Kilted John Barrowman

[macwilkin]

As for his comments about wearing his kilt to prom and the reaction - it was in the 1980s and he went to school in Peoria, IL.

Peoria is in the middle of the farm country in the southern part of Illinois. It is more of a farm town with more conservative leanings and attitudes than in Chicago to its north. The current population is around 110K according to Wikipedia.

You'll recall the saying, "Will it play in Peoria?" because Peoria came to represent middle American taste and values.

If I'd worn a kilt to my prom in Kansas in 1981, I'd have been more than ridiculed. It might not be the same today, but, honestly, it probably would be. Prejudices about people who act differently change slowly in small town America, in my experience.

In fact, I wore my kilt at home in rural Kansas to my father's house a year or so ago. He was so happy -- that I didn't stop in town so his friends would see me in it. (His side of the family is the Scottish side, mind you.) I stopped at the gas station on the way out of town, just because I'm that kind of ornery.

I recall reading a fairly recent article somewhere where his date to the prom mentioned that he wore a "skirt" to the prom. Even she wasn't thrilled about his desire to honor his Scottish heritage two decades later.

So don't give Barrowman too much crap for his attitude about small rural Midwestern American towns. He came by it honestly. He earned it the old fashioned way.

As my Iowa grandfather would say, hogwash.

Point taken, but I, as a midwesterner, don't appreciate being lumped in with ignorant people. To borrow a line from the movie Gettysburg, "any man who judges by the group is a pea-wit."

I've worn my kilt on numerous occasions here in Southwest Missouri, and not just in Springfield. Sure, you get the odd snide comment and odd look, but really -- who cares? I wore my kilt this weekend in downtown Branson, Missouri and honestly, I can't remember what reaction, good or bad, I got from passers-by.

Are there close-minded people in the Midwest? Sure. I bet there are some in San Francisco as well, but I wouldn't say all San Franciscans are closed-minded jerks. As I said before, ignorance knows no geographical boundaries.

I've met just as many folks in SW Missouri who think that being proud of your roots is a good thing.

Regards,

Todd