Wyndsong Writes

This is a saying that my mom taught me as I was growing up.  “You cant’ make a second first impression”.  It means that no matter what you do, the first thing people see about you will be what they think of you most strongly.  If they see you as a nice, neat, clean cut person, then that’s how you will be treated by them.  If they see you as a punk, they’ll treat you like one… and they will for a very long time.

I had a conversation about this with Roger just the other day.  He will be 17 in October and he’s “sorta” looking for a job.  We were watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent and they were investigating the death of a girl who was involved with some Vampire/Goth people.  since that is what my son admires and wants to dress like, I saw this tv show as a GREAT opportunity to point this lesson out to him.  To show him how the rest of the world will see him as he dresses in “Goth” clothing.  I also pointed out to him, that it’s not fair, it’s not just, but it’s the way the world works.

Then I saw some other posts on Facebook today about Six Flags having a dress code policy that disallows people from wearing “Dreadlocks” or multi-colored hair.  There were a few African American bloggers that I read regularly who are boycotting Six Flags because of this policy and many others are jumping on the band wagon.  These wonderful women have Locs and they look great on them!  However, my point of view is this…. When most people think of Locs they don’t think of nicely groomed, beautiful hair. They think of the tangled messy hair that you see in movies and from the 60′s.  Maybe that’s not fair, but that’s reality.

I worked in the entertainment industry (albeit the very far fringe of it) before I had kids.  I was in my early 20′s.  One of the young men that worked there had his hair in locs (he was a white boy from Louisiana).  He came to work with his hair literally a mess of locs, grass and trash, torn up clothes, and not only did he LOOK like he had slept in the park, but more often than not he had, by choice.  He was a radical, wore t-shirts to try and offend people.  He was a punk.  He worked in probably the only place that not only didn’t care, but didn’t even notice.    He was a really good guy, but he really couldn’t get a job anywhere else but the entertainment industry.  When I think of Locs, I think of him… unfairly so, I admit, but I don’t think of anyone neat, clean or respectable.  My experience with those with Locs have not been neat, clean, responsible, respectable people… mostly people who are trying to offend and outrage “normal” society.

So when I hear that Six Flags has a dress code that prohibits “dreadlocks” from being worn, I think that’s totally reasonable.  If I went to the park and saw someone who looked like they slept in the park and never bothered to clean their hair or themselves working there, I’d be upset.  So would anyone else.  Of course, I also know that although this may be the image that pops into my head when I think about Locs, I do know that this is not what ALL Locs look like!

Hairstyle, makeup, clothes.. these are all things that make a statement to the world at large as to who you want the world to see you as.  Specific styles have specific statements.  Mohawks and multi-colored hair says to the world that you are shirking the norm and anti-establishment.  Goth is moody, dark, dangerous, stand offish.  Baggy pants hanging below your butt, bandannas around your head and certain colors are associated with gangs.  The confederate flag, cowboy hats and boots are associated with rednecks. Tiny ass showing skirts, low cut blouses with your boobs hanging out, high heals and fishnet stockings are associated with whores and sluts.  And unfortunately, Locs are associated with drugs and that lifestyle.   These statements may not always be accurate or true, but this is what these styles are saying none the less.

If you choose to wear these styles, you are choosing these statements… like it or not.  No matter how common place these statements become, they are still making the same statement.  This isn’t always fair, but Life isn’t fair.  It’s reality.  And a business has the right to say they don’t want that statement being made within their establishment.  Of course everyone else has the right to say they won’t be supporting that establishment because of their policy, and that’s really the only way to combat this.  I however, don’t think that Six Flags is “wrong” in holding on to their policy though. A private business has a right to say this is how we want our image to be perceived by the public at large and if you want to work here you have to fit within that image.  It’s only smart business to do that, even if it makes some people mad, the majority of the world will accept it.

What do you think?

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