I'm wearing pants today: semi rant

[McMurdo]

Hear, Hear, Alan!! Well said indeed.
Last night a young guy came up to us and asked "why the kilts?" At first I got all defensive, I guess it has become a habit, anyway he said he loved to see so many kilts in one place, he was a piper but has not worn the kilt out all that much unless he was piping. I learned very quickly from that, that it would have been much more pleasant for all concerned if I weren't ready to jump down someones throat just for asking a simple question.

[Arizona Scot]

Well said Allen, I myself am not a full time kilt wearer. I wear the kilt when and if I so desire, that said I have noticed that my attitude towards others has changed since I have started wearing the kilt. I now look at people a lot less judgmental than I use to. I believe the kilt has not only given me the freedom to express myself but has allowed me the freedom to let others express themselves.

[TheKiltedWonder]

However, since kilts cost me several hundred dollars, and a pair of pants costs me about $3, I feel I ought to wear kilts more often.

Exactly how I feel!

[Alaskan Kilted Guy]

Wear a kilt if you want to. Wear pants if you want to. You don't like it when someone has a chip on their shoulder about kilts? Well then we all need to lose the chip on our OWN shoulder about how much better we are than guys who wear pants.

Amen!

[Alan H]

I want to make it clear that what I'm talking about there is people who wear kilts but espouse attitudes like:

1.) People who don't wear kilts are all sheep.

2.) All pants are boring and have no character, unlike all kilts which are so magnificent in every possible way.

We have a whole thread on awful kilts. It's had thousands of viewings and contains over a hundred pictures of horrible kilts. In nearly every instance, if the person had opted to wear a reasonable pair of pants, they'd look better. Ya know, if wearing a kilt (sometimes, rarely, or all the time) has opened your eyes to the wisdom of not judging someone on just one or two things... like what piece of clothing they are wearing below the waist....then that's a great thing.

Look, my Dad never wore a kilt a single day in his life and had no interest in doing so. Does that mean my dad was a mindless, spineless, boring sheep who couldn't think for himself, dressed in filthy rags, and was ashamed of his roots? 'scuse me? This is the man who skippered the LST that ran 300 marines up on the beach at Tarawa. This is the man who skippered an air-sea rescue boat an Eniewetok in 1945. This is the man who suffered through the cancer that took his life without complaining ONCE. This is the man who treated everyone around him with respect and decency and honesty and tell me how his wearing pants turned him into a "sheep".

I work with Paul Berg, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, 1980. Paul is hardly what I'd call "sheep". At nearly 80 years old he's smart as a tack, stays up on current research, asks mighty insightful questions when he attends talks, and is a force behind faculty responsibility at this University. And you know what? Paul Berg has never worn a kilt a single day in his life. He wears Pants. And you know what else? He looked at me funny once, the first day, asked a polite question and now he doesn't give a rip whether I wear a kilt or not. All he cares about is that we keep the computers running around here so that the researchers can get on with their work. Paul Berg = "sheep"? I don't *think* so.

Ninety-nine percent of USA, Canadian and UK Men will never wear a kilt for even 60 seconds in their lifetimes. Does that mean that all those men are stupid sheep who should be judged on the basis of the horrible, constrictive, manhood-obliterating PANTS that they wear?

Judge people on their actions, in particular how they treat the world around them and the people around them, not by what they wrap around their rumpus. And wear your kilt when you feel like it, for whatever good reasons you have on that day. If that's every day, then great. If that's for formal occasions only, then bully for you. If you pick your Clan tartan, super! If you want to strap on a Utilikilt, then go for it. And if you happen to strap on a pair of Dockers khaki trousers and save your kilt for tomorrow, then I'm sure not gonna look at you crosswise for doing it.

[McClef]

Clearly not everyone is in a position to wear kilts as much as they would like and nobody should feel superior or somehow a sinner if they are kilted or not kilted.

I think that "the zeal of the convert" can sometimes enter into attitudes and many of us would like to see kilt wearing become more widespread and frequent but no way should we judge or disparage.

Not all of us can afford a huge wardrobe of kilts either. We wear the ones we own with pride as and when we can and we try to counter some of the myths that many have about them but we should not feel superior to those who are not kilted.

Obviously in a forum such as this we are going to talk kilts more than trousers but we also have to relate to the big wide world out there where we are very much a minority.

[Raphael]

Bravo Alan!!!

I really careless about what people wear. In fact, I haven't worn a kilt in two weeks. I got up this morning and put my pants on without thinking. It would have been dangerous and impractical for me to wear my kilt as I was commuting on my motorbike.

[sharpdressedscot]

I can't wear mine on account I'd freeze my knacks off!!

[Alaskan Kilted Guy]

Friday
Mostly clear. Highs 10 to 30...mildest in the hills. Light winds...except east to 20 mph over the hills.

That's the forecast for here tomorrow, and I am gonna wear my tan Amerikilt. Never too cold. lol

[pdcorlis]

I agree with your sentiment but I've got to be honest with you - I think the argument is a straw man. Can there really be more than just a few sad insecure individuals who really believe that it's the kilt that makes them special? Maybe so where you live, where I live folks tend to mind their own business. But then I live in the sticks and most folks think we're all just a bunch of uneducated hicks. See how easy it is to set up a straw man?

Cheers to all and wear a kilt if you want to and don't if you don't.