Laughter?

[Bludongle]

Out of all the replies no one seems to have mentioned that you have probably spent more on one single item of your wardrobe than her outfit all total.

And that it is distinctively your outfit.

All I can envision is a room full of reindeer sweaters and blinking L.E.D. buttons in plastic holly/mistletoe corsages.

Some people wouldn't know class if it blew up their skirt.


Blu

[Blu (Ontario)]

Well, this could get confusing. :-?

blu

[michael steinrok]

Personally, I look ornery enough nobody would dare laugh at me. Seriously, wearing a kilt is odd enough to some people but they usually like the look once they actually see you in it. The secret is to behave as though it's the most normal thing in the world and wear it with pride.

I doublely agree. However I'm 6'5" Rarely do I ever hear so much as a chuckle.
Eyes staight ahead with a slight grin usually carries the day. Besides it's Hemet thats more of the cultural sphincter, consider the source. Perhaps if you're clan you'll remember it's not just you but all of us!

[NewKilt]

Originally posted by mudd
So here’s the point of this post. How do you guys deal with being laughed at in your Kilt? I must say, I don’t like to be laughed at. Being laughed WITH, or in good humor is one thing, but someone snickering under their breath really irritates me.

Well, I haven't experienced laughter in my face. I think I've heard some snickering (usually teenagers). My suggestion is to ignore it. If's it's from family members that you see every so often, it will eventually go away when they realize that it has no affect on you. In the case of your MIL, as someone else said, she may not laugh at all once she actually see's how you look. If she does laugh, it's her problem, not yours. If you repeat not wearing the kilt in her presence, then she is dictating what you wear. I think its better for you to control the situation rather than letting the situation control you.

All of us that wear the kilt realize that on occasion, we may be the subject of laughter due to ignorance. When it happens, remember that the laughter is a defense mechanism, you have just pulled someone out of their comfort zone of what they perceive as the "norm."

Darrell

[Bludongle]

Well, this could get confusing. :-?

blu

Heh heh heh heh!

Didn't know about this.

would it help if I called myself "Dongle"?

[JayFilomena]

Anyway, when she got off the phone, she suggested that maybe I shouldn’t bring the Kilt on the trip. I asked her what was said and she says, “Well, she said she didn’t want us to dress up or anything, but I’m pretty sure that she was trying hard to keep from laughing out loud.”
The picture of my mother-in-law laughing under her breath all day was enough to change my wardrobe plans.

There were so many good replies to this topic. I must say, like everyone else, I mostly get snickers from teenage girls, and I am only...a little above average size, 6' 210lbs, so there are still some guys in the world that think getting with in arms reach of a man in a kilt is a bright idea. I have fought in Jordan, in Scotland, at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in London.... I don't usually have to lay hands on unless the git gets to close or makes a gesture, but sometimes it is necessary. Ok, maybe not necessary, but I do anyway. Last year, I was lauged at by a former special forces sgt major at a going away party (for a friend who asked me to wear the kilt), but in a room full of 30 mercenaries in Baghdad, it's not like I didn't know it was going to happen. After a few minutes of the typical jokes, the room focused on other ideas, topics and situations. If you want to fight, you can try smart remarks, like if they ask you what is under there, tell them "your mothers lipstick", or play the homophobe line and ask questions about their orientation. If they giggle, just come out and ask if they are fantasizing about sex with a real man right in front of their husband or boyfriend. (that usually gets me scraping) If you dont want to throw down with your father in law, and If you can go with out popping somone in the eye, your a better man then me, but if you can suck up the jokes for 10 minutes ...the insecure mommas boys move on to something else.

[millar]

For some reason I keep hearing Led Zepplin in my head when looking at this topic. As far as my mother-in-law laughing, she did the first time she saw me in a kilt but soon got over it when she saw my kids had no problem with it and my wife was completely ok with it. She even apolgized for laughing. Now when I wear it she doesn't even bat an eyelash.

My ex-wife also laughed but when my son told her it was cool, she got on the bandwagon as well.
Wearing the kilt is something that is important to me, and I refuse to give people the power to take that away from me.

[AckZel]

One time when I was at the mall couple of months ago there were teenage guys and couple of girls sitting at the stairs when I walked by. The guys started laughing for my kilt. I turned to them and said "As far as I can see, ALL girls here are wearing pants.". Works even better in Finnish by the way

They went numb of course...

[Mike n NC]

First a quick explination of my personal view...Ignorance is doing something and not knowing better; stupidity is knowing better and doing it anyway. That said, my reaction to your MiL, or anyone else for that matter... I attempt to enlighten the ignorant and I ignore the stupid, generally they get the hint and go away. If they don't, I help them go away.

Mike

[Blu (Ontario)]

...Ignorance is doing something and not knowing better; stupidity is knowing better and doing it anyway...

In my experience, the two seem to go together more often than not!