So have you ever been afraid to wear the kilt.

[Bigkahuna]

Well said Frank. I've walked down Broadway and through Time Square at 2am. Never had a problem. I got alot of comments from folks who were a tad jelous, but never had a cause for an altercation of any kind. Face it, Scots are Badass!!

[bchunter]

Like others, I've never been afraid so much as a little nervous. The nervousness always turned out to be unfounded. I have, however, chosen not to go kilted to certain events when I felt my being kilted might draw attention away from the honored intentions. I have been fortunate in that i've never been in a really awkward situation. Most people around here seem to accept kilts with ease, even the un-kilted.

[werewolves]

I have never felt in danger while kilted. In fact people seem to assume that if you have the, uhm, "guts" to wear a kilt, they probably shouldn't mess with you. I wore my kilt to a Metallica concert one time, and actually overheard two guys behind me say something in that vein...

[puckhead9]

Never afraid - just a bit nervous. Going to the local Target and Walmart can bring a snicker or two. As my wife says - Those are the folks who are not comfortable inTheir own skin.

[KFCarter]

What you're really asking is if I'm afraid of ignorance and intolerance. Usually, no. Sometimes, yes. No point denying it.

You know, I think this is a good point. People acting out of ignorance and intolerance (the definition of bigot) can pick targets for all kinds of spurious reasons.

But since you can't know when you're going to get onto some bigot's radar, you'd have to give up kilts (or anything else that some loser might find objectionable) in an attempt to stay "safe".

Well, forget about that. All you can really do is be yourself, wear a kilt and keep your head up and your eyes open.

[beloitpiper]

That's BS. They're not going to jump you for just wearing a kilt. Now, they might if you flash them, but I think you can resist the urge. Tell your mom, if she's really worried, she should get you a sgian dubh!

[Colonel MacNeal]

Well said Frank. I've walked down Broadway and through Time Square at 2am. Never had a problem. I got alot of comments from folks who were a tad jelous, but never had a cause for an altercation of any kind. Face it, Scots are Badass!!

You were probably the most normal looking person on the street at that time.

[timseh]

I can tell you I didn't feel all that out of place going kilted in Times Square. A few double takes, pretty evenly balanced out by some admiring glances from the ladies. There were a few men in the pub I stopped in that started snickering amongst themselves for a few minutes... until the point when the ladies they'd been trying to impress began sliding over my direction to chat... then they just looked stunned. Wonder how many of them thought of going to buy themselves a kilt after that night...?

[Old Hippie]

I turned to the guy and asked if he had ever been beaten by a 57 year old man in a skirt.

That's one advantage of getting older but still doing a fair bit of manual labour on the farm. :buttkick:

If I get pounded, there's no glory for them because they thumped an old man. If I thump them, there's no glory for them because they got pounded by an old man.

Mind you, I don't hide behind my advancing years. I also don't provoke fights (any more :mrgreen. A tendency toward public sobriety also helps me keep my wits about me.

I had occasion lately to offer some advice to another XMarker who was having some doubts about going kilted. The question came up about how to handle what people say. I told them that I had discovered that if I wore my kilt with the attitude that I "should" feel defensive about it, that I tended to approach every casual interaction from a defensive stance. On the other hand, if I simply wear the kilt because that's what I'm wearing today, then I can let the ignorant comments pass (they'll happen whether I'm wearing a kilt or not!) and be pleasantly surprised by the shout-outs and thumbs up. I can use those positive encounters as teachable moments.

:ootd:

[Alan H]

There ARE places where I wouldn't wear a kilt...

Like, say for example...in the heat of midsummer on Chicago's southwest side. See, I walked in there once, pre-kilt, looking for 1930's jazz spots and Benny Goodmans home locations and upon sober reflection a few hours later was damned glad I walked out again. I wouldn't walk into the Sunnyside or Hunters Point Housing Developments in South San Francisco in a kilt, either. See, I personally know a paramedic who responded to a call in Hunters Point, and as he and his three partners were entering a building, a can of beans came screaming down from 4-5-6-7-8??? floors up to spatter on the pavement less that a foot from him. If that had hit him, he'd be dead....and he's a PARAMEDIC in there to save someone's life.

No, if I had to walk into the Hunter Point Development, I wouldn't choose to wear a kilt and I'd be pretty darned nervous. So, yeah. There are places. On the other hand, likely that wearing a kilt wouldn't make much difference in those places. If I got hammered, I'd have gotten hammered no matter what I was wearing.

Aside from seriously violent slums and ghettos like that, no, I can't say there's anyplace I'd be AFRAID to wear a kilt in the USA. I have chosen not to wear kilts to events, many times for many reasons, but fear wasn't one of them.