Re: FBOFW 9/30/05


In the previous article, Peter B. Steiger <see.sig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> I have been pulled aside every single time I have flown in the past
> four years, no doubt a coincidence and not related to the fact that
> I often go a few days between shaves, cut my hair about once every
> three years, and wear comfortable (read: t-shirt and/or sweatshirt,
> jeans) rather than business attire. Last time I went from Denver to
> Dallas, one other guy was pulled out of our group boarding the
> plane. We looked at each other and saw that we both had long hair,
> and just started laughing about the "random" selection.

Though I don't do so anymore, I used to grow a beard in the winter. I
could probably write a sociology thesis on my observations -- I was
treated *completely* differently by nearly every stranger I
encountered, from new people at work to store clerks. Often, people
who first met the bearded me who then saw me clean-shaven for the
first time could barely contain their excitement. They didn't say it
this way, but the clear theme was, "Gee, I didn't know you were a
normal person!" (Obviously, this only applies to people who knew me
in the most superficial way.)

And there is no question in my mind that the bearded version of me got
a *lot* more attention from the TSA yahoos at airport security
checkpoints. It was just so *blatant*.

And apart from the beard, I could reasonably have been described as
"clean-cut."
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone disagrees with any statement I make, I
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / baldwin@xxxxxxxxx|to deny under oath that I ever made it. -T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------
.

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