The color purple

[bi_janus]

Apparently high school locker rooms are not as I remember them.

http://www.nytimes.c...ml?ref=magazine

[Cole Parker]

Different and better.

C

[Merkin]

I was with this until the father went home and posted pictures of his son and a "hey world, look at this!" announcement on Facebook.

[Camy]

I bleached my hair when I was small. On the first attempt I panicked and washed it out too soon... shock-horror, my hair was bright carrot orange. The second attempt--the next day, as soon as I worked up the courage to go to the chemist and buy another kit--worked better. I ended up white-blonde. I've also--one one particularly maudlin birthday--shaved it all off. Thank the heavens it grew back. I've never been purple, though dark blue appeals.

[colinian]

Purple hair. Now, that's totally cool.

Colin

[DesDownunder]

I once had my red locks afro-ed. I looked like Bozo the clown.

The story at the link is actually a sign that things are getting better.

[FreeThinker]

The older I get, the more I wish I had been less of a conformist in high school. I don't know if coloring my hair purple would have occurred to me in 1976, though red, white, and blue might have been appropriate for that Bicentennial summer. If I were fifteen today, (and not living in Okieland), I might have tried that! I still don't think I could do tattoos or most piercings beyond my ear, though. Good for him and good for the kids in his high school for "getting over it."

[Gee Whillickers]

Sigh. I remember hair....

[The Pecman]

To me, this is such bullshit. All this crap -- tattoos, piercings, weird hair color, makeup -- to me, the whole thing is just an intense cry for attention. "Look at me! I'm different!"

I feel like saying, "shut the F up and do something with your life." You don't define yourself with a hair style or a type of clothes, or beard, or makeup, or jewelry -- what you are is what's inside your head. Just be reasonable, be real, and avoid all the bullshit. To me, anything else strikes me as totally self-indulgent and obnoxious.

I can take some of this in small doses, and I don't have a problem with anybody who tries to avoid grey hair or otherwise wants to improve the way they look. But the people who go out of their way to look outrageous... all that does is make me roll my eyes. And that goes for all sexes and persuasions.

[Cole Parker]

To me, this is such bullshit. All this crap -- tattoos, piercings, weird hair color, makeup -- to me, the whole thing is just an intense cry for attention. "Look at me! I'm different!"

I feel like saying, "shut the F up and do something with your life." You don't define yourself with a hair style or a type of clothes, or beard, or makeup, or jewelry -- what you are is what's inside your head. Just be reasonable, be real, and avoid all the bullshit. To me, anything else strikes me as totally self-indulgent and obnoxious.

I can take some of this in small doses, and I don't have a problem with anybody who tries to avoid grey hair or otherwise wants to improve the way they look. But the people who go out of their way to look outrageous... all that does is make me roll my eyes. And that goes for all sexes and persuasions.

What? You're saying teenagers are wont to define themselves with a hair style or a type of clothes, or beard, or makeup, or jewelry, that they go out of their way to look outrageous, that they're self-indulgent and obnoxious? Really?

Well, yes, that does typify the staandard model teen. Really.

C

[FreeThinker]

Teenage years are the only time people get to be really expressive about their appearance before maturity and adulthood descend upon them and require some semblance of conformity. Kids like attention. Let them express themselves. Does it look ridiculous sometimes? Maybe, but let them. Having purple hair and getting good grades aren't necessarily exclusive of each other. I'm rather glad that not everyone in my generation looked like Pat Boone when we were kids! LOL!

[DesDownunder]

I remember when I was 16 and came home with a 1/4 inch crew cut. My mother burst into tears. Then 6 years later I had hair down to my shoulders and my mother burst into tears...again. There was no pleasing the dear woman. Her mother scolded me for having hair that was too long, but Mom then sided with me and told Grandma to leave me be.

In those far off days you could actually be fired from your job if your hair was too long, so, I had it afro-ed which looked really bizarre. I also found that I no longer needed a pillow for my head.

I just wish I had enough hair left to have a rainbow Mohawk.

[Cole Parker]

Des: Have you never heard of Cut and Paste?

C

[DesDownunder]

Des: Have you never heard of Cut and Paste?

C

I tried the cut and paste on the boyfriend...Luckily the doctor was able to stitch everything back together.

[Camy]

Cut and paste? What's wrong with a mohawk wig?

Or better still one of these:

[The Pecman]

What? You're saying teenagers are wont to define themselves with a hair style or a type of clothes, or beard, or makeup, or jewelry, that they go out of their way to look outrageous, that they're self-indulgent and obnoxious? Really?

On the other hand... I'm old enough to remember when The Beatles completely redefined hair styles for an entire generation -- a trend that has survived even to this day. Long hair or short hair, it's not that big a deal to me; but purple hair is just somebody screaming for attention, IMHO. Same thing with people that get 150 tattoos or dress in aluminum foil or something.

Again, I'm not saying you can't be stylish or be an individual and have your own look. But I think there's a line that gets crossed when people (young and old) get way too wacky, and it bugs me. Sure, they have the freedom to be idiots, but it just boggles my mind how people can be that self-absorbed and desperate...