Because I get off work at 10 pm, I'm usually awake at 11:30 pm when the late night shows cue up. As such, I've come to watching Letterman until at least the completion of the Top Ten list for the day.
Well, Letterman made other arrangements with writers and is now back on live. And, he showed on his first day back with a beard. Here's the before and after:
On show, he stated that after the first night, he got a call with a deep, resonant voice telling him, "Dave, lose the beard."
So, they shaved it on air the following night, which, of course, got considerable press, like this one.
Dave was visibly unhappy with the whole shaving thing...so I can assume that he was basically forced into the shave by those who told him he'd alienate viewers. And, sure enough, as is shown by some of the comments in the article, there are those out there who think that sporting a full beard is tantamount to becoming a terrorist.
WTF? A terrorist? A comedian and talk-show host? Where are these people's realities, anyway?
Mountain man?
Derelict?
Gimme a fookin' break. A beard is just uncut hair, cutting it or letting it grow doesn't change the man's lifestyle or belief systems.
I thought Dave looked quite avuncular and distinguished with his beard. But then, he and I agree about the assininity of daily shaving.
They made him shave that? He looked like I would think Santa Claus does the rest of the year. Tanned and happy, resting for that one ugly, grueling day of the year.
Ah, yes...In search of the para-military look, usually combined with black uniforms and the "fascista" look. I wonder if they'll be wearing Sam Browne belts and clicking heels next.
The police here swing back and forth between the clean-shaven, intimidating militarist thug look and the softer, facial hair and sport coat "I'm here to help you" look of the community policing style. I'm speculating, but I'd bet it swings to the former when the bureau leadership passes to some former military type, who wants to build out the SWAT and riot teams with the latest gear, comes to power. To me, it's the difference between the police viewing the public as 'the enemy' as versus viewing us as those whom they protect.
So much for free expression. I keep telling you that the Bill of Rights is nothing but a pretty facade for authoritarians. Your constitutional rights tend to be exceedingly constipated in the employment environment, even when it's pulbic employment. Increasingly, we only have constitutional rights when they don't mean a damned thing.
Former Police Chief Kroeker of Portland instituted many things that upset cops, one was less facial hair, "no more pony tails, piercings or long facial hair." He was the most militaristic Chief we've had within my memory. He came from L.A.
Dave was visibly unhappy with the whole shaving thing...so I can assume that he was basically forced into the shave by those who told him he'd alienate viewers. And, sure enough, as is shown by some of the comments in the article, there are those out there who think that sporting a full beard is tantamount to becoming a terrorist.
WTF? A terrorist? A comedian and talk-show host? Where are these people's realities, anyway?
Mountain man?
Derelict?
Apparently these people have never heard of a strike beard?
Edit: Then again, I suppose being pro-labor is tantamount to being a terrorist in some people's eyes.
Why is it that moustaches are acceptable and beards are not? What's the rationale behind that?
Why don't they make all officers remove all hair above the collar line...and, to make it uniform across the force, enforce it for all officers, male or female?
I note that they allow the female officers to maintain long hair, but not the male officers. Isn't that sex discrimination?
The rationale behind the mustache standards in the military is proper wear of gas masks. I don't know if the same thing applies to the police.
Similarly, I've read that many places forbid firefighters to be bearded, on the grounds that a beard might interfere with proper fitting of breathing gear.
There definitely seems to be a general prejudice against beards in this day and age. I wonder why that is. Obviously, it wasn't always true; beards used to be considered distinguished.
Remember when Al Gore grew a beard and people cited this as proof that he wasn't considering another run for the Presidency -- because a bearded man would have no real hope of winning high elective office in this country? Interesting, that.
I've read that in many fields, if you show up to the job interview with a beard, your chances of being hired are drastically lower than are those of a clean-shaven candidate with identical credentials.
Fortunately, that sort of prejudice against beards doesn't seem to be so strong in academia. (Heck, I've joked that for Field Biologists, beards are practically required.) I've always hated shaving, and I decided to give it up for good when I was in college. Very few of my acquaintances have known me long-enough to have ever seen me clean-shaven.
On the other hand, a woman once asked if she could kiss me. She explained that she'd never kissed a bearded man before, and wanted to know what it was like ...
Cheers,
Michael
__________________
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
People are so weird about beards. RA has had a beard for a few years now, but he is firmly rooted in the academic world and, like TLR says, that's not so unusual. I keep telling him that he should grow his beard out really long, and I could braid it like he was a viking. He thinks this is stupid.
People are so weird about beards. RA has had a beard for a few years now, but he is firmly rooted in the academic world and, like TLR says, that's not so unusual. I keep telling him that he should grow his beard out really long, and I could braid it like he was a viking. He thinks this is stupid.
Damn....That's what I wanted to do last winter. I got to the point where I could do a half-fast braid on my hair, but I never managed the beard. It was then just a bit longer than shown in my profile picture. I evidently don't know anybody who lets on to having braiding skills....my SO demurred.
Beards and Letterman
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