Assimilate or Face the Consequences

Two stories irritated me today. The first was about a woman who was denied a job because locks. Her supervisor considered locks to be an "extreme hairstyle." People who consider natural hair styles to be "extreme" our delusional. I wear an afro because that hair texture is what is dictated by my genetic code. There's nothing, odd, unusual or extreme about it. If our natural hair is extreme, so is our chocolate skin. However, it is our fault as African-Americans that this problem persist. We went through so much effort to forget about our afro hair in an attempt to assimilate that no one respects it as a racial trait. If we did not drop the ball in this area, deny someone of a job because her hair texture was not European enough would be seen as racist as telling someone that she was not light skinned enough to get a job. That's why I am so glad when I see other naturals. We must support natural hair to make America understand that our it is our genetic feature so that the discrimination and mockery of our hair will stop.

This derision of our features is in the same class as black face and is not acceptable.

The second unfortunate story I found today is regard's France's promotion of a bill the banning wearing a wearing a full Islamic veil in public. As I have said before, I believe that organized religion is detrimental and I would like to see it lose it's prominence, but this makes me sick. France has no right to deny people the ability to express themselves the way that they choose. These women are not hurting anyone, nor are they affecting anyone else by their choice of clothes. There is no excuse for this, and I hope it gets struck down. This is nothing but an out lash of hatred, but this is evident. The spokesperson for the president, Luc Chatel, said

"We're legislating for the future. Wearing a full veil is a sign of a community closing in on itself and a rejection of our values."

In other words, assimilate or face the consequences. Both of these stories are examples of people being threatened simply because others are different from them. Society must learn that just because someone does not conform doesn't mean they are automatically dangerous.