So sick of seeing "law enforcement" parading around in those stupid cattle cowboy hats.

[Solomon]

Real macho.

[PTWB]

1. I think they're a bit silly.

But it’s Texas. Just part of the culture.

[Lars39]

2. Texas Rangers' presser?

Weak as water. Tap dancing around. FBI needs to take it over.

[jimfields33]

3. It's their uniform. Probably started a century ago.

[EYESORE 9001]

4. This is a uniform too. Started over a century ago.

Not all traditions are worthy of preservation.

[Blues Heron]

5. They need to join the 21st century

Its not the fifties anymore.

[leftieNanner]

7. Just Wait

That's where they want to push us.

Back to the fifties. In everything.

Ugh.

[Wounded Bear]

9. The 1850's maybe...

[SWBTATTReg]

6. The way I look at it, is that they are showing off how they failed miserably in protecting

the youngest of the young in TX, even with all of their guns (estimated from 300 million to 400 million today). The extra guns (100 million) didn't still help.

When will they figure out that more guns aren't the answer?

When will they quit jumping into bed with the Gun Lobby and also quit listening to the Gun Lobby for their stupid unworkable solutions to this recurring problem?

[anarch]

8. to be fair, a wide-brimmed hat is sort of a necessary article of clothing in South TX

[Aristus]

10. A Smokey Bear park ranger-style hat would work just as well.

It just wouldn't satisfy the longing of those pot-bellied doughnut-munchers to be seen as steely-eyed gunslingers.

[onenote]

25. And why would such a hat be any less silly than a cowboy hat?

At least cowboy hats are a common item worn in Texas as opposed to Park Ranger style hats.

[Aristus]

26. Even when I lived in Texas, I though wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots

if one didn't rope cattle for a living was kind of stupid. Just a pathetic attempt to adopt a (largely inaccurate) look. Most real cowboys wore either slouch hats, derbies, or the kind of flat-crowned, flat-brimmed hat that used to be called a sombrero (before the highly decorated, brocaded, huge-brimmed Mexican hat became associated with the term.)

[onenote]

29. Why is any more or less stupid than any style of hat.

Everybody and their cousin wears baseball style hats these days -- including some police -- but they're not baseball players.

[rownesheck]

11. Oh.

DPS troopers wear those bullshit hats in East Texas too. They look fucking dumb.

[anarch]

12. but they're supposed to make everyone "respect their authoritaaay" and all....

[LastDemocratInSC]

18. They look like a Village People fan club meet-up.

[Solomon]

13. Seems like they never take them off - not even to do a press conference.

Wonder if they wear 'em to bed.

[Tree Lady]

14. We were in small rural town yesterday in mountains in Oregon

And a cop was parked across from local school and we stopped to ask him a question. He got out of his car and his uniform looked like he was ready for military attack! I mean this is ridiculous. Why have we come to this?

And he pranced around like he had all the power in the world.

[The Magistrate]

15. I Sympathize, Sir

When young we moved to a smallish suburb for a while. The local police didn't just wear Stetsons. They wore jodhpurs and knee boots. All in army olives except the boots, which were of course shiny and black.

Seen few things struck me so funny as first sight of these local yokels.

[Paladin]

16. How about everybody laying off on law enforcements' hat selections?

Concentrate on all their poorly-disguised fuckups at that elementary school, instead. Many thanks.

[Solomon]

19. Uh, er, that's what we're doing. In other words, "all hat and no cattle".

Kind of the point. The hats make them look stupid because they're fuck ups.

[MineralMan]

17. It's Teksis, see. You can't be a man in Teksis, lest you have that hat.

It's a point of honor or something.

[Lurker Deluxe]

24. To be fair ...

It is Texas. I know it is popular to belittle those of us who live here, it is what it is.

Hats have uses.

Stetson is a status symbol, expensive hat.

They come in various shapes and materials for different uses. Straw to keep the sun off your head, felt to keep the rain off your head, half straw/half felt for sunny rainy days, and fancy to go to the rodeo.

Some do not like the look. Some do.

I do have a very funny "cowboy hat" story. I had purchased a new Chevy Traverse and the damn dash board lights would randomly dim so they were unreadable during the day. It was undrivable, so I went back to the dealership for help. No one could address the issue until I got to the right person. He sat in the passenger seat and began some small talk as I grew more and more frustrated with the whole thing. He then turned to my new Stetson sitting on the dash, when did I get it, what kind did I have before, how often do I wear it. Really nice hat ... yea yea. I was about to go insane, damn truck is undrivable and all you can talk about it my stupid hat. Finally ... "if you stop putting the hat over the light sensor on the dash the problem will most likely go away".

ROFL!

[Doc Sportello]

20. All hat, no cattle

As they say in Texas and as the fearful fellows in the hats showed by waiting to go in.

[hamsterjill]

21. The DPS Troopers and by extension, the Texas Rangers

Have no choice. It’s uniform code. They are taught to even walk in step when two of them are walking together. The “look” is very important to them.

There are still some good people in that organization but who knows how many.

[Beachnutt]

22. I totally agree

So stupid looking, cow boys costumes,
Do Minnesota cops wear viking hats ?

[onenote]

28. No they wear hats like this.

Is that less silly than a cowboy hat in Texas? And for the record, not all police departments in Texas have cowboy hats as part of the uniform and there are a number of police departments in other states, including California, where cowboy style hats are part of the police uniform.

And you often see police in baseball caps these days. Is that any less silly than a cowboy hat?

What should police hats look like and why?

It seems like folks can find something to be outraged about no matter how trivial.

[ThoughtCriminal]

23. And Sheriffs with more medals

than a Soviet Field Marshall.

[WarGamer]

27. Why? I don't think it has anything to do with "macho"

Get outside of town in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska... Wyoming, Montana, Idaho... aww nevermind, lots of States.

Heck, get out in rural California and cowboy hats are common...

So you don't like them?