To Kilt or not to Kilt - That is the question

[Taskr]

Good on ya! It is only clothes after all, so why not wear it on a flight. I've come to learn 'the stance'; one foot a bit forward of the other so that the wand waver can accomplish their task, and then await the buckles pat-down.

[Alan H]

Alan you hang around with rude people The worst thing ever said to me was a skirt comment and that was by a woman. Her male companion swiftly and curtly told her it was a kilt and that i was more man than he. Then there was a very small child that told his mom "that man is dressed like a lady". I couldnt stop smiling for a long time. I would love to hear his mother explaining the kilt.

Actually, the people I hang out with are completely fine. The two unpleasant encounters I allude to were with strangers. One with with a painting crew, redoing the inside of a local store. The other...the real jerk....was in, of all things, a very upscale arts shop in Tiburon. You can't find a more "upscale", trendy, wealthy community than Tiburon. It just goes to show that not all bozos are on the lower end of the economic scale.

I also once was shopping in the grocery store that I used to use, and as I came down the aisle, a teenage girl who was on her cell phone, bellowed into her phone. "Oh My God, there's a guy in a kilt in here. That's so GAY."

First of all, I hate the use of the word "Gay" in that way. I find it offensive and in this day and age, inexcuseable. That goes ten times over in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't care about teenage slang, learn some decent respect for people. Secondly, she didn't just say it into her phone, she bellowed it to make sure that I heard it.

So when I went by her, I grabbed her phone, and bellowed into it... "Oh my God, there's a rude girl in this store. She is so OBNOXIOUS"... gave her phone back to her and went on my way.

In the decade that I've worn kilts, the only other non=positive experience I've had was at the San Francisco Symphony, where someone made a rude comment about "not being a Scot". Before I could open my mouth, the Luminous Joan put the guy in his place, quite decisivly. pffffftttt. Don't mess with my woman! LOL ACtually, I guess there was a guy at Orchard Supply Hardware who clearly was having a Bad Day from the nature of the comment he made. However, he mumbled it as we passed in the aisle, once I was clearly past him. I don't think I was even meant to hear it. He didn't have the guts to say it to my face, though, so his opinion is of no concern of mine.

Compare this to the literally hundreds of positive experiences I've had...walking down the street, at work, at the Games, backpacking....everywhere. Over and over again, great experiences. My coworkers have come to learn that I might show up in a kilt at work. Nobody really cares any more.

Y'all carry on, carrying on with your kilts. I'm sure that the overall balance of experiences will be overwhelmingly positive, and there will come a day when it's not even "an experience" any more. It's just another day out and about, except that you happen to have a kilt on.

[Terry Searl]

I post this to compromise: our American friend Madadh, with his canine "lads" of the islands (Irish Wolfhounds), while kilted at a local TV broadcast. It gets no better than this.

By Golly those are beautiful dogs !!!!!!