Haircut

This took place in Ohio, but it could have happened anywhere where two parents, father and stepmother, seem to hold a grudge against a child's mother, and that seems to be universal.

None of the stories I found online mention the age of the child involved here, but at any age, this is no way for a young person to be treated. 

The story: Christin Johnson treated her teenaged daughter to highlights in the daughter's long hair as a birthday gift.

Next weekend, she spent with her father and his wife, and they chopped her hair off as "punishment for getting highlights."

And yes, this took place in 2018, in the United States of America, a land in which people are guaranteed the right to life, liberty and so on.

So Christin went to Facebook: 

“This is what my daughter looked like Sunday when I took her home and the other two pics is what happened today before she was brought to me… all over me having highlights put in her hair for her birthday!” she wrote.

If you guessed that 34,000 people reacted to her post with more than 1,200 comments, you'd be right.

“Kelsey, you are a beautiful young woman. Do not let the actions of these two monsters ruin your confidence. If they cannot accept that you are beautiful and can express yourself in this way, then they do not deserve your consideration. I hope you are feeling loved and supported,” read one comment.

“This is outright child abuse. What is wrong with these people? I would not leave my child alone with these people again,” said another.

Fox 8 News says that the Haskins (OH) Police Department is treating this as a case of child abuse. Police Chief Colby Carroll, says his officers, along with Wood County Children's Services, are investigating.

"I've been doing this since '92 and I've never had a case I would say that's like this," said Carroll. "Mom was upset with how her child was being cared for -- lack of better terms."

I mean, one day she had hair like Marcia Brady, the next it's like Tom Brady, and not by her own choice.

I can't say this for sure, but it would seem that the father and stepmother don't care for the mother very much.  And the sad thing is, the young lady had to pay the horrible price of losing her lovely long hair  - which was her choice of hairstyle - and now marches around school and the neighborhood with that chopped-off look.

I am ashamed to see that people who use a teenager as a pawn in some stupid revenge game happen to be volunteer firefighters, and I hope the fire company sends them packing.

And I hope that the young lady will be able to move on.  Big Daddy and Cruella would be locked up until every inch of her hair grows back, if I were the judge out there.

Have you ever read the short story "Haircut" by Ring Lardner? It's an American classic, and you can check it out here while we discuss this tonsorial stupidity.