Pariah Messiah

"Your appearance doesn't bother me, but the boss..."

At that point, it was apparent that my appearance may not have bothered him, but how it would affect his boss clearly bothered him despite his insistence to the contrary. You have to deny it. "I personally love Jews, but the boss..." Except that one is grounds for a law suit.

If I had actually needed this job, I would have done all the stupid things I've had to do in the past. Take out the piercings, cut the hair, put on a facade for a superficial world. But I didn't need it and I didn't do all that.

His initial response was expected. He had looked over my resume. We had a phone interview. He had developed a picture of me that did not in any way match what he saw before him. He also looked disappointed and all we had said so far was 'Good morning'.

Hopefully whoever he chose to hire was currently unemployed and really needed a job. If offered the position I would have taken it and worked two jobs while feeling out the new place. And that place was, frankly, a dump.

Twenty years of the mohawk. There are still plenty of people out there who hate long hair on men and are allowed to discriminate for their bias. There are still plenty of racists who have learned how to survive in a world less tolerant of intolerance. Despite the secret wishes of many, such assholes have yet to die off.*

Some have accused me of being stubborn about my appearance. People have said that I bring this upon myself. They say I do it intentionally. Some have even accused me of liking this treatment. Maybe they are right.

Maybe next time I should hide my mohawk under a turban.

* That goes for bigoted assholes and mohawked assholes.