Wearing a Hat Indoors

Wearing a hat indoors offends some people. Today, it seems the old rule doesn't apply the same as it might have 50 or 100 years ago when everybody wore hats.

The etiquette mongers still enounce that it is disrespectful for a man to wear a hat inside.

Hat

No one knows for sure when the custom started, but it is assumed it happened about the same time and way as handshaking began. Wearing a hat indoors was not a good idea while trying to convine previous enemies of a peaceful intent.

When communities of population began to fight other communities of people, it became leading to fabricate peace, agreements, and alliances to survive. When one warrior chief approached other for purposes of peace, they would sheath their weapon and offer an empty hand.

In the same way, it is notion that protective headgear was removed to expose a peaceful vulnerability in order to enumerate with words rather than weapons.

So, out of respect, men would take off their hats while indoors.

The authorities on manners established confident rules. Over the years it became the custom for a man to take off his hat or at least tip it even outdoors during an introduction, a greeting, a conversation, especially while speaking of person recently departed.

Men removed their hats during funerals to show respect and they took it off while a funeral procession passed them by.

Also, a man would take off his hat and place it over his heart during the execution of the national anthem or when the flag passed by.

It was unbelievable that a man take off his hat while in confined inside quarters, but not so significant in large open indoor areas like malls, lobbies, hallways, airports, train and bus stations. It must have been hard for tall men to walk straight through the short doorways in the days of the top hat. That must have contributed to the custom of wearing a hat indoors.

During the 1950's, pompadour haircuts made beloved by Elvis Presley and others, made wearing hats indoors and out a itsybitsy difficult. The custom began to disappear. Soon the haircut styles changed again and ball caps and cowboy hats became a part of our culture. The old rule prohibiting the wearing of hats indoors became a itsybitsy confusing to the new generation.

Some population are still offended today when they see a man wearing a hat indoors. Most population don't care.

People with lots of hair and itsybitsy tolerance for new customs think bald men wear hats indoors, first to disrespect, and second to hide their baldness. Now, having been bald for a few years, I can set those confused population straight.

A great deal of heat is lost straight through an uncovered bald head. Covered with primitive hair of a cave man, the hair helps keep the heat inside. A fully evolved modern man such as myself has no safety from the elements except the hat.

Today, the fragile sensibilities of the absolutely offended must take a back seat to the demands of our fragile environment. To save the immense amounts of vigor lost straight through the top of an uncovered head, population need to wear their hats to sustain that high-priced energy.

The more vigor we import, the more money finds its way into the hands of terrorists who hate us. It is time we start wearing those hats indoors to cut the vigor we must import.

It's just not green to take off your hat in any place vigor might be lost requiring an adjustment of the thermostat. Saddam Hussein seemed all the time to hold his hat indoors and wear it outdoors.

I'm a bit of an old man, and old habits die hard. As much as I want to respect all things worthy of respect, I might, from time to time, forget the need to respect the environment for a few moments. Out of misguided respect for overly sensitive population I might just take my hat off. If you see me do that, politely remind me that this rule has been rescinded in favor of national defense. To starve the terrorists of their ill-gotten vigor money which they use to destroy us, we must adopt new ways. We must protect our fragile environment and cut vigor use.

After 9-11 the world changed.

Wearing a Hat Indoors