MayAGA Day 20: Wink and a Nod

I have been wearing my MAGA hat everywhere I go for about 20 days now. When I first started this challenge it was awkward to put that hat on my head and go out of the house. I worried about what others would think or do when they saw it.

So far that worry has been unfounded and those who comment on the hat have been positive. Now I put the hat on my head and forget that I am wearing it. The places and people I see frequently seem to not notice anymore. It has become common place.

Nothing really exciting has happened and that is why I have not had anything to write about. Honestly that is exactly what I wanted to happen.

A Wink and a Nod

I was out walking the dog when I noticed an elderly lady working in her yard. She saw me down the street and walked toward me.

 

At first I was a bit nervous, not because I was worried about this lady but because my dog has a bad habit of jumping and he is a big dog. She approached me and from a safe distanced asked if she could pet my dog.

I explained to her if he starts to whine or get nervous then the answer is no, but if he is okay with it than yes. She put her hand out, he smelled it and immediately leaned against her for some pets. She loved on him for a minute, getting her fur fix she said, and we talked about dogs.

At the end of the conversation she leaned in and looked up at me sideways and said “By the way I like your hat.” Of course I smiled and said thank you and she went back to her friend to continue working in the yard.

The next instance was at a local Albertsons. I was walking through the store and as usual I could tell people noticed the hat but were largely going about their business. I passed an employee who was talking with another customer but I could tell his eyes followed me for a second longer than usual.

I brushed it off as him just thinking I might need help. I was looking for a product I did not know exactly where it was, so I figured he picked up on my lost expression. A few seconds later I heard he call to me from behind.

“Excuse me sir.” He said standing by the door leading to the back of the store. I turned and looked back and as we made eye contact he said “I like your hat.” I again smiled big and said thank you. He nodded and went back to work in the back of the store.

Silent Support

These two instances are not the only time someone has commented on my hat. I have not had anyone get upset, just positive feedback. I took some time to think about those encounters and what they meant.

In each of those encounters the comment was made in a public space but was meant to be a private conversation. It was almost as if they said they supported the hat but did not want to wear one themselves. Or that they were thankful that someone was doing something they wanted to do but felt they could not.

Before I took on this challenge I felt the same way. In fact I probably would have been one of those people who gave a quick positive comment in passing if I had seen someone in a MAGA hat.

I have often wondered why people felt they had to stay silent. For the most part I think people just want to avoid conflict. For me I left a very real social pressure that being Republican, Conservative or wearing a MAGA hat made me a bad person.

I knew Conservatives, Republicans and people that wore MAGA hats and they were perfectly normal, regular, good people. They worked hard, loved their families, and helped their neighbors. So why should these good people feel ashamed to be themselves?

I do not have the answer to that question outside of social pressure. Thankfully I have spent most my life being socially awkward and have had to build up an inner strength that can stand against social pressure when needed.

Even with this practice I had a hard time taking that step. But if my experience is any indication the only thing that holds people back from taking that step is themselves.

If you want to wear a MAGA hat or get involved with the Republican Party, do so. Go to a meet up or join a Facebook group (Here are a couple groups I am a member of Oregon Republican League, Young Republican’s of Washington County). Check it out, talk to people, and make the choice that is best for you.

Thanks for reading and hope you all are having a great MayAGA!

MayAGA Day 2 – 5: Double Takes and Bravery

As I look at the MAGA hat on my kitchen counter I think to myself, will today be the day someone gets upset or will people even notice? I take a breath and steady myself as I pick it up and place it on my head.

The more I wear the hat the more I forget that I am actually wearing it. There is a part of me that says ‘Maybe you just don’t wear it this one time.’ I admit that voice is tempting but I must stick with this challenge to the end.

Largely my experience so far has been positive but I do experience moments where I am very conscious that I am wearing a MAGA hat and people have noticed.

Day 2

The second day wearing the MAGA hat was largely uneventful. I wore it to work and got stopped by a coworker. He took a look at the hat and asked if that was a MAGA hat. I said yes it is with a smile. He replied, right on, and we both returned to work.

Toward the end of the day I was finishing up some work when another coworker asked me a question. He wanted to know if anyone has complemented me on my hat yet.

I explained to him how people have said they liked it or have given me a positive response. To this reply he made a face. I did not understand the question and he was thinking how he could phrase it differently.

