Sink Pink

[lupestripe]

I've just dyed my hair bright pink again - it needed to be done - the faded candy floss colour just looked awful and unkempt. I was starting to turn into Boris Johnson, just without the right-wing views.

Still, what I have found out today is that Middlesbrough is not the type of town to be walking around as a guy with bright pink hair. I have been shouted at and laughed at by strangers who, under any other circumstance, would just have ignored me. This doesn't particularly bother me as it comes with the territory but WHY does it have to be this way? Surely the colour of my hair is irrelevant to anything. Sometimes I despair.

The other thing I noticed is that all these people were pillioring me from far away - either from the other side of the street or from cars that sped off rather quickly. Quite clearly these intellectually sub-normal people thought they were being witty and intelligent yet quite clearly they were cowards. They remind me of the 14 year old schoolboy who calls people a "wanker" on internet chatrooms behind the safety of his computer screen (and in my line of work, I've had enough of THOSE insults to last me a lifetime).

Still, a girl in Leeds commented on how much she liked my hair plus I have just booked tickets to see one of my favourite German bands, Oomph!, play Frankfurt in November as a special birthday treat (they are playing the evening before my birthday). Indeed it's going to be quite a week - spending my birthday in Frankfurt with Wolfie before returning to Manchester for the meet. Definitely something to look forward to *bounces*

Comments

[rustyfox.livejournal.com]

The only time I've been to Middlesbrough, I ended up being escorted back to the hotel in a police van for my own safety!

I vowed never, ever to return there.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

It's my home town and I love it. Yes, it's rough around the edges but it gets an unfair and undeserved press. However, it is one of those places that if you don't "get" then you can see how it is a dive. What happened today doesn't surprise me with this town, but I am sure the same could be said for the vast majority of towns in this part of the world.

What happened for you to need a police escort?! Sounds very drastic.

[rustyfox.livejournal.com]

Long time ago. BF. (Before Furry, in my life time-scale). Around 1999/2000.

Stopped at Thistle Hotel with a few internet-friends at the time. Went out at night. After we split up doing different things, myself and one friend were in town, nobody around, except for one woman almost dying. She was obviously drunk but almost passed out on the cold floor.

Next time I'll know to walk on, but we stopped to make sure she wasn't actually choking on her own vomit or anything. She came around some, I checked she knew who she was and where she was, and she seemed well enough and able to get home. She thanked us, and we walked away...

...then she started shouting. "Where's my money!" "WHERE'S MY MONEY!"

Uh-oh. Then like rats out of the shadows, there were hooded chavs everywhere. She was moaning on, about us having nicked her money, someone tried to nick my phone, I wrestled him to the ground and got it back, my friend was probably pissing himself with fear. Chavs were saying call the police (to arrest us!) so I managed to call them somehow. The moment they arrived, everyone else disappeared instantly. It looked a bit worrisome for a moment but the police soon wised up when they saw we were decent people, and she was hideously drunk. Then she started going on about her monopoly money!

Police were very very apologetic, and drove us back to the hotel lest we get mugged. One of them seemed very remorseful - and urged me not to let it put me off Middlesbrough.

Well, sorry, it did. Every town has its chavs, but the police have never had to extend protection to me voluntarily. Ugh. Plus from the top of Thistle hotel the entire place seemed like one sprawling, hideous sea of concrete, far into the distance.

[daisuke-miles.livejournal.com]

show pic of hair! :P

[daisuke-miles.livejournal.com]

those ppl with nothing to do, they care more the others than themselves, bah, when i had some designs on my head "Daisuke" on it for example some ppl laughed, but i kinda get mad and spam them good :P
anyways ppl laugh or talk for nothing
show pic! k ill paint mine's green one day, but i might get fired, yes bosses are very picky

[marston.livejournal.com]

Insults from passing strangers was pretty much part of my everyday life until I moved. Hasn't really happened to me in a while now and I always just assumed that was because of some shift in public consciousness.

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

If you're willing to show the unwashed masses such vivid coloration, surely we can be accorded similar pleasure? ^_^

Double points if the attire at the time happens to be of a lycra nature - surely one of modern science's greatest's contributions to comfortable clothing.

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I like the place. It's much better than some of the towns in my neck of the woods (Basildon, Harlow), at any rate :)

[silent-o.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I think pink hair is cute. Wouldn't do it myself, but some guys can pull it off.

