!

I do feel better, I guess I was feeling undervalued. I'll pass on your regards to Scotland in general.

Actually, Zoe, there is a TON of Celtic pride in the US, some ersatz and some not. All up and down the east coast, especially, from Boston to the Appalachians. America is not lacking in acknowledgement of Celtic cultural heritage, even if some of that acknowledgement would probably scare the modern Irish and Scots.

Agreed. As I understand it, for instance, the IRA gets more funding from Irish-Americans than from Irish-Irish (even if adjusted for per capita or per income or such like), and St Patrick's Day is a much bigger event in NYC or Bostin than in Dublin.

This created problems for the rest of us on St. Patrick's Day, because if we didn't wear green, it was, "Hey! You're dissing our heritage."

I tended to wear orange and blue and point out that my family was from Ulster. (True). This being the Midwest, nobody either (A) got the joke or (B) beat me up.

Burrell Pepsi would be an interesting name. and to be completely off topic, I went to school with a Laotian immigrant who had taken Pepsi as his American name. He is a sculptor now, though and not a soft-drink manufacturer.

But I don't think that's an American ting so much as it's a corporate name thing. I am sure if a Scot named Guinness wanted to open a brewery, he would be sued.

But if my name was Pepsi & I created a new soft drink and wanted to market it under my own name, I'd be SOL.

Fine, but if Pepsi was the cherished name of one of the most powerful families in the world you'd be up for a fight.

And you can't brew a beer in the Czech city of Budwar and call it Budweiser. The Czechs are quite annoyed by that.