After a moment passed he said that I was a brave man for wearing this hat. That there are a lot of people who are afraid to do so out of fear for a number of things. I was stunned. I had dismissed the thought that wearing a Make America Great Again hat made me a brave person.

I understood it took a bit of courage but it was not as if I was running into a burning building or storming the beaches of Normandy, I was simply wearing a red hat with the slogan for the duly elected president of the United States.

When I first came up with this idea I ran into people who thought it was a bad idea. They said they would not wear a MAGA hat because they did not want to open themselves to the possibility of being attacked. I understood their concern and hesitation, I was also frustrated that they were so afraid, but it only made me want to do it even more.

While I do not think that wearing a MAGA hat should be considered an act of bravery (I do not think I am any braver than the next person) I can understand why people would think of it that way. There are people who want or have wanted to wear a MAGA hat but have felt the social pressure not to.

I hope that sharing my experience here shows that you do not have to give into that social pressure and we all realize we are not as divided as the media and Facebook would have us believe.

Grocery Shopping

I had gone to the grocery store on day one but this time I was going full out grocery shopping. I know it seems like a normal thing but I must admit I was a little hesitant. I was going to be in a big public space for an extended period of time with lots of people coming and going.

I took comfort in the idea that most people won’t notice, busy with their own lives. As I grabbed my cart and approached the produce section I saw a young man look at me, look away than turn and look back for a second longer.

 

He continued to shop with the girl he was with and I continued to select the items I needed. Every so often I noticed that people would look at me for a second longer than normal but would than go about shopping.

Normally when in public I make eye contact with the people around me and smile at them if we make eye contact. While in the store I noticed that I had stopped doing this and instead would look straight ahead. I paused to think about this for a second and understood this was my way of avoiding inviting people to talk to me.

It was that feeling you had in school when the teacher asked a question you did not know the answer to so you averted your eyes and hoped they would not call on you. I was surprised that I had found myself acting differently than I normally do and resolved to act as my normal self.

As I continued shopping I notice that young couple I had seen in the produce section again. The girl stepped up and said that she liked my hat. I said thank you and we both kept shopping. I never considered what to do if people would complement me on the hat and later realized that people who were commenting were probably open to a conversation.

I missed this chance but in the future I will stop and make conversation with someone who complements my hat, at the very least I will tell them why I am wearing it and what I intend to do.

I want to also say thank you to the people who have responded positively to my MAGA hat, it might not seem like much but that small act of kindness is a great balm against the division and outraged obsessed media.

Observations

This weekend I mostly worked around the house and spent time walking and running my dogs. I did go out to a few places briefly. I went to grab some lunch and could tell that the people working behind the counter did not like my hat but they did a great job providing excellent customer service.

To me it was proof that the spirit of we don’t have to agree but can be civil to each other still exists. I also entered a retail establishment where normally the employees greet you as you enter the store. They took one look at me and then ignored me.

I am not sure if they were surprised, upset or just busy as I just kept walking and soon after left. If that is the worst thing I experience that would be fine with me.

 

I have noticed that wearing a MAGA hat in the part of Oregon where I live draws attention to yourself. It is just not something that you see outside of the internet or on the news. It seems to open you up to conversation and to have people take a longer look at you.

I suspected this was the case and while the extra attention is a little strange at first it has all been positive so far. I am open to having more conversations with people and want to try and engage a little more with people who approach me.

I have also observed a couple changes in my personal behavior and thoughts. The first thing I noticed was that I now ask myself if I want to really go to some place with my MAGA hat on. There is a part of me that says ‘go, but don’t wear your hat.’ I then ask myself the question, would you go if you were not wearing a MAGA hat, and if the answer is yes than I go with my MAGA hat on.

Part of this experiment is to wear my MAGA hat while I do everything that I would normally do. To show that people who wear MAGA hats are regular people too. That they are your neighbors or the guy who holds the door open for you at the restaurant or the lady who is selecting fruit next to you at the grocery store.

I think this feeling will fade over time as I commit myself to this challenge. I have also noticed that normally I make eye contact with people in public and if they return the contact I would usually smile or say hello.

It was something I taught myself to do a long time ago because I thought that sometime we are all in such a hurry that we ignore everyone around us. That is was a simple and nice way to brighten someone’s day ever so slightly. Since taking on this challenge I started looking straight ahead and avoiding eye contact.

I understand this is my way of avoiding opening myself up to comment and attention. This is something that I will work on as the challenge goes forward. I do not want to change who I am simply because I am wearing a MAGA hat.

