Red Heads

There are times when I don't like to open my newspaper because someone, somewhere has done something stupid. (I was going to add "...that makes no sense", but if it made sense it wouldn't be stupid, now would it?) This morning I read about a kid being assulted at school for the crime of being a red-head. To be precise, he was what has been called a "Ginger", with the provocation being some on-line dweeb who decided that there should be a "Kick a Ginger" day.
Speculation centered around an episode of "South Park" where Cartman gives a hate speech about "Gingers", then finds himself turned into a "Ginger" by the other boys in an effort to teach him a lesson.
"South Park" can be, and many times is an effective satire on the way we think and act. Cartman's hate speech and the ensuing story are uproariously funny in much the same way that the Mel Brooks film "Blazing Saddles" is uproariously funny. Both skewer racism in the way that racism needs to be skewered. Racism is downright stupid and racists generally need to be knocked down a peg or three. Or five or six.
This "Gingers" thing is mostly British, anyway. Apparently it's been done as a way to be critical of the Royal Family, with any unfortunate soul with red hair and light complexion ending up as a secondary victim. I've known a few red-heads in my time and honestly, I fail to see what the fuss is about.
My first kiss was courtesy of a red-headed girl named Dorian Griswold. I've dated a few red-heads in my time and as I am writing this, my favourite red-head, the lovely Miss Carol, is puttering about in the back yard gathering pecans from our pecan tree. This morning, I gave a farewell to our red-headed Deacon, Janice Auch, and told her about a red-headed co-worker and friend who had just completed a "Walk to Emmaus" (Yes, that's you, Suzanne). One girl I dated in college was not only a red-head, but so was her father.
The red-heads in my life are not limited to those of the fairer gender. My favourite red-head, aside from my spouse, is my son, Stuart. When his hair gets to be the right length, Stuart is as red-headed as they come, without having the light complexion of a "Ginger". In "South Park" terms, that makes him a "Daywalker".
Bets that there are more than a few red-heads in your lives, too. They may not be carrot tops, but they are red-heads none the less. Truth be known, I'm a red-head. Yes, it appears black, but, it's really an extremely dark red. Honest.
So you see, I sort of take the persecution of my fellow red-heads rather seriously. We're a unique breed and I'm one of them... with the exception of that little shock of gray sneaking up on my temple!

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