this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2024
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A judge ordered Wednesday that a trial be held next month to determine whether a Black high school student in Texas can continue being punished by his district for refusing to change a hairstyle he and his family say is protected by a new state law.

Darryl George, 18, has not been in his regular classroom in Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu since Aug. 31. Instead, he has either been serving in-school suspension or spending time in an off-site disciplinary program.

His Houston-area school district, Barbers Hill, has said George’s long hair, which he wears in neatly tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates a district dress code that limits hair length for boys. The district has said other students with locs comply with the length policy.

...

In the ad, Poole defended his district’s policy and wrote that districts with a traditional dress code are safer and had higher academic performance and that “being an American requires conformity.”

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[–] mateomaui@reddthat.com 143 points 11 months ago (7 children)

districts with a traditional dress code are safer

Trying to wrap my head around the concept of “dangerous hair.”

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 125 points 11 months ago (1 children)

"traditional dress code" seems like code for white people in this case.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 31 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Clearly it's the hair that's the problem with their culture, and not the generational lack of wealth.

Show me how many black people inherit a house vs whites. Show me how crime rates drop in areas where more homes are owned outright, with no rent or mortgage.

Nah, it's probably the hair.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

the generational lack of wealth

Technically correct, but (inadvertently) misleading because some who don't click the link might assume it's their own fault for failing to save.

To be clear, what we're really talking about here is generational theft of wealth by institutional racism.

[–] RGB3x3@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The concept of "just save your money and you'll be rich" is so fucking stupid.

You can't save what you don't have, so you have to be comfortable enough to have disposable income and to have enough disposable income that you're not completely giving up on any daily or weekly pleasures to make your poverty-stricken life any less of a pain.

God forbid you want to grab a coffee from somewhere because you work 12 hours a day 6 days a week just to pay your bills. "YoU ShOuLd Be SaViNg ThAt MoNey!"

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[–] Uranium3006@kbin.social 39 points 11 months ago

it's a code word for racism

[–] Liome@pawb.social 34 points 11 months ago

Countries with gun control laws are safer.
Schools have no business whatsoever in their students' hair.

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago
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[–] magnetosphere@kbin.social 85 points 11 months ago (1 children)

If the student somehow doesn’t win, I’ll have even less faith in the justice system than I already do.

Oh, and this isn’t quite the point, but I’ve seen pictures of his hair from other angles. It’s cool as hell.

[–] maryjayjay@lemmy.world 35 points 11 months ago (3 children)

It's fucking Texas. Don't get your hopes up

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[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 74 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

This school principal used "conformity" as an American principle, implying the kid was being anti American or foreign in some way. Black Americans and their hairstyles are just as American, if not more so than that of white Americans, many who don't have roots to this land as deep as that of some black Americans. This is another example of racist, white administrators, who think that only a white American is a true American.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Gotta love treating the descendants of people who were brought to America by force as foreigners.

[–] RGB3x3@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

A conversation circa 1780:

"Get out of our country, you don't belong here!"

"You brought me here against my will, motherfucker."

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

Yeah, I love the "go back to Africa" assholes. It's your ancestors who took them from there in the first place, motherfucker.

[–] Akuchimoya@startrek.website 52 points 11 months ago (1 children)

This is utterly ridiculous and such a thinly veiled racism. It's disgusting that a school principal and members of the school board collectively want to punish this kid so badly for being black they'd go to court to do it.

If there's a go fund me or other fundraiser for court costs for this kid and his family, I'd gladly throw money at it.

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[–] WeeSheep@lemmy.world 43 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Being an American requires respect of others, originally different religions, and now encompass race. Who still cares about hair style as long as it isn't whipping in someone else's face.

[–] Nudding@lemmy.world 13 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Looks like you drank the propaganda lol. Being an American is about bombing brown children for oil.

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[–] _number8_@lemmy.world 43 points 11 months ago (2 children)

it's incredible there are still guys who act like a grade school dress code is some sort of sacred biblical text. just really makes your skin crawl. imagine believing in something like that. imagine taking time out of your day to punish someone over their hair and thinking you're a noble servant of the barber's hill tradition. what the fuck dude

oh and also the virulent racism

[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 21 points 11 months ago

imagine taking time out of your day to punish someone over their hair and thinking you’re a noble servant of the barber’s hill tradition. what the fuck dude

When you think "being an American requires conformity" and consider yourself the arbiter of that conformity, it makes pretty good sense. Especially if you are a racist old shitbag.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

My daughter got in trouble in her public middle school for wearing a spiked collar. Now she's in online school and can wear whatever the fuck she wants. She wants to wear spiked collars. Fuck school dress codes.

[–] Nobody@lemmy.world 39 points 11 months ago (5 children)

America was founded in a rebellion against tyranny. Conformity was for royalists, who undermined the revolution and some of whom later served as spies or fought with the British Empire.

These people wave flags and pretend they embody American ideals when they’ve never even understood those ideals, much less even made an effort to live up to them.

[–] Illuminostro@lemmy.world 32 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The Revolution was fought because rich men hated paying taxes. The same reason we're on the verge of a second civil war, now.

Ironically, all these conservative "patriots" would have been Tories back in day.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (3 children)

No taxation without representation.

