Comments on: cowboy hats…in Germany

By: stoneunhinged

stoneunhinged — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 22:14:14 +0000

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.

By: Omar Henry

Omar Henry — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 01:54:01 +0000

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

By: Horse Blog

Horse Blog — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 23:07:00 +0000

Cowboy Hats…In Germany

Everyone seems to think cowboy hats are the new gay symbol….

By: jeff stone

jeff stone — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 22:28:46 +0000

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.

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 15:14:37 +0000

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.

By: stoneunhinged

stoneunhinged — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 09:27:01 +0000

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.

By: tm

tm — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 06:37:40 +0000

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?

By: stoneunhinged

stoneunhinged — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 23:32:56 +0000

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?

By: tm

tm — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:08:00 +0000

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

By: stoneunhinged

stoneunhinged — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:33:24 +0000

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.