Why is everyone (except for VM, and shnitzy) in such denial about this?
I don’t know what it is you think I’m in denial about. Are there times I put on a baseball cap or some other covering over my yarmulke (never instead of)? Yes, of course I do, but invariably it’s for one of two reasons:
1. Fear that I will lose my yarmulke in the activity (such as in the aforementioned balloon ride)
2. Weather related (such as when I put the hood of my coat over my head when it’s cold).
I fail to see why I am wrong to cover my yarmulke with something else in either situation. I fail to see why this is a problem at all.
As for other people, well — are there people who do it because they’re ashamed of being Jewish? Possibly… but there are also plenty of Jews who eat treif and don’t keep Shabbos. This issue certainly does not rise to the level of the latter-mentioned sins.
Just what is it, exactly, that you are accusing me of being in denial about?
The Wolf