new thread
It's just hair, right?Not even close. Hair itself is a dead ob ject, but it's attached to our bodies which is the vehicle for who we are.
Hair is with you every moment of the day through every experience of your life. When you have long hair it becomes
an even more integral part of your life. Long hair requires maintenance and time. It gets in your face when you're making
out. It sticks to your neck on those hot summer days. You can feel it on your shoulders when you cry. Your hair absorbs
every memory and every detail of your life. This realization doesn't come until you decide to cut it.
Not even close. Hair itself is a dead ob ject, but it's attached to our bodies which is the vehicle for who we are.
Hair is with you every moment of the day through every experience of your life. When you have long hair it becomes
an even more integral part of your life. Long hair requires maintenance and time. It gets in your face when you're making
out. It sticks to your neck on those hot summer days. You can feel it on your shoulders when you cry. Your hair absorbs
every memory and every detail of your life. This realization doesn't come until you decide to cut it.
And according to Steven Pinker in 'How the Mind Works':
"Luxuriant hair is always pleasing, possibly because it shows not only current health but a record of health in the years
before. Malnutrition and disease weaken the hair as it grows from the scalp, leaving a fragile spot in the shaft. Long hair
implies a long history of good health."
People who have grown long hair have the Buddha nature. Long hair is the natural state of hair. To grow long hair
is the philosophically equivalent to being the drop of water that travels with the stream, letting the shape of the rocks
determine the course of your hair. Long hair is the very definition of Zen.
Supposedly, up till 1914, long hair was common among men unless you were in prison, a monastry or the army.
Men, had, after all, always had long hair. Some also believe that the preference for long, flowing locks is not an abritrary
cultural artifact, but in fact hardcoded into our genetics - healthy hair being a sign that one's mate is free from
hereditary diseases, and long hair being a sign of a history of good health (eg, your hair has had time to grow between
the last bout of the mange). Hair has always been styled as a form of conspicuous consumption, but the majority of
people have always been content to leave it to grow naturally.
This changed after the outbreak of World War One, with conscription in Britain occuring in 1916 with the Military
Service Act. All able-bodied men were forced to have shaved heads so as to prevent fleas and lice.
Short hair therefore became a sign that one had fought on the front line, done one's duty for their country, stood up and
been counted, asked not what one's country could do for one but what one could do for one's country, etc, in short, a
national hero.
Long hair implied that you were either a pascifist, a coward or a deserter. Since long hair was a sign of pacifism and an
alternative to the mainstream, it was adopted as an important element of beatnik culture. This was passed on to hippy
culture, and long hair on males has been an iconic part of many alternative scenes ever since.
Long hair is how people tend to remember and recognize me. In fact, it's how I tend to identify myself.
Everyone needs something to live for. Who cares if this something is as frivolous as long hair (this follows
kaytay's "as long as you're free" ethic) - if it works, use it.
People really don't think too much of hair these days and there are no shortage of traditional families who will practically disown any kid who even dares to entertain the idea of letting his hair grow. I wonder what is the underlying cultural/social taboo with growing one's hair? Even when they go into adulthood their main excuse for not growing hair is often "its too messy", and most longhair men I have seen said they didnt cut their hair because "couldnt afford haircuts" or "too lazy to cut hair"
Why is it that long hair on men is always seen as such a bad thing? could it be because in ancient time short hair is a sign of submission and only slaves had short hair, so they do that to show they're boss?
I think it's because long hair on a guy is out of the ordinary.Let's face it,some guys just can't handle the attention they will receive (negative or positive).A co-worker of mine,who used to have long hair,said that he was often mistaken for a metal fan..and that it bothered him.personally,I wouldn't even care if people labeled me a "hippy" or a "drugy" or what not,I mean,after all..I'm living out my dream!!why should I care?
some people just can't handle the labeling..it's as simple as that..
One of my coworker who regularly connects my shift (she works morning shift so I leave work as soon as she shows up) who is a mother, said that she would not allow her son to grow hair or else she'd cut it while he sleeps...
haha i never got why parents do that, it would look even messier unless they do it with one of those electronic razors, which would make noise and wake them up.
-Mihnea
You know, my mom always threatened to do that. One day, she snuck in during the middle on the night. I woke up, freaked out, and I lost control. She was going to cut my hair, and well, I just couldn't restrain myself. I knocked her out badly.
Needless to say, I live with my dad now. All parents who wish to create their kids in their image, expect them to have the same interests, or otherwise keep them from being themselves, should not be parents. There's a difference between keeping them safe, and just ****ing with them. I ended up having a lot of insomnia problems after that. I'd seldom be able to fall asleep in less than three days for a long time, and what's worse is I wound up being forced to get a haircut anyway. -_-
snuck in during the middle on the night. I woke up, freaked
out, and I lost control. She was going to cut my hair, and
well, I just couldn't restrain myself. I knocked her out badly.
