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Originally posted by shakran
You're right! They get fired, can't get unemployment because it's demonstratably their fuckup, then they run out of money and declare bankruptcy, sometimes become homeless, and often go hungry. School is the place where we teach the children how to behave so that this does not happen to them when they no longer have the safety net of a school.
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And you think allowing children to dress like individuals in school will facilitate what you describe? Whatever. Like i said, anyone with half a brain knows that they have to jump through many hoops to get a job. One of which is to look how your employer expects you to look. In school, you don't have to worry so much about your appearances and i think that's good. I think your proposed connection between how one dresses in school and how one dresses in the workplace is silly. They are two different things. I dressed like a dirty little fuck in school. That doesn't mean in don't know how to dress for a job interview. Like i said, silly.
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OK, for one thing, the kid behind him can't see the board anymore.
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Irrelevant, unless we segregate the tall kids too. Might as well, seeing as how their heads are probably disruptive.
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For another, when's the last time you passed by a guy with neon hair that you didn't look over at him? You really want YOUR kid busy looking at the idiot with the smurf hair when he's supposed to be learning how to read?
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Do you honestly think that every other kid in this 6 year old's class has led such a sheltered existence that they could do nothing but stare at a freaking mohawk all day? I could understand looking at it for a minute or two, but shit, even breasts get old to look at when you're constantly exposed to them.
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For yet another, it teaches the other children that if you want attention, the easiest way is to dress or groom yourself to look like a sideshow. Forget accomplishing something - that's hard. Just dye your hair and do your best imitation of a centurion's helmet and you'll get all the attention you want.
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Who are you to pretend to know what kids are learning from this? We could sit here all day and hypothesize as to what the children learn from a kid with a mohawk. That still won't make biased speculation a valid prop for an argument.
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Plus, whether it's disruptive or not, it teaches the kid with the mohawk that it's OK to look like a freak, and if people don't accept you, that's their fault. That's total bullshit.
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Wow. Honestly. Freak? hmm. How is it bullshit? Break it down for me. I was always taught that, as americans, our differences are part of what makes us strong. I guess i was wrong. Apparently, the key to being a good person is to go along with whatever the majority is doing, you know, don't rock the boat. I guess if it worked for you...
I'm not really certain where you're coming from here, but i'm pretty certain the responsibility to accept or reject people does, in fact, lie within each individual person. If someone chooses to not accept someone with "weird" hair, it is their choice(or, fault, in your terms). To be sure, a lot of people don't really take the time to evaluate whether society is doing a good job of deciding who looks "right" and who looks "wrong". That's fine, that's your right as an american. Just don't pretend that being an ethnocentrist isn't a choice.
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It's just like the people who run around in gothic clothing leading each other around with leashes attached to studded collars around their necks, then wonder why they can't get a job anywhere but a used CD store. These people are idiots. If you want to be accepted in society, you have to conform to societal norms. If you don't care about being accepted, that's great, more power to you, but don't bitch when society doesn't give you a job.
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How did we get from a six year old with a mohawk to the hypothetical "you" bitching about not being able to find work? What are we really talking about here?
You're right though, no amount of individuality will change the fact that the majority of americans are afraid of and misunderstand people who are different from them. It is interesting to see you say such things though. From reading some of your other posts i thought you were a big advocate of rewarding people based on abilities rather than appearances.
Let me ask you this. Do you think it is fair that we are all expected to conform to various folkways which, despite being completely arbitrary, can ultimately decide whether we sink or float? Do you think that it is acceptable for the more qualified candidate to not get the job because his hairstyle was unconventional or because his earrings were too big? Why? What's the point?
It seems obvious to me that this isn't really about a six year old. This is about you ranting against every other goth kid who ever made you feel uncomfortable. I have some advice for you and timalkin and sixate. The next time you see someone who looks different, be it a mohawk or piercings or whatever, and you start to feel the righteous indignation/scorn rising up inside of you like an ulcer, just ask youself a simple question: Why the hell do i give a damn about how this person chooses to look? Why is it so important for me to feel like i am better than this person?