14-year old Dustin Reader, who attends Garfield Middle School in Hamilton, Ohio, has received an in-school suspension for what he and his family claim simply for showing their support for the Cincinnati Bengals. The offense? Dustin has a new haircut that is designed after the pattern of the Bengal’s helmet shaven on his head, complete with the capital “B” on the back.

The school claims that the haircut is against their policy that a student cannot have a haircut that is “too distracting” to other students.

Dustin’s mother, Tina Wanamaker says that “He’s had designs on his head before, and no one said anything.” 

Dustin’s father, James Reader, agreed.

“This is a way for him to express pride in the Bengal’s putting in a winning season. It’s not racist, drug related, not gang-related or anything like that. It’s about football.”

Now, I’ve seen several versions of this story on the internet, and judging from the comments I’ve read after the articles, it seems that the vast majority of the commentators are on young Dustin’s side. It’s a pretty sympathetic scenario, after all. Few people are fans of a government school’s policies, which tend to be seen as over-reaching and un-compromising.

Well, it looks like I’m about to tick off a lot of people.

If you were to judge this scenario strictly by the written stories themselves, you would likely take Dustin’s side. 

On the other hand, if you were to view the story through the video interviews, such as the one from YouTube and especially the one from CNN, you might think of Dustin a little differently.

I’ll come right out and say it, folks… Dustin strikes me as a punk.

I have the sneaking suspicion that this kid has had problems with school rules before. Watch the video links carefully, particularly the CNN video.   Listen to not just what he’s saying, but how he says it. Observe his body language and demeanor. Watch how he treats his bike at the end of his little stunt session after showing off for the camera on the YouTube video. I think the odds are good that he wasn’t the one that paid for it.

Look at his eyes. I’ve seen eyes like that before; they were almost always in mug shots. 

Every part of this kid screams “I don’t give a damn about anything… or anyone. Screw the rules; I’ll do whatever the hell I want”.

Now, listen to his parents and how they justify his behavior. Bet you can guess where he gets his attitude from.

“It’s just a haircut. It ain’t drugly related (no, that’s not a typo), it ain’t got no guns, it ain’t got no cusswords, and stuff like that” Dustin drawls. “So why are they worried about it?”

I don’t think Dustin’s haircut is the problem, I think his attitude is the real problem here. According to the CNN video, the school has given Dustin warnings about his hair in the past. 

I know some of you are going to scream “free speech” right about now. I have a dirty little secret for you… the 1^st Amendment, or the right to free speech, technically only applies to criticism or complaints against the government, its laws and its officials, it does not necessarily apply in companies or facilities, whose owners can make their own policies that apply the second you walk through their doors. 

Don’t believe me? How many of you work in a facility that has a dress code? Just try walking in wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt where the dress code requires a suit and tie, and try to argue your right to free speech and expression. 

Right... good luck with that.   Hope you enjoyed working there.

Don’t misunderstand; I am not a fan of our government schools. Some of their policies, such as expelling some kid for bringing fingernail clippers or an aspirin to school (don’t laugh, this has actually happened) are asinine, but as far as haircuts go, well… them’s the breaks. Dustin can wear his hair any way he wants once he graduates. Of course, that might keep him from getting certain jobs that he may want, but if he really wants his hair like that, he’ll just have to find a job that will accept him the way he is.  

Have fun job hunting.

As Red Foreman, my favorite character from “That 70’s Show” once said; “Part of becoming an adult is having to do crap that you don’t wanna do”. 

Or in this case, not getting to do the crap that you do wanna do. Hopefully, Dustin will learn this lesson early enough that he won’t have to learn the hard way in his adult years. 

I don’t think he’s completely hopeless; he does volunteer to help his barber clean up the shop at the end of the day after all, and the barber serves as his mentor, so there is some hope for him.   

Here’s to hoping we don’t see the kid on “America’s Most Wanted” in the near future.

Sources:

Ohio Middle School Student Dustin Reader Suspended for Cincinnati Bengals Haircut: Andy Clayton, NY Daily News.com, 11/12/09

Haircut Controversy: CNN Video, 11/13/09