Friday 6 June 2008

I Took To The Stage With My Outrage In The Bad Old Days When You Were The "Make Me Mad" Guy

I have been pulled from my sloth-like existence by a story I just read on cbc.ca.

Stacey Fearnall is a waitress in Ontario who shaved her head to raise money for the charity Cops for Cancer ... and was fired for doing so. WTF? I cannot understand the logic behind this bonehead move.

This is wrong on so many different levels. First of all, she did this for charity. She raised $2,700 for cancer research. She was being completely unselfish and this is how she's rewarded? Oh, thanks for being selfless and generous and BRAVE (hello - she shaved her head) but, uh, you're fired!

Secondly, how can the owner justify firing someone because of how they look? That's not even legal. You can't fire someone for being ugly or being a certain gender or a certain race. You can fire people for being lazy or for stealing or for not doing their job correctly. Shaving her head doesn't not make her lazy or a thief or incompetent. Unless she signed a contract that implicitly stated that her employment was dependent on her having long hair, I don't understand how the owner can get away with firing her for not having long hair anymore.

Thirdly, this is a gender issue. If a man shaved his head, it would be acceptable. A waiter who shaved his head would not be fired for doing so. Stacey is being punished for shaving her head because she is a woman and a woman with a shaved head falls outside of society's norms. It's appalling.

Having a shaved head does not impede Stacey's job performance. In fact, I would argue that it improves it. How many times have you gone to a restaurant and found a hair in your food? It completely ruins the dining experience. Stacey has eliminated the problem completely! Not only that, but just think of how much faster she can do her job, now that she doesn't have long hair slowing her down (wind resistance!)

So, anyone residing in Owen Sound, Ontario, please show your support by boycotting Nathaniel's Restaurant. The owner (who doesn't even have the guts to address the media, instead releasing a statement saying it is an employer-employee matter and such matters are not to be dealt with in the public) should be ashamed of himself.

9 comments:

  1. Whoa he's going to regret that. Last time I checked, people were pretty big fans of cancer research and not so much of bigots.

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  2. woowwwwww. that's appalling. this can ONLY end poorly for this jackass now, though. all publicity is NOT good publicity when you're revealed as a terrible human.

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  3. How ridiculous. That man is a bastard! I hope he reaps the benefits of his actions and in a speedy manner.

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  4. OK, this comment has nothing to do with your post. I just want to say that you are the only other person I know who has ever read "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues." No one get my large thumb allusions, and it is maddening!

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  5. That is awful! I hate when people have double standards like that and think they can get away with acting like bigots. Hopefully because of this story some other area restaurant will offer her a better job in a less judgmental place.

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  6. UNBELIEVABLE!

    Seriously.

    I also need to thank you for posting this. Instead of watching the news...I sneak in reading blogs between marking assignments.

    Thanks for keeping me in the loop, yo.

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  7. At C's place of work, no one can "exhibit extreme hairstyles"--they go on to explain what "extreme" means. It's so terribly gender-centric, it's asinine. If I lived in Ontario, I would leave poo on the owner's door. And then I would light it on fire.

    Where do you find your awesome song-title/lyric titles?? And don't just say "the internet"--be specific!

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  8. that really SUCKS. I hope the media keeps with it until he is VERY sorry he made that decision.

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  9. I can't believe they fired her. Talk about a regret. That's absolutely ridiculous.

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