First impressions and ultimate impressions.

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notsomadLisa

The Fly
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
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end of the yellow brick road.
This is part rhetorical and part truth.

If you saw someone walking down the street, and I'm describing myself in this as I currently am. Long hair, blonde with blue streaks. Regular boring street clothes or surgical scrubs depending on the day. No tattoos, visible or hidden, no piercings, visible or hidden. The only outward difference is the hair color. I do nothing special with my hair in terms of style, it's either down, or in a pony tail.

Immediately, what would you think?

I'll ask the next part after I get some responses, because this is kind of complicated.
 
I'd think you like to play with your hair colour. :)
 
when i think of first impressions, it's always my first time meeting/talking to someone, never based just on how they look..

i think it's wrong to judge someone on their appearance - i hate that - i hate it when it happens to me, i hate it when it happens to my loved ones, so it's something i refuse to do and something i've tried to instil into my kids not to do.... - unless it's someone wearing a National Front fascist/racist t-shirt or something in which case i will obviously think "prick" and take a wide berth...

if i saw you with your blue streaks i would think it's pretty cool and it would probably make me smile and brighten up my day!

my 16-y.o. son is a punk, it's his style and whole ideology - and i get so much grief from other parents for letting him express himself in the way he dresses (it's quite rural and very conservative/traditional where we live), but i think it's really important he feels he can be himself... he's actually a really lovely sweet kid, but gets a lot of grief from idiots because of the way he dresses... we've explained that to him, saying it will sadly affect the way people who don't know him respond to him, but he says he's ok with that...
 
I'm not a punk, hipster or any particular category. I'm 30 and have been changing my hair color since I was 14. It's had the entire spectrum.

No tattoos simply because I hate needles, I've had my share of piercings when I was a teenager, but found out that for me I'm just sensitive to certain metals so it's just easier not to have to maintain piercings. I've got no inclination for either. I've considered a tattoo of a Phoenix only because of a near death experience two years ago. I've just never acted on it.

Yes, aside from my addiction to anything U2, coffee is my preferred drug of choice. You have me there.

Next part to this.

I suffer from chronic pain. I've got degenerative disk disease in my spine, worsened by a car accident 4 years ago. I'm not going to go into specifics, but I've had two fusions to my lumbar spine since that accident. Almost my entire lumbar spine is fused currently. I'm classified as disabled because of this, but I can walk. It just hurts. I'm generally on some form of narcotic pain medication, which is closely monitored and switched around to help from building a tolerance. Prescription of course. I go to school, I'm a decent student, I help fellow students when need be. I do the best I can considering my situation.

Doctors have told me I'll likely never be totally out of pain, nor can they guarantee that I won't have surgeries later in life.

So now, I'll tell you the reason I color my hair. The reason for the blue started as a joke - I felt like an old lady, so I should have the blue hair to go with it. But the real reason simply is - its really one of the only things that I can control. I cant control pain, I can't control life, I can't control school, nor my grades. I can control my hair color.

Now, if you were on a jury, and I walked into a courtroom regarding the car accident I was in (I was a passenger in a car that was stationary that got hit at 45mph), with said hair, would your first impressions still be the same, or would you think I'm just a 30 year old overweight person that is just seeking money for drugs?
 
i would say the colour of your hair should not make the blindest bit of difference in what the jury thought!
 
Thank you!

When I was 17, I attended a concert festival. I coloured my hair purple. After, while walking through a supermarket with my mum, I got (as well as my mum) nasty looks and whispers simply because of the color of my hair. The headmaster at my school was none too pleased either, and threatened to suspend me.

That was 14 years ago, and while I live in a different country, I'm still a little disappointed that society still places stereotypes on people based solely on appearances. I know it'll never go away, but I learned that one of the best things is to get to know the person, and not judge based on appearances alone. Im considered to be a control freak. Self professed for sure, and I'll gladly admit it. I get frustrated when I cannot control certain aspects. But I admit I can't and try to accept it and just leave it.

But when I'm frustrated, and I don't like to rely on others unless absolutely necessary, I have to do something as an outlet. It's currently too cold, icy and windy for me to attempt going and taking photos, I'm still too unsteady on my feet. Stairs are an enemy of mine sometimes. My outlet is coloring my hair. It's better than drugs, and I'll be the first to admit I hate the feeling painkillers give me, but without them there are times just moving in bed is too painful, let alone walking.