-pics?-


Oh, and those 14 year olds behind their computer screens? I eat them for breakfast.(What can I say? Opossums like to eat garbage.)

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

That sounds like an entry for the Idlers "Crap towns" book. Actually I think Middlesbrough may of made it into both books.

[fen-ra.livejournal.com]

Don´t worry Lupes, I´m sure your hair rocks socks. Especially if it´s NEON pink.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Still, what I have found out today is that Middlesbrough is not the type of town to be walking around as a guy with bright pink hair. I have been shouted at and laughed at by strangers who, under any other circumstance, would just have ignored me. This doesn't particularly bother me as it comes with the territory but WHY does it have to be this way? Surely the colour of my hair is irrelevant to anything. Sometimes I despair.

Surely it should be, yes... I don't understand it, either. How small must a mind be and how insecure, anxious and fearful a person to not only think that the colour of your hair makes a difference, but to (verbally) attack you for it?

The mind boggles...

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'll vote for pics, too! ^^

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

Because it’s a Northern industrial town. Very working class with a lot of traditional attitudes and slight closed mindedness, Oh let's not forget quite straight and homophobic too.

Doing anything that might single you out as a "poofter" (like dying your hair bright pink)is likely to get a negative reaction in places. Not to say everyone up north is like that, but that is something of the slight way of thinking up there.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I still find it mind-boggling, though... why ARE people like that?

[whitetomger.livejournal.com]

I like your hair and I hope you'll have fun in Germany and look forward to talking to you again soon :3

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

Old values, closer family units, macho working environments (heavy industry and mining, ship building, steel works, factories), more military service connections (and the UK armed services are still very homophobic despite the EU saying that they have to let gay, bisexual and transgender people in), possibly more religious.

Just a few reasons, it could also just be that people up North are more much quicker to call out anything strange or different.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

That's not what I mean. WHY do these things make people rag on someone else for having the wrong hair colour?

Well, in fact, that's not what I mean, either. Why does *anyone* *ever* rag on someone else for having the wrong hair colour? If you think about it, it makes no sense - it's just light of certain wavelengths being reflected by organic material on your head due to certain chemical properties of said material.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Middlesbrough is a Victorian city with an industrial charm. There are some nice buildings here and it certainly beats a lot of other places in the country (and in my opinion, it does beat Wakefield, whose city centre appears to be completely made out of concrete). However, there is a significant chav community here and that is the main problem with the town.

The story you describe I can quite believe happened in Boro. Things have improved over the last five years but getting involved in that sort of situation is probably not advisable. I know it's not great, but again there are many other towns across the country where similar instances occur. It's like anywhere though, some of the people here are the friendliest and most honest people you would ever wish to meet but then there are others who are the exact opposite. I guess that's the same in every town.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

The problem I have with those books is that they are often written with a southern based media conceit. Middlesbrough is NOT the worst place to live in the country - there are many hellholes in London; Nottingham has the biggest gang and knife presence in the country; Liverpool has massive social problems etc etc. The problem is Middlesbrough, Hull, Goole etc are easy targets.

Generally, I have little fear walking around this town which is more than can be said for a lot of other towns and cities across the country. It is also dependent on what you want - living in Henley would bore me to tears as there is no nightlife and no excitement. It's all based on opinion and skewed statistics (and I can prove that).

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I like to think that we have a better class of chav here :P

It's not a bad place. Yes, it has its problems but generally it's okay. There is also a thriving (albeit small) gay scene here and last year our mayor publicly said he wanted to promote the gay scene. It is a forward thinking town, it's just a minority of its inhabitants aren't.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I don't have a camera on me, or a means to get it uploaded. Next time I am at a social event, I will get someone to take a pic :)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I'm lucky because I work for myself so it doesn't really matter. It's sad that I feel isolated when walking down the street as the next car that drives past could also come with an insult but in the end I guess it goes with the territory and I knew what to expect. I just console myself in knowing that I will be more successful than they will ever be. I'm sick of people telling me what I can and can't do so I say fuck them - if I want to do something, I will :)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Was that in Boro or Newcastle? It's only since I got pink hair that the insults have started here. I've very rarely experienced it any other time.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Who mentioned my love of lycra? Interesting indeed lols. I don't have a pic to hand at the moment nor the means to get one online but the next fur event I go to (which will be Sunday), I will get a pic taken to show you :)