It wasn't just taxes. It was taxes that were being taken out of their community that they had no say in.

Texas gets more representation in our government than any other state not named California.

And you know where Texas money goes? 60% goes back to Texas. The rest goes to Arkansas, Mississippi, West Virginia, New Mexico, and Kentucky.

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[–] gamingdexter@lemmy.ml 38 points 11 months ago

I hope he wins and sues the school but mainly the principal into the ether. Good for him and his family for supporting him

[–] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 35 points 11 months ago

Sounds like the school needs to conform to the changes of society!

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 33 points 11 months ago (1 children)

For context, Poole got his conformity idea from looking at the military academies. Barber's Hill is not a military prep school and the Military does not believe being an American requires conformity. They believe target identification and units working together at low levels requires conformity. (So they know exactly what they're going to do and can just execute the mission without input from higher)

This guy is an authoritarian hiding behind things he only pretends to know about.

[–] slackassassin@sh.itjust.works 6 points 11 months ago

Yep. The full quote was referring to Annapolis, etc, and talking about how they know that "being American requires conformity with the benefit of unity."

I like your take because even though that keeps being taken out of context, it's still deserves just as much criticism. High school isn't boot camp.

[–] _lilith@lemmy.world 26 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I like that the two people who literally wrote the law the school is currently breaking were at the hearing to confirm that the law covers this

[–] cybersandwich@lemmy.world 22 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (8 children)

violates a district dress code that limits hair length for boys.

This is a thing?

I'm actually glad they have so many pictures of him in the article. Lmfao, how is that too long????

My hair looks longer than that and it's a standard dude haircut.

I just googled mens haircuts:

https://www.gatsbyglobal.com/en/technique/best-haircuts-men-top-mens-hairstyles-today/images/img2.jpg

https://www.gatsbyglobal.com/en/technique/best-haircuts-men-top-mens-hairstyles-today/images/img10.jpg

https://www.gatsbyglobal.com/en/technique/best-haircuts-men-top-mens-hairstyles-today/images/img11.jpg

https://www.gatsbyglobal.com/en/technique/best-haircuts-men-top-mens-hairstyles-today/images/img15.jpg

Seriously, almost half of these are longer than this guys hair. None of them would be suspended.

Here is the link of the top 70 styles for men:

https://www.gatsbyglobal.com/en/technique/best-haircuts-men-top-mens-hairstyles-today/

There are obviously haircuts for men that are shorter but I wouldn't even put this kids hair, as styled, in the middle of the hair length bell curve.

Yup, Texas schools are authoritarian hell holes.

It's not about the hair length. It's mostly because he's black, but it's also about asserting power. .

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 22 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I pasted this the other day. For those who missed it, this is what Barbers Hill is about-

https://www.bhisd.net/district/about-bhisd

Explains a few things, doesn't it?

[–] RGB3x3@lemmy.world 20 points 11 months ago (3 children)

What a fucking weird thing to focus on for a school district.

Unless of course... They're funded and lobbied by the Petroleum companies... no, that couldn't be it...

[–] MrEff@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Not really. If you are from Houston you would understand. All of east Houston is petrochem. About 60% of ALL refined oil in America comes from Houston, and specifically the east side. Pasadena (houston) is even nicknamed Stinkadena because of the constant chemical oder in the air. They also employ a large majority of everyone who lives on that side of town. Most of the area around it, Mont Bellview included, has their entire local economies based around support for the oil and gas industry.

I know people are going to comment about 'boooo oil and gas, we should switch away from oil!' And others are going to say 'that's disgusting! Think of the poor people trapped to live there!' But the reality is that is was how the city evolved. With the rise of oil and gas, there was the rise of the refinery towns in East Houston. Without it, they would have never existed. And several of the refineries are making other products than gasoline. If you ever use and lubricants, plastics, crayons, waxes, or ever driven or biked on asphalt, then you use oil products.

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[–] Gork@lemm.ee 18 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Barbers Hill High School

Well there's your problem right there. With a name like that, they're bound to be very particular about the hair of all of their students for whatever reason.

[–] PopMyCop@iusearchlinux.fyi 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Lol. The best part is, the name comes from the area being a huge salt dome, which tracks because these school administrators are obviously super salty.

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[–] Illuminostro@lemmy.world 18 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Seriously, what is offensive about his hair?

[–] xanu@lemmy.world 51 points 11 months ago (3 children)

His skin color.

Hopefully it's obvious I don't agree with that statement, but at the end of the day, that's what this case is really about.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hey, it's also about power trips and compliance. "You WILL do what I said" kind of thing.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

You say that as if there's a difference, but really, racism is just a special case of that.

[–] Illuminostro@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

I know. Ridiculous.

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[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago

Same people in Texas make fun of North Koreas defined list of hairstyles probably lol

[–] homura1650@lemm.ee 16 points 11 months ago (2 children)

violates a district dress code that limits hair length for boys

I get the racism angle here, but isn't this an open and shut case of sexism?

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[–] UnrepententProcrastinator@lemmy.ca 14 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Remember all those immigrants coming through New York being inspired by the statue of conformity.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 8 points 11 months ago

If I was the judge for this, I'd get the same haircut as the kid out of pure spite.

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