But, I've been told by people that the current color of my hair gives the impression that I'm something I'm not. There's a guy at my school, heavily tattooed, wears leather jacket with the name of 'squirrel' on it, leather motorcycle chaps over his scrubs. Never takes them off. I've never spoken to him, but all I know about I'm is that he rides a bike, even in the middle of winter. One of my closest friends is heavily tattooed, and the nicest guy you'd meet.

So why don't people stop, take a step back and not judge?

I know, my soapbox is getting a little annoying, and I apologize.
 
i would say the colour of your hair should not make the blindest bit of difference in what the jury thought!

I think that's what you would hope for, but it isn't reality.

Frankly if I was out there and I had suffered an injury and was going to trial to try to recover for damages, I would go with what the jury consultant or lawyer advised. If that meant not having blue streaks while I'm in the courtroom, then so be it.

:shrug:

My feeling is that I don't really give much thought to people's hair colour in social situations. But this isn't really that, and I'd do whatever was in my best interest.
 
Yeah, if those involved in the court case advised me to dress a certain way for the trial I'd do it. But I do think it's stupid, the idea that people would judge someone's guilt or innocence based solely on what they do to their hair. How the hell does that tell you anything about someone, aside from the fact that they like to try out new things with their hair?

I'm sorry about your accident and all the pain you're dealing with and the surgeries and such. Anyone who assumes things about you based on a few streaks in your hair clearly needs to get out more often.

You mentioned tattoos-my sister has some tattoos. Not a troublemaker in the slightest. Meanwhile I've come across people who don't have any unusual colors in their hair or are tattoo-free or whatever, and they were total assholes.

I think in this day and age people are generally more accepting of such things, but it's really pathetic to think there's still some out there who are willing to make such snap judgments based on trivial stuff like that.
 
Yes, I fully intend to listen to my attorney when it comes to court appearances, if he says natural hair color (which I'd been planning to do anyway), then I'd do it, but if he says it wouldn't matter either way, I'd leave it. I fully respect what my attorney says and does for me, considering the amount of crap he's put up with ;)

But, considering the original court date has now been postponed until whenever they damn well make up their minds, and my deposition was rescheduled a month behind, plus the COURT MANDATED mediation was cancelled as well, what should I do in the meantime??
 
I think that's what you would hope for, but it isn't reality.

Frankly if I was out there and I had suffered an injury and was going to trial to try to recover for damages, I would go with what the jury consultant or lawyer advised. If that meant not having blue streaks while I'm in the courtroom, then so be it.

:shrug:

My feeling is that I don't really give much thought to people's hair colour in social situations. But this isn't really that, and I'd do whatever was in my best interest.


This. It's also why you don't show up in sandals and a tshirt.

Just pointing something out, but in the original post, you made it clear that you didn't have any tattoos. I think you may have been subconsciously judging people that do (or at the very least, being completely aware that these prejudices exist). Just play the game for a day keep your hair natural for the courtroom. Then if things don't go your way, at least you won't have the nagging feeling it was because of your haircolour
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXenEK0h6qg

I almost cut dyed my hair, it was happened just the other day.
It was gettin' kinda long blue, I could've said it was in my way.
But I didn't and I wonder why, I feel like letting my freak flag fly,
And I feel like I owe it to someone.

Well, must be because I had the flu for Christmas and I'm not feeling up to par.
You know, it increases my paranoia, like looking in my mirror and seeing a police car.
But I'm not givin' in an inch to fear. I promised myself this year.
I feel like I owe it to someone.

When I finally get myself together, I'm going to get down in that sunny southern weather.
And going to find a space inside to laugh, separate the wheat from the chaff.
'Cause I feel like I owe it to someone.
 
I think that's what you would hope for, but it isn't reality.

Frankly if I was out there and I had suffered an injury and was going to trial to try to recover for damages, I would go with what the jury consultant or lawyer advised. If that meant not having blue streaks while I'm in the courtroom, then so be it.

:shrug:

My feeling is that I don't really give much thought to people's hair colour in social situations. But this isn't really that, and I'd do whatever was in my best interest.

true... guess i was just being naive lol!! i should've said "i would say the colour of your hair should not make the blindest bit of difference in what the jury thought! (but it probably would!)"

and definitely, if i or one of my children had to make a court appearance, i would definitely make sure we were "neutral" and neat and tidy, just to avoid anyone making wrong assumptions about us, for sure... just like i would make an effort when going to a job interview/meet a new client etc. - first impressions in terms of appearance DO count for that kind of thing... at the beginning of the thread i was thinking more about first impressions in relationships/friendships really...

my son has got an open day soon at a college he wants to go to, and he sure as hell won't be spiking up his hair that day LOL - just because i know it will go against him and people will judge him...
 
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