Practicality & Prejudice

It's that time of year, again. The weather's transitioning from warm to chilly and from chilly to witch's titty.

This is hard on a bald head, so as in years past, I've taken to wearing skull caps. Along with that comes the looks from people wondering if I'm full of malt liquor and/or ready to snatch and grab purses and cash registers.

On top of that, we just moved so life is moving toward stabilization, not quite there, yet. (This is also a big factor in my recent absence - sorry Liz.) When I move I don't worry about shaving my head of face, so I'm sporting a pretty thick beard, right about now.

For anybody who needs help with the math,...

Beard + Skull cap + Black man = Purse clutching + Increased surveillance.

I've gotten more suspicious looks in the past few weeks than in the last six months or more. I complain about this crap every year, so I'm sure this is no surprise to some of you.

For what it's worth, I think this type of reaction is due to one part prejudice and one part practicality, but when you're on the receiving end - and innocent - it makes the Winter that much colder.