Needless to say, I live with my dad now."
TRUST is the most IMPORTANT thing when it comes to relationships of ANY kind...especially FAMILY relationships.
Unfortunately, what your mother attempted to do essentially
destroyed all the trust between you two.
Anyway, I believe the 'problem' was not the hair at all--but it really goes much
deeper than that.
Oh well, as they say: "We don't get to pick who our parents are."
Good Luck
The problem with family relationship is that the higher order like parents always tries to dominate the lower order, like kids. Even siblings dominate each other, like older brother dominate younger brother... sometimes I really hate families because of this. Especially true in a confused-cious type of culture where you have to do anything for your parents if asked, even if they tell you to kill yourself, can't question any order from parents. Its almost like the military..
She was going to cut my hair, and well, I just couldn't restrain myself. I knocked her out badly.
Way to go man!!! yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
did she lose any teeth?
I don't think so. It's been a long time since that happened, anyway. I was punished pretty badly for that though, as in locked away and fed through a window. I don't like to remember a lot of my childhood, and I wound up forgetting almost all of it. Honestly, I couldn't name a single middle-school teacher to you. -_-
People from school go up to me all the time and greet me, but it's like I had never once seen them before, and they end up feeling insulted when I don't know who they are. I have real bad memory problems, and my ability to learn has diminished greatly, but when I ask people about it they insist it's normal.
It's really depressing to feel like you're losing your mind more day after day. I used to retain information instantly, but now I can read something ritualistically and forget all of it in an instant. I've been in college for five weeks now, and I feel I haven't learned anything, so I'm pretty uncertain about my future.
As for my rage problems, that's pretty much gone. I haven't lost it like that in years. In fact, I don't think people get much more laid back than me without being lazy gluttons. I'm tired almost all the time, and sometimes I just go entire days without waking up. I'll just sit down in a chair and half the day will just pass me by in a flash. I often find out that I confused the events of an entire week as being something that happened in one days time. I don't have a lot of time to do things I like anymore, much less need to do. I can't help but think it may be a serious health problem, but hopefully it's nothing serious.
I wish there was just a way to live a relaxed lifestyle where I could just live out my life without having to worry about things like schedules, money, responsibility, or the time of day. I wish I was exceedingly rich. It'd make living a LOT easier, and much more enjoyable. I bet I sound pretty selfish, don't I? Well, I can't live with the burden of obligations, expectations, and constantly having to think about what I have to do when I'm constantly drifting away, getting headaches, feeling hazy, and losing conscious thought, and I think it's truly tearing me apart. I almost always feel like I'm floating, but I don't drink or do drugs or anything like that, so I really shouldn't be feeling like that.
I'm just ranting again, I don't expect any easy solutions to these problems. I'm sure that in time things will hopefully fix themselves. I know it's not my fault that I'm like this. Maybe it's trauma, maybe it's stress, maybe it's brain damage, maybe it's poor health, or maybe it's poor living conditions, but I'm still alive and enjoying most of the positive aspects in life, so in the long run it's really not that bad I suppose.
My mother got pretty abusive over the hair thing, but my suppressed memory was limited to hair stuff. The arguments were continual but in time I just blocked them out. I also have no memory of ever going to barbershops for many years but my hair never got real long so of course I did.
I have that too, but I'm face blind. I have failed to recognize co-workers and family members who I see every day. That's a lifelong thing for me and is unrelated to the abuse over hair.
Changing yourself to be that way takes time - years actually. You just have to keep playing the part until it becomes a part of you, and then you are no longer playing. You can overcome the effects of the abuse, but patience is key. Just be yourself and don't let it bother you if this bothers others.
Good luck, man.
Bill
recognize co-workers and family members who I see every day.
That's a lifelong thing for me and is unrelated to the abuse
over hair. ~Bill
The mind is a strange thing: we can 'adjust' and filter the image we see in a mirror,
but the brain is unable to do the same things with photos. That's
why many people think that they "take bad pictures." The brain
cannot adjust the photo.
So does this 'face recognition' thing include photos too?
In other words, can you tell if you are looking at a picture of Luckskind or Absalom or Justin?
Photos and "real life" work the same for face blind people. Also, there is no difference between color and black & white.
Bill
...this would present many problems for an artist. I can't imagine painting someone's portrait.
How could I judge whether or not it even looks like the subject!
IANAArtist, but I think I have some face blindness. I dabbled a bit with "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" when I was in my 20s. Not only did my drawing improve dramaticly, but I was reminded of how I used to draw very well when I was a kid, and explained to people that I was just drawing what I saw. I forgot it when I was an adult, and the book made me remember that. I read an article about a faceblind artist, who had actually latched onto that and drew people without faces. Frankly, I think that was a gimick. For a faceblind person, the ability to draw the face as nothing more than lines, shapes, and shadows might actually produce fine portraits. I was able to do some decent self-portraits, but quickly grew tired of the subject matter, and never developed my interests to the point where I wanted to take a class or draw a model. Anyway, I don't think it would impede an artist.
