Today, I decided to debut my new MAGA hat in public. Now, I generally despise wearing baseball caps—any kind, at any time—but I thought this would be a fun little social experiment to see how people would react. Plus, I had promised the family I’d wear the hat during our upcoming vacation in Hawaii; this was going to be my preparation. My oldest son warned me it might not be the best idea. « Nah, » I told him, « it’s going to be easy; a walk in the park! » Well, let me tell you, folks, he was spot on.
As soon as I stepped outside, I ran into my neighbor walking her dog and I had to make small talks. I felt so humiliated. I wished I was wearing a hat that said « I’m stupid » or « I’m a gigolo », at least she would have perceived the irony. No, I had to pretend everything was just normal.
I wanted to rip the hat off so badly, but I kept it firmly planted on my head.
That first encounter rattled me a bit. My next stop was a 45-minute treatment at the podiatrist. I sat in the car, wrestling with my decision, but ultimately decided I couldn’t wear the hat. These people know me, I visit them every three months!
Next, I headed to the pet shop and then the drug store. At the pet shop, I grabbed a bag of cat food and hurried to the counter. The cashier asked if I was a regular customer, and I almost burst out laughing from sheer nerves. I bolted out of there pretty quickly.
At the drug store, I handed over my prescription and was told to wait 15 minutes. In the waiting room, I avoided eye contact like the plague. The whole time, I was thinking, « I’ve never seen anyone wearing a MAGA hat in Canada. What would I think if I ran into one? »
Finally, the clerk called me to pick up my medication. He then said I needed to speak with the pharmacist, and for a split second, I thought maybe the pharmacist was going to check on my mental health because of the hat. But no, he just had some info about my new medication. There was a transparent screen between us—a relic from COVID—and I caught a glimpse of my reflection. I’ve never looked so ridiculous in public, I thought, and I couldn’t decide whether to burst out laughing or run out of the store. I’m not too sure what the pharmacist told me, my mind was elsewhere the whole time.
Despite all the awkwardness and self-doubt, I kept the MAGA hat on the entire time. I guess that’s what they call « moral courage, » right?
When I got home, my oldest daughter asked:
« So, did you wear the hat? »
« Yes, » I replied, unsure of what she’d say next.
« Well, Dad, you’re not wearing it next week in Hawaii. »
Once again, my kids proved to have better judgment than I do 😉
Eric,
I see people wearing Che Guevara or Mao t-shirts, or even worse, the ‘From the River to the Sea’ tshirt/keffiyeh combo. A MAGA hat is pretty tame when compared to those other displays of poor taste and historical amnesia.
Kind regards
Chip
Hi Chip,
I have never seen a Mao t-shirt in my life – that’s indeed very poor taste. As for the « From the River to the Sea », I had to Google that one as I wasn’t familiar with. What I do know though is I once had a Che Guevara poster in my room, at the military college, of all places. That and a « Rage Against the Machine », if not poster at least mentality. What Che Guevara represented, to me, at the time, was an expression of defiance towards the « establishment ». In my last year of my major in History I wrote my thesis on Che’s guerrilla in Bolivia, where he eventually was killed. I got to know the character in depth and, trust me, the Che Guevara poster came down very quickly. The man clearly didn’t live it up to the icon he had become. I was very critical of the Che, of his absolutism, of his disregard for human beings who didn’t think like him. In Cuba, he specifically requested to personally attend all executions of counter-revolutionary members he has signed for. I even wrote a letter to the French writer/philosopher Régis Debray who had fought alongside Guevara and I asked him if Che could have loved humanity yet despise the people around him (« I love humanity, it’s people I can’t stand » – type of). Debray replied that there was some validity to my statement. The iconization of Che is clearly a case of historical amnesia, or, worst yet, willfull blindness.