Conversations at the salon

“Sorry, I know I’m late,” she paused, shaking the snow off her boots and coat sleeves, “but 690 was a nightmare. Stop and go as soon as I got into the city!”

She continued as she hung up her coat, “I was wondering if it was an accident? Are they still doing construction in all of this snow?”

Several opinions floated out of the back verifying that it was both snow and construction that hasn’t finished.

“You know there are only two seasons here. Construction and winter.  This year it’s both at the same time.”

The stylist whisked our newcomer to a chair beginning that stylist thing that fluffs hair to gargantuan heights. She then pronounced her assessment.

“You need a cut,” the stylist said.

The drama of the newcomer over, the rest of the usual clients at the salon settled back into their respective transformations. I was thumbing through an ancient magazine devoted to hair styles, some of which reminded me of Halloween. Who actually wears any of those magazine dos?

The two sisters were there chatting quietly, which for them of strong and stridently shared beliefs, was unusual.  If a beauty salon had a floor show, these two would provide it and it wasn’t long after the quiet that the floor show began.

“You can’t really mean that,” one said.

“Don’t be an idiot. Of course I mean it. Due process is due process. Suppose, my misguided sister, that one of your students said that you had molested them. Should you lose your job because of an accusation? That is what is happening to men who are accused of sexual harassment.  And,” she continued, without taking a breath, “No one has really defined what the limits of harassment are.”

The rest of the salon was silent, awaiting the retort we knew was coming.

“You have got to be kidding.  Not know what sexual harrassment is?  And, if there were a complaint against me, I would probably be put on some kind of non-teaching assignment while the accusation was investigated.”

“Exactly … while the complaint was investigated…and even if it were proven true, what is the punishment? Take a course in gender politics?  Lose your job?  Go to jail? Wouldn’t it depend on the accusation?  What about accusations among adults? Does that mean that without an investigation, that they automatically are kicked out of their jobs?  We do have a 14th Amendment you know . Oh, yes, math teachers don’t know that now, do they?”

The sarcasm and snarkiness were heading up hill fast.

“Give me a break. How many women will tell you that they were harassed? I’ll bet that everyone here, right now will testify to harassment. The law hasn’t done much to protect women from sexual harassment, now has it?  It it always the woman who is besmirched by her own accusation. The men get the benefit of the doubt. So why should we look to it to be fair?”

We all seemed to find somewhere else to look at that point as the debate continued.

“You did go to college?  I wonder if we can apply to get your tuition back?  Did you pay attention at all?  What do you call sexual harassment?  Some guy whistling  and saying ‘Hubba Hubba’ as you walk by?  Offering a job in return for ‘favors,’ rape, a back rub, a pat on the tushie?  Listen, all of these have lead to men losing their jobs and reputations … no investigation, few legally connected ‘punishments.’ For those who have been hurt, the victims,  lumping all of these things together diminishes their pain and their access to justice. There is so much cultural overlay here, what is harassment to one is courtship to another.”

“You’re just mad because your favorite comedian senator resigned from the Senate. Boo Hoo!”

We were all waiting for the next salvo from the other sister when one of the women who was in the waiting room said, “ I can only wish that some construction guy would whistle and say ‘Hubba Hubba’ as I walked by…”

“You see what I mean, “ said the sister of due process.”

It did seem at that point, that the heat of the moment was about to explode when our newcomer interjected a perfect non-sequitur.

“You know I have never really found out how to pronounce that word. Is it harassment with the emphasis on the first or the last syllable? Besides, like most things today, it’s probably global warming at fault,” and the rest of the gals giggled a faux affirmation.

One does come to the salon for a time out not a ring side seat to sibling rivalry over a hotter than hades topic.

The two sisters had run out of righteous steam and “Carol,” and that is not her real name, who was sitting off to the side waiting for the color in her hair to take, commented, “I found out that I can now grow peaches and some of my annuals are now perennials so there must be something to the global warming thing.”

The first sister of the harassment discussion, said, “Exactly, you have empirical proof not just an accusation of warming.”

I returned to my Halloween hair magazine and thought that all I really wanted this particular morning was a haircut.  But I just had to ask Carol before she left which annuals are now perennials.