Observations

Observations
 Posted by HappyPuppy on February 03, 2003 at 00:32:28: Previous Next

I just clicked on a link to the buzzboard (just for fun) and had a look around. I remember someone a while back asking what people would discuss on a board that's basically about not having hair. I myself was curious, but as we all know, curiosity can be a dangerous thing. I soon found myself engulfed in discussions about which razors worked best, different celebrities with buzzcuts, rants about the trend towards longer hair, and, worst of all, digicuts (cheap photoshop tricks to give a celebrity a digital buzzcut). I didn't want to keep reading, but I was strangely mesmerized. Finally, I had to tear myself away, to keep from posting what I really wanted them to hear. *And shut off the melodramaticism* But if I had posted, I would've made a few of these points. (Is melodramaticism a word?)

After reading a few posts, I finally started to grasp the bigger picture here. Everyone on the buzzboard (in relation to the body part in question) looks the same. Sure, some might have flattops, and some might be completely shaved, but there's no real diversity. The longer your hair is, the more it becomes distinguished from everyone elses. It starts to take on a life of its own (so to speak, not obsessively of course). Keeping hair short seems to make the wearer more anonymous, like they don't want to stand out from the crowd.

Growing your hair is exciting. Like they say, half the fun is in getting there. (Or something like that.) It's especially exciting if you've never had long hair before. There's so much to learn, and you're still not sure if your hair's gonna look good when you reach your goal. I don't think I'd be able to stand the anonymity of a buzzcut. I tried it once as a joke on the last day of 8th grade, and aside from being cold as f**k, it looked terrible. And only the people who knew me were surprised. Everyone else thought of me as just another normal kid. And being thought of as normal is one thing I can do without.

I know there were a few more points I wanted to put in here. Maybe I'll put them up as I remember them. Maybe I'll just keep them to myself, and never tell anyone. NEVER! Or maybe not. Whatever.

One more thing I just remembered. Ever notice how it's always shorthairs who go around wanting people to look like them? Not everyone with short hair, but "Get a haircut" is fairly common. As opposed to someone driving by and shouting "Grow your hair out". Longhairs seem to be a lot more accepting of other people than shorthairs. I think that's one of the reasons I was so shocked by the "digicuts". It was like "here's how he'd look if he was 'normal', like us, which is the only right way to be." I've never seen anyone using their computer to see what someone like Dave Attell would look like with long hair.

Anyone else with thoughts on this, I'd be interested in hearing them.

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