Black Barbershop

[Lilith]

I've been cutting my own hair for going on 20 years. I have a terrible time letting it grow ... one "bad hair day" and out come the scissors. It stays short. My boyfriend would be happy to let me cut (what little is left of) his hair, but he would miss the social aspect of it (!). It is not a black barbershop that he goes to.

 

[Ysidro]

Currently, I go to a salon to get haircuts from a tattooed biker chick with a passing resemblance to Kate Beckinsale.

I think I'd travel out of my way for this place!

 

[linusrichard]

Black people hair is different from white people hair, right? Doesn't it make sense to go to someone who has experience cutting your type of hair? I would have absolutely no problem going to a black barbershop except that I would guess they have almost exclusively black clientele, and might not have as much experience or skill working with my type of hair.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

ETA: I don't see my choice in the poll. "Yes" doesn't fit. Neither reason for "no" fits. I don't make fun of black people for saying "ax" instead of "ask." (Partly because many black people don't say "ax" for "ask," partly because some white people do say "ax" for "ask," and partly because "ax" for "ask" is a nonstandard usage that dates back at least as far as Chaucer (yes really), and I don't feel like messing with something with that venerable a pedigree.) And I do have an opinion. Oh well.

 

[zooterkin]

Currently, I go to a salon to get haircuts from a tattooed biker chick with a passing resemblance to Kate Beckinsale.

I think I'd travel out of my way for this place!

You beat me to it!

Otherwise, currently, my daughter cuts mine with electric hair clippers. I'm old enough not to be vain about my appearance (not that I ever was), and the odd 'mistake' seems to amuse her

I don't really understand how you'd get such a culture developing around a barbershop. How frequently do people need to get their hair cut? I get mine cut at most once every couple of months, so how do you build a community around that?

 

[RandFan]

Race in America, IMO, is a gotcha game. There seems to be a dichotomy of racist and non-racist. No nuance or subtlety whatsoever. Most people know that it is best to keep ones mouth shut to avoid the inevitable "gotcha... you're a racist". No politician in his or her right mind would every use the word "niggardly" again. It would not matter at all if you used the word correctly. Intent has little bearing on the issue. There is a saying in marketing, perception is reality. If one uses the word "niggardly" then ones intent IS racist for that simple reason.

It seems to me, that this is the intent of this thread. Not to have a serious discussion about race but to reveal those who are racist whether they know it or not.

What does not going to a black barbershop in the hood reveal about any single individual? From an anthropological stand point it reveals absolutely nothing in and of itself. It could be indicative of racism but then it could be a lot of things.

I think our best bet for solving the seemingly intractable problems of race relations is open dialog. Sadly that's not encouraged at the moment and the attitudes typical of what I think the poll and OP represent makes things much worse and not better.