Exclusive: India train bagpiper banned from TikTok speaks out: 'Can we be proud of our past?'

A Scottish bagpiper has received a bounty of backlash after going viral with videos promoting Western culture in foreign countries.

At just 20 years old, Robin Alderslowe decided to travel around the world and spread Scottish music with a desire to keep his culture alive, a culture he says faces constant pressure to water down its customs and history.

'The most core thing about fixing immigration is fixing our own attitudes toward our own self.'

The Scot visited countries like South Korea and Australia, but it was only when he began sharing content from India that he started garnering a following and, with it, a mountain of resistance.

Not only did Alderslowe start receiving social media bans, but he noticed that a lot of discontent he was generating was coming from, surprisingly, his own people.

Receptive audience

In an exclusive interview with Blaze News, the bagpiper said that while people are often "shocked" and unable to make sense of his presence in countries like India, it is not the native population that takes issue with his content.

"Normally, people think the confused faces of Indian people means they're angry, but they're quite pleased to have me there," Alderslowe explained.

Instead, other Scots have labeled him a racist. Alderslowe shared a story from all the way in Australia, where he met a Scottish woman who recognized him from his viral videos. The young woman chastised him and called him an "a**hole" and a "Nazi."

Bagpipers divided

Moreover, bagpipe players in his own country have excommunicated him from where he used to play. The thriving busking community on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland, is rich in history and was born out of ex-military members playing for pay. But since his videos have pulled big numbers, bagpipers have disowned Alderslowe due to tourists constantly "asking about that 'racist' bagpiper."

"I can't play there anymore,' Alderslowe said of his home country.

When asked if he is just trying to find his place in the world and spread his music without a message, Alderslowe confirmed, it is about culture, and it is about immigration.

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See on Instagram

"The most important thing surrounding what it means for an immigrant to come to our country, and whether that's good or bad, is our culture and how they're integrating into our culture," Alderslowe explained.

Scot free

To the young man, what's really important, "and really upsetting," is how Westerners are taught that being proud and happy about their own culture is wrong.

"We're saying things like, 'White people don't have any culture,' and to me, the most core thing about fixing immigration is fixing our own attitudes toward our own self, our heritage, our history, and our culture."

He added, "Us as Europeans ... can we be proud of our past, and how can we say that?"

If you ask him, much of the backlash Alderslowe is receiving is because he is not acting stereotypically "British."

See on Instagram

After years of being told to lessen his Scottish accent and avoid the typical image of a "shortbread tin" Scot, Alderslowe explained that being "loud" is the only way timid Scottish folk are going to be able to keep their proud culture.

"If you ask somebody in Scotland if they're proud of their culture, they'll say, 'Of course I am.' It's about the way that I'm saying it. It's that I'm being aggressive, and I'm being loud, and I'm being proud of it in another country," the bagpiper described. "That's why they're claiming it's 'white supremacist' or 'Nazi' and associating it with extremism because British people aren't like that, we're not [loud] like that."

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Goa for it

Calling the kilt-wearer racist for his content would be pretty far off given his track record. In February, one of Alderslowe's social media posts made the rounds in Indian media after he and a few friends were allowed to skip the line at a popular club in Goa and get in for free.

Locals were outraged that they had to wait outside while foreigners got in immediately in order to attract a broader customer base.

These local sentiments have not been enough to keep Alderslowe out of the crosshairs of social media outlets, though.

Photo from Robin Alderslowe

Kilt-y by association

Much of Alderslowe's communication on social sites has been stymied due to constant suspensions, restrictions, and limitation of functions from the platforms. On Instagram, he has had his ability to post and send private messages restricted for weeks, including when arranging an interview.

"I'm permanently banned from TikTok and cannot appeal," Alderslowe also revealed.

Between "making no revenue" and booking flights to Africa, the young adult said he is looking for ways to spread his cultural message to the public. He expressed a desire to collaborate with others to help showcase their own cultures in their own countries, too.

"If we want to keep our culture the way that it is ... then we have to be proud of [that] culture and say it in a loud way."

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