Wearing a Kilt in New Mexico

[biblemonkey]

Hear, Hear, Azwildcat96!

Yeesh! A conservative or liberal kilt wearer? I've taken enough heat already. Who gives a rat's ***?

It's about the kilt and pride in wearing it.

-Don

Exactly! For goodness sake people! Can't we just leave the harassment over political views (implied and otherwise) on the porch when we come in here? What is wrong with people these days that politics becomes the reason to beat a topic (and an ally) into the ground until you force someone away from an otherwise great forum? He wore the kilt, took the heat, and won someone over through kind patience! That is to be applauded! Politics have no place in this particular post and his comment was obviously meant to be taken with a grain of salt and not as an insult. All I can say is go find a better venue to argue over semantics and party politics and leave those who are here for the right reasons alone. This is a community and reasonableness should govern whatever we say and do here.

Hugh

[azwildcat96]

Well, that's another one successfully driven off! We taught him a lesson, didn't we. He won't be back! And if he does come back, well, we'll just have to teach him again, won't we.


There are times, I am so proud to be a member of X Marks.


Unfortunately, this is not one of them.

***

[Woodsheal]

Exactly! For goodness sake people! Can't we just leave the harassment over political views (implied and otherwise) on the porch when we come in here? What is wrong with people these days that politics becomes the reason to beat a topic (and an ally) into the ground until you force someone away from an otherwise great forum? He wore the kilt, took the heat, and won someone over through kind patience! That is to be applauded! Politics have no place in this particular post and his comment was obviously meant to be taken with a grain of salt and not as an insult. All I can say is go find a better venue to argue over semantics and party politics and leave those who are here for the right reasons alone. This is a community and reasonableness should govern whatever we say and do here.

Hugh

Agreed. The problem here is that - inadvertently or not - politics were inserted into the very first post. Folks who took offense are now the "bad guys" to those who didn't (because the latter share the same sentiments, perhaps?).

It's easy to be "holier than thou" until one's own ox is gored....

[azwildcat96]

It's easy to be "holier than thou" until one's own ox is gored....

Mmmmm...Gored ox...Now I'm getting hungry for a hamburger! Oops...I hope I didn't offend any of the vegetarian kilt wearers here.

Seriously though, can we move on?

[Zardoz]

The sad thing about this thread to me is that even though potentially polarizing politics were in the very first post, and many thereafter, in 5 pages of posts there was no moderator input trying pull it back inline.

[Tobus]

Well, that's another one successfully driven off! We taught him a lesson, didn't we. He won't be back! And if he does come back, well, we'll just have to teach him again, won't we.

I, for one, did not intend any of my comments to "drive off" anyone. I was just trying to point out that we, as kilt wearers, suffer from stereotyping, so we should endeavour to avoid stereotyping of others. Given that fighting stereotypes was the whole point of the thread to begin with, I thought it was a valid point to make.

The OP wasn't maltreated, and I thought all the replies were very civil and on-topic.

*edited to add:

To yojackus, if you felt unwelcome by my replies, I apologize. For certainly that was not my intent.

[biblemonkey]

Agreed. The problem here is that - inadvertently or not - politics were inserted into the very first post. Folks who took offense are now the "bad guys" to those who didn't (because the latter share the same sentiments, perhaps?).

It's easy to be "holier than thou" until one's own ox is gored....

And the fact that guy apologized and rephrased his comments in numerous later replys but those have been widely ignored by the most vitriolic of the lot. What I have a problem with are people just hammering away at the guy with no attention paid to anything he said later. They had a knee-jerk reaction and stuck to it like bulldogs no matter what the guy said. The unreasonabless of those (wherever and whoever they are and not just here) who use politics as a way to crush another instead of just talking it out calmly and allow others to have different view points are the ones I consider the "bad guys" in this situation. But they have their opinions and I have mine, and if politics are more important to them than kindness and kilting then they can go for it. I for one will choose to ignore such attitudes and be on my way.

And I see that apologies were eventually made by some of those guilty of abuse in this case. Good for them! I for one like to see that we can just be civil and move on even though it took a while this time.

Hugh

[Spectre]

I always say most small town folks are generally more accepting of whatever 'differences' folks may have than a lot of "city folks" are.

Or they are at least polite enough to keep their mouth shut!

Just the way I like it.

[Woodsheal]

I expect - and welcome it - to be hammered for any bone-headed statements I may make here (and elsewhere!).

Yojackus, none of this debate was meant to drive you off! Civil debate isn't a bad thing, after all, but apologies if you feel discouraged. I look forward to your future postings...!

[Nighthawk]

With all respect, just because your personal experience bears out a stereotype doesn't mean the stereotype is universally valid.

After all, if "stereotypes do exist for a reason", then aren't you by default validating the stereotype that men who wear kilts are "fruits" or that there is a kernel of truth behind the stereotype? That is, of course, absurd, and it exemplifies the absurdity of stereotypes.

People are individuals. They're all different. They all think differently, act differently, and have different basis in character, even though they may hold similar political views or religious views. Stereotyping individuals serves no positive purpose outside of primitive tribal societies where survival is dependent upon it.

Just for clarification since I was misunderstood...

I never said it was a good thing. I never said I liked it. I said it exists for a reason, weather that reason is right or wrong. Stereotypes exist as a direct result of the personal experiences of lots of people. One person having these experiences would not make a stereotype. However, the fact that two people who are hundreds of miles apart having similar experiences starts to make a stereotype. I never said stereotypes are universally valid, either. Only a complete moron would think that! Of course we're all individuals and have our own thoughts and feelings.

As to the kilted men are fruits stereotype... I have never actually heard that. People may mistake me for being a crossdresser because they don't know what a kilt is. The stereotype that I was talking about is that a man in a skirt is gay=fruit=weak and deserves to be bullied. And yes, that is of course an absurd stereotype.