Promised a reply to this one.
A brief analysis of Gerry McCann, Scotsman. (or to be specific, Weegie).
I would say first of all that some Glaswegian accents (there are slight differences area to area), and some Scottish accents as a whole, can sound harsh, and also contain elements that are clipped. There is the long vowel in Glasgow and parts of the west coast, and also the glottal stop (the last consonant left off a word) where the consonant is replaced by a sort of thudding sound. (Confused yet, Anne?)
When Gerry McCann says " I' wiz liyeek dinin in yer gAAAAArdin ", for example, or anything at all for that matter that he says, the harshness created by the long rasping vowels, and the clipped aspects, can make him sound as though he himself is harsh or cold.
It is not necessarily the case that Gerry McCann is an any way harsh or cold - I have no idea what he is like in person - but some people could assume that the character matches the accent.
(Again, the accents differ. There are soft West Coast accents. And there are harsh East Coast ones. It depends on the person. But GM has a strong accent and is a good example of the clipped.)
Secondly, Scotsmen are not renowned for being very 'emotionally evolved' (to put it like a Scotswoman). Possibly a stereotype, but certainly one that a lot of Scotsmen live up to.
When GM talks about " the situation Madeleine finds herself in ", this could certainly be an example of emotional distance. He is creating a distance between himself and the problem - as with " for the family - and also Madeleine " , and other such statements.
The same applies for " we regret not being with Madeleine when she was taken ", possibly the bizarrest of a stream of bizarre comments from GM over the years, and obviously completely nonsensical from a logical point of view. But very logical for someone who finds it difficult, emotionally, to face the fact that if he had been there, she wouldn't have been taken. Emotional Distance.
Another point is that Scottish men are also very proudly 'men' (mostly) and can be a bit chauvanistic. (Not the only culprits). Maybe to counterbalance challenges about the skirt-wearing?
Anyway, seeing GM and KM together looks very much like this stereotype. The interviewer asks the question, and Kate's head turns to Gerry. He answers, whilst she looks at him, head facing upwards, doe- eyed. (He's not particularly tall but she always manoevers herself to look at him upwards). She never challenges him, or even adds anything substantive to what he has to say. She only speaks as an afterthought to his words, to underline them.
Whether he is so domineering in private and she very submissive, who knows. But publicly he is the typical Scottish 'man'.
Finally, there is the stereotype of the 'dour' (etymology related to 'sour' and 'hard') Scotsman. The 'Dour' demeanour is a composite of slightly harsh and negative speech, cold facial expression, hostile body language, a cynical, withering, or depressed attitude, and a lack of concern as to who might be on the receiving end of all those things.
As in: " F off, I'm not here to enjoy myself".
It just doesn't get more Presbyterian than that. Gerry's Piece de resistance. (GM is a Catholic, but Presbyterian cultural influences are strong nonetheless. This world is not for us to enjoy ourselves, but is a chapter in the eternal punishment for our multifarious, unatonable sins. Etc.)
All these things, in the above examples, are negatives, or perceived as negatives, and may have contributed to aspects of GM's perception and portrayal in the Media. I would like to ask Anne and others about this as I can imagine that to Latin audiences, GM must have come across negatively and coldly at times. Just my thoughts.
OK, Think that's enough for starters. I am sorry about all the stereotypes and if anyone is offended. Being Scottish myself I feel I have a certain licence.
It is in no way intended as a character assassination of GM; again, to assume he was cold and hard or bad in any way because of accent, behaviours and demeanours that are cultural norms where is from, etc., is obviously wrong. But the camera is a very crude medium.
I await your attack, Pat, Icabod and others!
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