Air Traffic Control Manager Prohibits Kilt

[Angus MacSpey]

Andrew Green:

Admittedly, my rant about government excesses was a bit extraneous. The bottom line -- in my opinion -- is this: if you don't like your boss's rules, go get a new boss. It would be like joining the Army if you didn't want to wear camouflage. Personal experience from years of "fighting the man" told me this, and I either quit a job or got fired more than a few times. Now I am self-employed, which is where mavericks belong in life.

Fortunately for society, most people are sheep. If everyone was a maverick, noone could cooperate with others long enough to accomplish a task that required teamwork. However, many owners of small businesses are mavericks, and will give a lot of leeway for their few employees. Utilikilts Co. seems a fine example.

Mega-corporations have employees so far separated from the actual owners (aka stockholders), and one's superior is usually the person who was more authoritarian than the others to achieve that promotion. Large businesses promote mediocrity; that's just how it is. Mediocre people do not challenge conventions. Mediocre people tend to drag the mavericks down to their level any way they can. Government agencies are the same, only more so.

As for what's not Politically Correct about the kilt, it's really quite simple. It's traditionally or typically seen as a Heterosexual White Male thing. Heterosexual White Males are not considered "diverse."

[McClef]

Andrew Green:As for what's not Politically Correct about the kilt, it's really quite simple. It's traditionally or typically seen as a Heterosexual White Male thing. Heterosexual White Males are not considered "diverse."

They are quite as diverse as anybody else and I know heterosexual white males who are into cross dressing and camp as ninepence.

The kilt is a male garment, irrespective of sexual orientation or race and therefore such PC attitudes require to be challenged as they are making some fundamental errors in their assumptions.

[Angus MacSpey]

I would agree, McClef. However, that is not my opinion I expressed, but rather a description of the current political climate in the United States.

[cbiegel]

I think it really depends on the nature of the federal building/operation. I work for NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Division) and I wouldn’t have any problems wearing a kilt to work other than the standard ribbing about skirts.

Perhaps it’s that we’re all coming from science/field work backgrounds and tend to be a little more informal anyway. Perhaps it’s that a commercial fisherman is going to have an even more negative reaction to us if we were wearing a suit and tie. Who knows but we can wear jeans everyday and some of the groups are even allowed to wear shorts if they’re going to be spending any part of the day outside.

It’s not the government; it’s the local division chief or even the head of that particular department that’s making the decisions. I don’t think it’s fair to just say “get a new job if you don’t like it.” If you don’t like the way things are, try and change them don’t just run away.

Of course understand that you’ll be fighting a VERY uphill battle if you’re dealing with any government be it state or federal.