Well, I am not face blind because I can recall every face I've ever seen; I've been told I have a photographic memory...and I believe it.
I suppose if drawing or painting a face is nothing more than reproducing the lines and shadows of the person
you are looking at, then doing a portrait should not present any difficulties.
I also have this problem, it seems to be even worse with female faces than with men, especially female celebrities, I have real trouble telling who I am looking at while watching a movie while my GF can not only tell who it is, but can then remember if she had seen this same person in one movie she saw like 10 years ago! We are opposites that way.
I used to draw pretty often about 15 years ago and I had no problem recreating what I saw on paper as I was doing it, usually from photos, but clearly remembering faces after I was done was not easy. I guess its not reproducing the faces but distinguishing one face from another thats hard.
IANA*=="I Am Not A"*
In other words, I am NOT an artist. Just wanted to clear that up, as it looks like you interpreted this as me being an artist. While that book did educate me, and I dabbled for a few months, I am only an artist in the sense that someone who took a few guitar lessons is "a musician".
is there a test for face blind?
Some are really awful, but this one is good:
Harvard face blindness test
I have to say man... I did bad in alot of those tests... Especially the random face generator test... I got like 40% or something. In Taiwan I usually make friend with "forigners" (you know what Mexicans would call Gringos or just normal average white folks) so reconizing them isnt too hard because they stand out like a sore thumb compared to others. But in prison I reconized people by their tatoo because they dont change too much, even if they were to shave all their hair off I could still know them by their tatoo. However if an untatooed person with long hair were to shave their head completely, I would not reconize him unless he reminded me.
Alot of times I am puzzled how the hell people reconized me even if I grew out my hair and they havent seen me for a while.
you might have face blindness then..I scored 85% and 88% on the face and car tests respectively *grin*.it said that if you scored below 65% on the face test then you might have face blindness.some of those faces were indeed hard to recognize..
you have prosopagnosia?wow..that's rare..we talked about it in my psychology class...how do you go about recognizing people?
Clothing, and HAIR! [grin] People are driven to be recognizable to themselves, and hair is frequently used to tell people apart, so there are a lot of face blind longhairs. There are a few face blind regulars on this board.
Bill
It isn't that rare. New research has indicated that as many as 2% of people may have some deficiency in face recognition, and I'm one of them. Google around for it.
People who don't recognize faces very well come up with a variety of methods. Mine seems to be a complex of race, location, behavior, context and expression ques. I can recogize expressions--some people can't even do that, so I don't have a severe problem. When I told a co-worker about it, he remarked that he had simply noticed it took a little bit longer for me to respond to him when he came into a room or something.
I go by semi permanent traits like hair, tatoo, color, stuff. I can reconize obvious facial expression but not the less obvious kind. I mean most can probably tell the difference between a smile and a frown but if its like those body language or whatever it gets complicated...
That is an AWESOME post, Luckskind.
I think these words should be preserved somehow, so that anyone visiting this site could read those inspiring words now or at any time they happen to visit this site at some future date. Perhaps there could be a way to have Jason or Bill create a link to this post so those words could be preserved.
David
I absolutely concur. The way for Luckskind to do that is to put a page with it in his personal web space and then he can ask Jason to link it. Luckskind will probably want to give the page a name (a title) so Jason will have something to call it when he makes his link.
Bill
I think the piece has a few grammatical mistakes and may need a tiny bit of editing, but in general it gives a nice overview of what long hairs stands for and the different ways in which it can be interpreted.
An illustration at the top might add a nice touch.
No doubt the best title to use would be: it's JUST HAIR, right? .. .
Isn't that what the archives are designed for?
Even when (and if) we get the archives on line, finding material in it will be like fishing needles out of haystacks. The message numbers are now up to six figures for a reason - there are lots of messages in the archives. Also, space limitations may at some point limit archives to matters posted in the last few years. Most of what Hair Religion and I have written and put on our web sites came from board posts, for example, but it would be a real pain to find all that stuff in the archives.
Bill
...Thanks.
I will be making a Page to be linked to this site.
Of course that ignores all the guys who went to Viet Nam, fought
at the front lines, then returned home to grow their hair
long and protest the war.
First I would like to take this oppotunity to thank Justin, President of the Hyperboard, for
taking the time to record your HAIR QUOTES.
And what will happen next?
Well the Master List will be reviewed several times until the best Long Hair Quotes are selected.
We know you guys are all good sports and we also know that you will
understand there is NO WAY we can possibly use ALL of the Quotes even though we might like to.
THANKS in advance for understanding this.
Hey Luckskind -
That HAS TO BE about the most MASTERFUL POSTINGS to this board that I have ever read. FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Justin~
fantastic post!
That will be happening soon.
Thanks