Overall I would say my experience has been positive so far. While I have felt a little strange at times and have noticed that when I go out I am drawing attention to myself. I hope the rest of the month goes this smoothly and will write another update in a few days.

Happy MayAGA and hope everyone is having a great month!

MayAGA Day 1: A Good Start

Today is the first day of May and the start of MayAGA. This is the challenge for individuals to wear a MAGA hat every day in the month of May everywhere they go. It is not a march or rally but rather a demonstration that there are normal everyday people, some are your friends and neighbors, who are Republican, conservative and/or supporters of President Trump.

It is not an attempt to trigger or upset people but to show that you refuse to believe the hype of the media about how bad the world is and to say that you will refuse to allow your choices to be dictated by those who are willing to use violence and social pressure to silence you.

The First Step

After a lot of thought and reflection I decided that I would try wearing the MAGA hat for the whole month. I wrote a couple blog posts about it, clarifying my thoughts and intentions, and waited for May to arrive.

I would be lying if I said I was not nervous. Chief among my fears was that I would create more problems than I was trying to solve. I worried about how others would react to my choice. The media narratives did have an impact on me, but I had thought it through and steeled myself as I placed my MAGA hat on my head and walked out the door.

As I started my car my mind started to race with the uncertainties the day held for me. As I approached the grocery store I realized that this would be the first interaction. How would it go? Would anything bad happen? Would anyone even care? I hoped for the last one.

Early Morning Surprise

The store was mostly empty and I held my head up and looked forward, set on getting what I needed for breakfast and snacks for work. I grabbed a couple apples and oranges and some yogurt and headed to the register.

At this point I walked passed a few people but nothing happened. I placed my items on the belt as the cashier spoke to the person ahead of me. The cashier grabbed my items and started to scan them when she looked up to greet me.

I smile and stepped forward, more calm in my actions than in my mind. She said good morning and smile back at me. I moved over to the debt card machine and that is when she noticed the hat. A red hat with white letters causes people to take a second look.

To my surprise the cashier just nodded and said “Good for you!” We both knew she was talking about my hat and I grinned.

“Thanks.” I said as I put my card into the debt machine “I figured if I want to wear it I should be able to.” She agreed with me and asked where I got my MAGA hat. I told her I had to buy it online and that it was very reasonably priced. She told me that her husband was looking to buy one too.

We completed our transaction and wished each other a good day. I smiled as I walked to my car, seems I was worked up for nothing. Now on to the next challenge, time to go to work.

Work Day

I work for a small company and knew most everyone and thought things would be pretty safe but sometime you never know. I walked into work and punched the time clock and headed to my desk. The first few hours no one noticed a thing, I looked at my emails, did some work, and got my morning cup of coffee.

I had told a few people that I was going to wear my MAGA hat for the month of May, but saying it and showing up are two very different things. Slowly, as more people arrived, people started to notice.

At first it came in the form of second glances. Than people laughed, not at me but in that way you laugh when you are excited or interested in something. A few people complemented me, some were a little surprised that I was actually wearing a MAGA hat publicly, and one person made a joke about it.

Even the joke was lighthearted and my experience was positive. It was a bit uncomfortable at first to realize that I was drawing attention to myself, but that wore off and everyone got back to their work.

I went out to lunch, taco bell (there goes my diet), with no problem and returned to work to finish out my day. One of my coworkers, on his lunch break, created a meme for MayAGA (Picture at the top of the article).

Making the Leap

I started the day a bit nervous about what was in store for me. As I went forward with fortitude and prudence I realized that the media and online hype was just that, hype.

I understand that this was just one day but so far everything has been positive. It was a bit uncomfortable knowing that people will look at you twice, but I understood that by wearing the MAGA hat I was inviting people to comment and talk to me.

In fact that was the point, I wanted people to talk to me and realize that just because someone wears a MAGA hat, supports President Trump or has different ideas does not mean that they are a bad person.

I would recommend people who want to take part in MayAGA to do so. But I would also recommend they examine their reason for doing so. If you just want to piss people off, do not do it.

But if you have used sound reasoning and moral wisdom and understand that you will face social scrutiny, a hostile media, and are willing to accept that you will be used as a representation of everyone who wears a MAGA hat and that your every word and action are important and must be chosen carefully, than please join me in taking part in MayAGA.