cowboy hats…in Germany January 25, 2006
Posted by stoneunhinged in germany.trackback
I love to wear a cowboy hat. I wear one when I perform music, and I often wear one in winter because it’s the warmest hat I have. And I’ve had some interesting experiences with gawking.
One time, I remember, a teenage girl walking down the other side of the street was so non-plussed that she almost doubled over with her hand over her mouth while staring. She reacted as if she had seen a fully naked man with a clown’s wig on, or something outrageous like that.
But in general, it’s not a big thing.
I walk my son to school in the morning, and since it is winter I often wear my cowboy hat. It is warm and keeps the snow out of my face. But the children at his school have already taken to calling me “cowboy,” and they giggle and scream when they see me. The truth is that I enjoy this, because I like children and I like giving them a bit of a laugh, as if they have seen a clown or something.
But something still bothers me.
What bothers me is this: is seeing someone different so incredibly funny?
Maybe so. I’ve never lived in, say, New York City, and perhaps if you wear a cowboy hat there they will laugh their asses off. But my feeling as a foreigner in Germany is that the Germans are very, very sensitive to what is different. Funnily enough, a woman can wear a veil and not be so entirely different—Turks have been living in Germany for decades, and there is a certain acceptance of them (though they are not accepted as Germans). But some guy comes down the street in a cowboy hat and…well…what the hell?
A very good friend of mine (also an American) sports unusual facial hair: a handlebar mustache with a beard. A few years ago, he had a very good friend—with whom he spent a lot of time with—who also had unusual facial hair. But the ridicule which they received on the streets of major German cities was sufficient to drive my friend’s friend away. Now, why was this? Was it the sight of unusual facial hair? Was it the sight of two men with unusual facial hair walking down the street together? Was it because two men with similar facial hair walking down the street together were presumed to be gay, and that being gay was worth laughing at? What was it?
Whatever it was, was absolute bullshit. Two decent American men could not walk down the street together in a German city without being openly ridiculed for looking different.
What kind of country do I live in?
Which brings me to my last point. Somehow I have the feeling that due to Brokeback Mountain, cowboy hats are going to be associated with being gay. Cowboy hats might just become a symbol of gayness, at least in Europe.
So, when I wear my cowboy hat to take my son to school, will they be laughing at me because they think I’m silly, a cartoon character, or that I’m gay, or what?
I’ll just tell ‘em, “ich bin ein Cowboy.”
jj
Well, Jeff, I’ve lived in Germany, in this town for over 40 years and I am still, primarily, “ein Amerikaner”. I’ve come to accept this categorization, and I don’t feel threatened by it. I am identified not by a cowboy hat, but my habit of smiling “inappropriately”, my funny gait, and my slight accent, or more grossly, my yelling publicly in English to friends. More subtle markers, but markers nonetheless. It is hard not to respond similarly, to categorize people here as “the Germans”. But, living here, you really see the differences between people and see how inaccurate and unjust such a generalization can be. Göttingen is a nice place, and it is a lucky time in history to be here. At least it is lucky for North Americans, not necessarily for everyone.
Living here, we don’t see every day how differences are treated in the U.S., the racism, the religious and ethnic prejudices. But there, as here, we learn to see through the categories to the human value in each individual. That certainly doesn’t make the categorization OK. It is also important to look beyond the subjective situation and try to understand what developments are going on. Young people in Göttingen today seem to be getting more into clothing and fashion than they were even 10 to 15 years ago, and you don’t look fashionable in your cowboy hat, so they react accordingly. Maybe it was always like this, it just looks different to me now that I am a grandfather.
Wear your hat proudly, my friend. Their laughter is nothing.
All the best from a fellow picker,
..Howard
Thanks, Howard. I wore it to the market today, and scarcely got a look until walking from Extrawurst through the passage to the market–you know, where you have to go by Plus and the particular kind of people there?–and some guy with a beer in his hand and a deep slur said, “do you think you’re in Texas or something?” To which I responded, “not in Texas, but from Texas.” So the guy says “just a joke” and then…get this…switches to English and starts asking me a few things. And the woman next to him, also with slurred voice and beer in hand, also starts trying out her English.
Eventually he asked me for money–in English–and I bid them a good day.
jj
jj, you may be ascribing to Germany a uniqueness it does not deserve. May I suggest that you take note of the looks and comments of your admirers while sporting the thing in the Musee d’Orsay, in Sienna, the Vatican, Olso, Brussels, Luanda, Ulan Bator or even Boston. Go ahead, move to a working-class Manchester neighbourhood and refrain from supporting United. Stand out from the crowd nearly everywhere but Berlin and New York and a few other spots and you will be stared at. Do it in a few places Arabic, and you may end up being stoned, and probably not the way you would prefer.
tm
well, tm, should I wear the damn thing or not?
I’m not saying Germany is unique–it’s just where I live. My experience with wearing a cowboy hat is limited to the American southwest and Germany. I never wore it in Boston.
Are you trying to say that there are bigots everywhere, or that I shouldn’t wear a cowboy hat anywhere but Texas?
jj
jj,
It is my impression that people are that way. Perhaps it is connected with preferring to profit from the sense of security the crowd can offer. Even teens, in their neverending efforts to separate from the crowd, become a new crowd with their own and immediately recognizable uniform; wander too far from their norms and you will face ridicule. It appears to be so commonplace that it may suggest something about human nature, so why don’t we hold back on the bigot lable until we discover more. In the meantime, please wear that hat more often, add a string tie and a sterling silver belt buckle and matching boots, do your scuba diving in the outfit to really make an impression.
How would you feel if no one did stare? Wouldn’t something be missing?
tm
tm
Human nature, indeed. The Greek philosophers used to express it as a “preference for one’s own.” This begins in the family, goes on to clan and village and extends to an intimate connection to one’s polis.
But the Greeks would have simply accepted me as a stranger–I doubt they would have laughed at me as I went down the street.
It is, quite specifically, the element of ridicule which I find fascinating. And we’ll hold off on the bigot label–I didn’t really mean the label to apply to the rejection of my hat, but to the ridicule of my gay friends’ facial hair.
But, as I said in my last comment, I’ve never worn the hat in Boston, so I have no anecdotal data to confirm any uniqueness in Germany. It’s my experience here, so I blogged it.
As far as the full kit, there used to be a guy here in town who wore a hat, boots with stirups, matching belt and bolo tie, and a drifter. Even I stared.
But I admired him.
jj
jj
Never wore it in Boston, thus unwilling to guess at their response. At the same time willing to idealize that Greek reaction of who knows when. Too much for me.
tj
Tom,
Did you see Oliver Stone’s “Alexander”? If you have a code-free DVD player I can loan it to you.
What it has to do with cowboy hats Idunno.
jj
Cowboy Hats…In Germany
Everyone seems to think cowboy hats are the new gay symbol….
Hey,
I want to buy a cowboy hat, but I don’t know what brand to buy.
Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you,
Omar Henry
Omar, a Stetson is NEVER wrong. But you can certainly get by with something less expensive or a bit fancier. If you’re serious, I can email you with several suggestions for where to order one online. Otherwise, just buy what you like and wear it proudly.
jj