I can't comment on Martin Alonzo's posted videos - other than to say they are interesting and thought provoking. I know that this is way off subject , but I would like to ask - purely out of curiosity - why do Americans wear Hats indoors? In my country it is regarded as rude. When I say my country , be aware that I mean Scotland and not Great Britain . ( yep, they are not the same ! ) Perhaps it is due to one of the cultural misconceptions I have previously alluded to? If ( in Scotland ) you receive visitors wearing a hat , it infers you are leaving and the guests are not welcome. At this point I would emphasise that the moment you enter a Scots house , regardless of whether you are friend or not, it is expected of the host to offer you a cup of tea or Uisghe Bheath ( Whisky ). It is likewise expected that you will accept the hospitality offered , therefore ,not to take off your hat is to infer you would sooner be somewhere else. Consider this in light of Scottish history and the massacre of Glencoe, where the Campbells were welcomed by the MacDonalds who then murdered their hosts while they slept. How rude was that? The moral of this is that the moment you enter a Scot's home you should remove your Hat and Coat. Sorry if this distracts from the subject. it isn't meant to be flippant.
@Billie Lane ......." but I would like to ask - purely out of curiosity - why do Americans wear Hats indoors?" The ones who do (wear hats indoors), are unaware of the cultural mores under which my generation, for example, were raised. I believe the failure to remove hats indoors, especially in public places such as restaurants and stores, is a relatively recent phenomenon. Still, my wife and I encounter in public, many of my generation who wear hats, some quite cumbersome, such as cowboy hats, which leads me to believe their action stems from ignorance and slovenliness, as, surely, they remove them in church, don't they? I would never consider wearing a hat or cap indoors, except for the unlikely case presenting where an unheated interior required it. Frank
I will move the hats discussion to other thread, but I'll also reply to it. Although things are becoming more informal each generation, wearing a hat indoors is considered rude by a lot of people here, too. I will admit, however, that I frequently leave my hat on when I am eating at an informal restaurant, largely because I am unlikely to be the only guy there still wearing a hat, but also because that decreases the chance that I will leave it behind when I'm done.
First, let me give you the "cowboy" version of this question, since I was involved in pro-rodeo for years and have been in the "cowboy" parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and some other states. So, I know what I'm talking about. When in a bar or nightclub, cowboys always wear their cowboy hats (or baseball caps) and so do girls/ladies. At an informal restaurant, like Denny's or a small cafe, it's entirely up to the cowboy and cowgirl, BUT, that also depends on where the informal restaurant might be. In some big cities, like New York, Chicago, L.A., wearing a cowboy hat will definitely draw attention and perhaps a comment "please take off your hat" by a patron. Another thing, most restaurants don't have hat racks and nice Resistol hat is too expensive to loose it. When visiting a friend's house, some people will take their hat off (baseball or cowboy type) and some won't. Depends on how long the visit is for. There again, if a person is in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, parts of Texas and Oklahoma, not taking off the hat, for a minute of two visit, doesn't bother anyone. There you have the "cowboy" version of it. As for me, I always took my cowboy hat off when entering a church. My wife has her own cowboy hat and baseball caps. I love it when she wears either. Of course, here, and in most of Florida, which obviously is not known to be "cowboy country" like Wyoming and some other states, I wouldn't wear a cowboy hat unless at a rodeo or Western event. Baseball caps are all over the place here though.
For the same reason they do other things that you may find strange too @Billie Lane Many Americans don't see anything wrong with this and they also feel free to do their own thing whether other people agree with it or not.