During the second or third grade my father took me to see the neighborhood barber, who, like most of the men in the neighborhood, had fought in the “Big One,” World War II. Mr. Cole had a barbershop in his back yard and supplemented his income by cutting hair at night and on Saturday. For some reason my father decided what I needed was a “flat-top.” Upon returning home my mother took one look at me and screamed, “I’m gonna KILL HIM!” My father was not the only one frightened…Since I played all sports not having hair was a real good thing, so it stayed that way until the summer before my senior year, when I let it grow, and grow…and grow some more…The picture in the high school yearbook was of me and my buzz-cut. This would have been the summer of 1967, as I graduated in spring of 1968. The thick, wavy hair looked longer than it was in reality. Still, there were those “straight” people who did not like it. The school principal informed me that I would have to obtain a haircut immediately or would not be allowed to continue playing on the Baseball team. It is still somewhat unclear what exactly happened next, but the recollection is of Coach Jackson “having a talk” with the principal. The net result was I no longer had to get my hair cut, and could still play Baseball…After graduating high school I took a year off before attending college on a scholarship from the Boys Club, where I worked part-time while attending college. Many years later my nephew saw pictures of me during those years with the beard and long hair and said, “Uncle Mike, you looked like Jesus!” I only wish I had some of that hair now…
‘It’s a racial issue’: Mom slams ‘sexist’ school policy prohibiting boys from having long hair
Elizabeth Di Filippo Yahoo Canada Style•January 28, 2020
A U.K. mom is speaking out against school policies which she says restrict boys from having long hair.
Bonnie Miller has helped her son Farouk James
amass more than 274,000 followers on Instagram by sharing photos of eight-year-old and his long, naturally textured hair.
According to Miller, the decision to allow Farouk to grow out his hair was “cultural.” He was initially encouraged by his father’s Ghanian family to not cut his hair until he was three. As Farouk’s hair grew, the child model developed an emotional attachment to his “unique and beautiful” hair which Miller affectionately calls his “mane.”
While researching secondary schools for her son, Miller said she was surprised to learn that several maintained strict policies prohibiting boys from having long hair. The family’s top choice, Fulham Boys School in West London, currently has regulations regarding hair length which Miller believes are “out of date” and discriminatory against children of colour.
“Hairstyles should be tidy and of a conventional nature, no extreme haircuts including sculpting, shaving, dreadlocks or braiding are allowed. The maximum hair length is above the collar and the minimum hair length is a number 2 cut,” the Church of England secondary school’s policy states. “Hair must be one natural colour. Parents are strongly advised to seek advice on the acceptability of hairstyles that may be considered ‘different’ before allowing their son to adopt such a style. School reserves the right to insist on re-styling if it considers the style inappropriate.”
Although Farouk
won’t attend secondary school for another two years, Miller said her son has become “terrified” at the thought of cutting his hair in order to be admitted to the school.
“It’s a racial issue,” Miller told Good Morning America (GMA). “We all know what kind of boys would have dreadlocks and braids. Generally, it’s black boys or mixed boys. We’re not talking about Caucasian children here… it’s very unlikely.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mom-slams-sexist-school-policy-for-long-hair-214238479.html
While researching this article I found a plethora of other articles concerning the “problem” of a male child with long hair. Why is it that so-called “conventional” type people care so much about how a child, any child, boy or girl of any color, styles their hair? Why is it that so-called “establishment” type people demand conformity?
Bullying Story Spurs Apology From Romney
By ASHLEY PARKER and JODI KANTOR
May 10, 2012
The day after President Obama endorsed gay marriage, Mitt Romney
found himself responding to allegations that as a teenager he harassed a prep school classmate who later came out as gay.
The account put Mr. Romney, who has struggled on the campaign trail to cast off his rivals’ image of him as privileged and insensitive, on the defensive about events nearly 50 years ago.
The episode, reported by The Washington Post, occurred at Cranbrook, a private school that Mr. Romney, the son of an automobile executive-turned-governor, attended in Michigan. Mr. Romney returned from spring break in his senior year to find that John Lauber, a quiet, offbeat type, had bleached his hair blond.
Mr. Romney, brandishing a pair of scissors, led other boys on a hunt for Mr. Lauber, teasing him and holding him down while Mr. Romney snipped off his long locks.
Since the election was close this story could possibly have contributed to Mitt not becoming POTUS. Unfortunately, being a bully did not stop Donald John Trump from becoming POTUS to the detriment of all of US.
One of the great things about working at the Atlanta Chess & Game Center ‘back in the day’ was that one encountered all kinds of people form all over the world. When I think of the people who came to the House of Pain I think of the vibrantly colorful characters and all the different styles of EVERYTHING, but with one thing in common. CHESS!
Looks like he could be a chessplayer.
IM Kassa Korley
Photo by CCC
Kassa Korley IS a Chessplayer!
https://players.chessbase.com/en/player/Korley_Kassa/133904
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVtZgeH7mk5rKpIFjHkI9oA
https://podbay.fm/podcast/1185023674/e/1525172400
Armchair Warrior 