Better Late Than Never Update, February 7: At MinnPost, Peter Callaghan reports How ‘Duck Dynasty’ and ZZ Top entered a Minnesota Senate debate on hair discrimination.vMore details on those mean emails Senator Wesenberg received:
“In the three weeks that I have been here I’ve gotten emails, I’m guessing from the opposite party, saying I look ugly and I should shave my face. That I should go back to Hicksville,” said first-term Sen. Nathan Wesenberg. The Little Falls Republican sports a long beard.
All the more reason to send Senate Wesenberg the feel better card. [end update]
At the Minnesota Reformer last Thursday, Grace Deng reported in Minnesota Senate passes CROWN Act to ban race-based hair discrimination:
The Minnesota Senate on Thursday passed the CROWN Act, which prohibits discrimination against hair texture and styles.
The CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act,” protects “traits associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and hair styles such as braids, locs, and twists.” . . .
Sen. Nathan Wesenberg, a first-term Republican who recently called COVID-19 vaccines a “death shot,” trolled the bill, proposing an amendment to add beards to the list of protected hair. The Little Falls Republican said he’d received emails calling his beard — which cascades down his face “Duck Dynasty”-style — “ugly.”
Sen. Bobby Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, said the bill is focused on protecting cultural hair, and he has not heard complaints about discrimination against people with beards. Sen. Eric Lucero, R-Saint Michael, said that beards are important to certain cultures, such as in Judaism and Islam. Sen. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, said the TV series “Duck Dynasty” “represents a certain culture” and that culture, as well as the Amish community, should be protected by the bill.
“I know of only one race in the Amish culture, and that is being singled out and not included,” Drazkowski said.
Champion said he respects all cultures and religions, but is attempting to address a specific issue with this bill. He said he was open to separate legislation to protect against other types of discrimination.
Wesenberg’s amendment did not pass. The bill passed 45-19.
Now, were Bluestem's editor a member of the Minnesota Senate (which would be rather difficult, given that I live in South Dakota), I'd have voted against Wesenberg's amendment.
Nonetheless, Bluestem feels sorry that Wesenberg has received mean emails calling his beard ugly. We'd tweeted that he could join some of our friends here in Summit to form a ZZ Top cover band:
I had no idea guys were discriminated against because of their beards. Three or four of my neighbors could form a ZZ Top Cover band with Sen. Wesenberg at Foggy's in Summit and no one would think the worse of them. #economicopportunity #mnsenate https://t.co/hZKs6zMqsE
— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) January 27, 2023
We certainly hope he didn't take that as a negative tweet.
Whatever the case, Bluestem encourages readers to save the graphic--created by adapting Senator Wesenberg's campaign logo; we believe this reuse is protested under the 1994 Supreme Court decision invCampbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. -- and email the first-term legislator to let him know that lookism just isn't Minnesota Nice.
Attack his politics all you want, gentle readers, but picking on his appearance isn't very nice.
Besides, as one liberal suburban former state representative said, Wesenberg's beard is cool. If it's not to your taste, there's no arguing taste.
Please email the card above to Wesenberg's official Minnesota Senate email account [email protected], and let him know it's not his beard that's the issue.
Related posts
- Action 4 Liberty's senator calls COVID-19 vaccines a ‘death shot’ at Capitol rally
- Not all Action 4 Liberty candidates failed at the ballot box: the case of Nathan Wesenberg
Greeting card: Adapted from Senator Wesenberg's cool campaign logo.
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Yes, men have been discriminated against because of beards--not so much in this century, but I can vividly recall the 1950's and 1960's when beards, mustaches, or even extended sideburns were uncommon, unpopular, and regarded as at best eccentric, more likely as antisocial or even subversive, and often as possible indicia of sexual peculiarity. One oft-mentioned trigger of adults' prejudice against Elvis Presley was the conspicuous cultivation of his sideburns. Then when young men began wearing long hair (past the collar) after 1965-66, you'd have thought civilization was collapsing. Expelled from school, fired or not hired for jobs, tossed out of restaurants, harrassed by police--if that's not discrimination, I don't know what is. All of that was routine, commonplace, systematic. A musical group called "Five Man Electrical Band" had a 1971 hit song protesting the common job-posting disclaimer "long-haired freaky people need not apply."
Rather than scoffing at Westerberg, why not enlighten him that his hirsuteness links him spiritually and culturally to the peace & love, acid-dropping, pot-smoking, tree-hugging, antiwar beatniks and hippies from the baby boomer generation? A little mind-expansion might do him good.
Posted by: Oliver Steinberg | Feb 02, 2023 at 11:03 PM