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Any of you ever get weird reactions from security guards?
Yesterday I was in a public restroom combing my hair. It was in a city building so all citizens have a right to be there. I had just come in from outside where it was very windy, and my hair had been a mess.
Suddenly I noticed a security guard was standing behind me and to my right, about four feet away from me. I saw him in the mirror. He was just standing there, staring at me, and slightly grinning. There were other basins available, so he was not waiting to use mine.
It is weird to talk to strangers in a men's room, but he just kept staring at my combing with intense interest, so to break that off I said, "How's it goin', man." He then asked me if I was visiting from out of town, and I said, "No, I live here in town." I could see that he was interested in my combing so I went on to say, "It's really windy today and it can make a mess of your hair." He then stared at me combing my mane and beard a bit more, and then said, "Take it easy," or something similar, and walked out, without ever washing his hands.
Yeah, I have a lot of hair, and now I have a lot of beard. It does take a minute or two to comb it all. Is combing long hair so unusual that people will stare? I mean, there is a mirror there; isn't it there so men can comb their hair? Or was he afraid I would shed on his floor????
I've also noticed that I get offers of help to find stuff from guards a lot more than I ever got with short hair. This is actually convenient, but there's always a sense that there's an undertone underlying "May I help you?" that reads, "What the hell are you doing in my building."
I don't envy security guards. I pity them. They are way underpaid for an important and risky job that is very boring. So I am always very nice to them, and I've never been harmed by one. But they do sometimes creep me out.
Any one else ever have experiences with guards that you suspect would have been different, had you not had long hair?
Bill
Hello
Usualy when i met secutiry guard, it's at a concert so , since there are a lot of longhair they dont care about me, so i neved had problems with them...
Hi,
Everytime i went through an airport i got stopped. It got to the point my friends just laughed. They would just on go and wait for me over a cup of java, oh well.
Oh man! I had that too! after 9-11 when they did the "random gateside searches" I had a 5 leg trip and I got random searced all 5 legs. I would just laugh though and be polite as they were just doing a job and so many other people were nasty to them I'm sure.
I find that some Bouncers in clubs can be like that, but in a 'I pity you' way. Most of them are alright though.
And about the windyness and combing, ouch! Everytime I stepped in from the wind last week and combed my hair through, it hurt to high heaven. Tats for the lose!
Working in retail (not as a guard) I've been in the position of doing the "may I help you find something" to shady looking people (never longhairs though) although it's rare as my attitude is let them hire security for this.
Myself I have not had this happen to me as well as i've never even been harrassed by cops, well except once long ago. I know a few longhairs who've been followed around a few times that were obvious .
I had on a hippie shirt and purple bandanna, but no beads, no flowers in my hair. [grin]
Maybe it had never occurred to him that long hair and long beards must be combed? The hell if I know....
Bill
I have been a security guard and worked in loss prevention. I never bothered with a long hair but what always got my attention was either gender that was unwashed and had BO. I don't think you have that problem so he was just probably playing with your head.
Yes i have had similar things happen to me. My hair isn't long yet but i am in the awkward phase so it looks scruffy. Usually, When I go to a store to shop, I am always approached by a security guard or an employee repeating the same thing always..." Can I help you" or " Need help looking for something"? I always grin and say no. I like torturing them instead. I just continue to browse. I pick up items, Inspect them, Look around and place them back. I continue to do so for a while till I decide its time to stop messing around and purchase what I need. Once I finally purchase what i wanted/needed, I wave goodbye at the stalking guard/employee and casually walk out the store.
Wanna-be-cop syndrome. They start getting suspicious of everyone. I know both cops and guards so trust me on this.
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Splat
Tough call, Bill. If I was a security guard and saw a mug like yours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ha Ha Ha
George
Yep.
I certainly can relate to that!
Now that's what I call "weird behavior"!
Yep, I get that, "May I help you" line, too!!
Yup. Had a run-in with a cop just 3 days ago. But, I think I'll post that story separately (lol)...
- Ken
Yeah, post it please, can't wait!
Eh, I haven't met any security guard nor policeman since I have long hair, so I don't know how they would react, but my schoolmates are highly excited when they see me with loose hair. It seems like a kind of "fashion policeman" archetype.
Hey, remember that time you, me, and your longhaired partner Even went into that electronics store to get your DSL cable? We got that treatment from their guard. THREE longhairs must have REALLY freaked him out!
Bill
I used to be a security guard. When I was in simular situations I was ussally thinking something along the lines of "bet he has some, wish I did". But thats just me.
My impression is that he probably just digs long hair and wishes he had it but because of his job he can't. most security guards are employed by services with a "grooming code" i.e. no long hair allowed.
Now that's an intriguing thought, that he was grooving on my mane!
There are a few people "out there" with combing or brushing fetishes. We had one lingering around the MLHH about eight years ago. He'd get people into IM and then want to talk forever about brushing his hair, and YOURS.
That the guard yesterday was staring and smiling lends some sense to what you are saying. I do have a massive amount of hair to comb. If that was his trip, he must have been in nirvana.
Bill
this explanation makes most sense lol he was prob really digging your hair!!maybe,as you said Bill,he even has a brushing fetish,lol!!
I can never tell whether it's the long hair or the trench coat, but I get stopped and searched enough. So I stand out, but you know, I look totally cool doing it, and then they make asses of themselves when they find out I'm not a threat. XD
I think the full beard may make you look Islamic, but most islamics dont wear hippie colors (its usually robes with a "kufi" which is a white or brown head covering that has designs on it, looks like what Ron wears sometimes) In fact most islamics detests hippies...
Most Islamic types don't have blue eyes, though:
Bill
Really? I guess you never met Cat Stevens then (aka Yusef Islam)
Hunh, that does sound weird. I'm wondering if both your beard and curls may have appeared fake to him at first (with bandanna to hold the wig on), all things easy to shed and blend in with the crowd after you complete whatever nefarious task he assumed you might be there to do. Combing would put a wig theory to the test so that could be why he was watching so intently.
Elizabeth
Interesting thought, though it doesn't explain the grinning, and his staring an awfully long time.
Also, if it were fake, why would I be risking its coming off by combing it at all!
Bill
Yeah, the grinning doesn't fit, unless by a long strech of the imagination he was thrilled at the thought of real criminal at hand and the raise he would be getting for such a collar. Okay, I don't buy that myself either.
Cover! You were about to be caught. :-D In some ways talking about the wind on your hair can be seen as selling your story that explains your presence. Of course, it is just the same thing an innocent person would do.
Also, from my limited experience with wigs, or at least cheap ones, it takes some work adjusting it just right so real hair doesn't peek out. You could have been adjusting it to look real before your caper.
Despite my wild tale of intrigue you probably were seen as a 'dirty hippie' stereotype with no business in the building rather than a terrorist. (I would think the best disguise would be something unremarkable and you stood out.) He might have even thought you were homeless and in the restroom to wash. The guard's interest sounds like suspicion based on prejudice. It would be interesting to send some other male longhairs in to learn if there is a pattern in the guard's behavior.
Elizabeth
another possibility is he might have a long hair fetish...
In the building that I park under there is one (African American) security guard with long hair in micro-braids. He always smiles and says hello.