new thread
Sadly, it is coming out that a significant number of longhairs have been physically abused by their parents or other adults entrusted with their care. This most typically occurs at or after the age of about eleven - the age when children experience a large surge in their acquisition of an identity of their own.
For many longhairs, even into adulthood, memory of these events cause us to feel sadness and great shame. We just don't talk about them. But what happens if we talk to others is we find out, yeah, others were abused too.
Just last week a man in his forties told me how as a child he was manhandled by adult relatives to the point his arms and face were covered in bruises, while they attempted to cut off all his hair. When he went to school the next day wearing a hat to cover the butchering on his head, his teachers harassed him about wearing the hat, rather than supporting him for the obvious physical abuse he had suffered. And that is just one man's story. Unfortunately, tales such as his are not turning out to be rare.
One step we can take to help put a stop to this abuse is to get the word out that it is happening. The next generation of longhairs needs to know that there are others their age and others who are adults who understand what is going on and that we support them. And society needs to know that there are adults who will speak out for these children if this abuse continues.
To begin, I would like to put together a web page that would let people know what is going on - a page to tell our stories. On the page we can be anonymous or we can say who we are, in case others who need support want to write.
Thanks Bill, sounds like a great project.
I've mentioned the story that Robert Bly tells about parents holding down their teenage son and cutting off his long hair against his will.
The boy's grandfather came in soon after, saw what had happened, and immediately took the boy to the ocean. Standing on the beach he faced him to look out at the ocean and told him," Here, this is all for you."
I had GI and corporate hair until my early 50's. It's down to my keester now. I was beaten to the point of peeing blood as a young boy. The beatings continued until I got my size, then we boxed. Pretty
typical child of two alcoholic parents. Maybe my long hair is a
statement. I sure do love it, particularly all the positive comments
I get. It also lets me sort out the picky people with petty criticism I'd rather not have around...the split ends folks.