I'm so ashamed of myself. It was totally wrong, but I did it anyway.
I've been fuming since yesterday over the Romney story. I'm angry that people keep calling what he did a "prank" and "bullying." I don't understand why people aren't calling it what it is: ASSAULT!
I imagine what Lauber must have felt when he saw Mitt Romney charging at him with a pair of scissors. How could he know in that moment that Romney's intent was to cut his hair. How he must have feared for his very life in that moment.
If somebody who did not come from privilege had done this, there would have been consequences. There would have been criminal charges filed. I found several stories of people having their hair cut against their will and in every news article I read there were consequences. Like this one:
The girls, who all graduated Wednesday from McDowell High School in suburban Erie, broke into the home of 16-year-old Stacy Rounds on June 1 and attacked her, Detective Michael Tesore said.
Once inside the home, they allegedly wrestled her to the floor of her bedroom and cut her hair with a pair of scissors.
(snip)
"Stacy was terrified and shaking and afraid to go (to school)," said the girl's mother. "Of course I'm very angry and upset that this happened to her. When my daughter saw those scissors, she thought she was going to be stabbed by these girls."
(snip)
"We didn't hurt her in any way," Kemp said. "All I did was go in and cut off a little piece of her hair. I was surprised we got arrested for this."
3 charged in teen's forced haircut
I've been clicking through and reading the many diaries and comments about the incident. Every time I return to the Dailykos homepage, there it is at the top. A Google Banner Ad for Mitt Romney, begging me to click and donate money to the Romney campaign.
I know how those Google ads work. Every time one is displayed nothing particular happens. However, if the ad is clicked, then the owner of the website earns a commission from Google Adsense and the provider of the ad is charged a fee by Google Adwords. I know because I have a website and have both an Adsense and an Adwords account. I also know that with an Adwords account, I have the ability to block my ads from appearing on particular domains. I don't understand why the Romney campaign wouldn't have blocked their ads from appearing at this site.
I know these things. And yet, knowing what would happen, I clicked the ad anyway. I feel terrible about doing this because it was morally wrong to intentionally click the ad when I knew full well that I had absolutely no intention of donating to the Romney campaign.
I'm sincerely sorry. I shouldn't have done it.
Here are some other stories about what happened to people who gave haircuts to others against their will:
The Pittsuburgh Press - May 22, 1936
Haircut Given Wife Gets Man In Trouble
Eli Finn, 37, today awaited Grand Jury action on the charge of second degree assault, because he gave his wife a haircut.
Mrs. Finn swore out a warrant charging he forcibily clipped her close to the scalp just after she had paid for a permanent wave.
St. Petersburg Times - Mar 12, 1950
Wife Gets Crew Haircut From Her Angry Husband
Bertrus H. Verkay, 40-year-old, Phoenix, Ariz., businessman, is to be sentenced March 20 for giving his wife a crew haircut. He trimmed his wife's red tresses in a fit of anger and a jury of five women and seven men convicted him of aggravated assault. Mrs. Verkay, 27, who appeared in court with a white scarf wrapped around her head has filed suit for divorce.
The Spokesman-Review - Oct 9, 1955
Rough Haircut Nets Jail Term
COVINGTON, Ky., Oct. 8. (AP) -- The haircut Lloyd Bryant, 33, of Hamilton, Ohio, gave his estranged wife today cost him a year in jail.
Bryant pleaded guilty in circuit court to assault and battery. Police said he beat the woman and then cut off her hair with a knife.
The Dispatch - Mar 23, 1966
Compulsory Haircut Gets Prison Sentence For Man
RALEIGH (UPI) - A man who held a gun on his ex-girlfriend while his wife clipped off the girl's long, chestnut hair was sentenced to two years on prsion Wednesday.
Superior Court Judge William Y. Bickett setenced Joseph G. Marshburn, 22, to two years on each of two counts of assault on Linda Medlin, 18. He ruled, however, the two sentences could be served at the same time.
Marsburn's wife, Sandra, will be tried later.
Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Dec 12, 1970
HAIRCUT COSTLY FOR HARDHATS
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- It cost three construction works $1,368 to trim the long tresses of a 20-year-old man, it was disclosed Friday.
A civil compromise filed in Circuit Court reveal the money had been paid to John Pierce fo the nearby Town of Tonawanda by Ralph E. Hobbs, 35, of Dallas, Tex., Jack V. Taylor, 21, of Augusta, Ga., and Glenn G. Detenbeck, 20, of Fort Erie, Ont.
Police said the trio grabbed Pierce on a street last Sept. 15, dragged him into an alley, punched him in the face and cut off his long hair.
Judge Ann T. Mikoll dismissed charged of third-degree assault after the workers agreed to pay Pierce for the injuries and hair cutting.
The Southeast Missourian - May 9, 1993
Man sentenced for giving ex-girlfriend unwanted haircut
PITTSBURG (AP) - A man was sentenced to a halfway house for forcing his ex-girlfriend from her car and cutting off her shoulder-lenguth hair until all but a few clumps remained.
Jeffrey Marshall, a sales representative for an airline, pleaded with a judge Friday to reconsider the sentence for simple assault and unlawful restraint.
I really, really apologize for what I've done," Marshall said. "Please let me have a future and keep my job. I only have this job to fall back on."
Marshall, 27, was convicted of forcing Lisa Nagel, 25, from her car in February 1992, driving her to his house and giving her the unwanted haircut.
The incident occurred about four months after the two ended a seven-year relationship. Despite the breakup, Ms. Nagel said, she and Marshall saw each other occassionally for dinner or a movie.
After Marshall cut Ms. Nagel's hair, he asked her how her new boyfriend liked the haircut, according to testimony at the trial.
Mrs. Nagel told Common Pleas Judge Kathleen Durkin the incident terrified her to the point that she can't travel alone. She asked that Marshall be punished severely.
Erie Times-News - June 11, 1999
FORCED HAIRCUT LEADS TO CHARGES
Three 1999 McDowell High School graduates were charged with assault Thursday for allegedly forcibly cutting the hair of a female student.
Millcreek police allege the incident occurred June 1 after the three broke into the victim's Glenwood Park Avenue home. Police claim the victim was wrestled to the floor of her bedroom and had her hair forcibly cut with scissors.