I have just read this appalling story, about Raymond Crowe, a facially disfigured man who was thrown out of a Belfast nightclub, because his face didn't meet their criteria, whatever that means. My God! Has our society become so shallow and cruel that we now demand that only "beautiful" people show their faces in public? It must be hard enough for people with facial disfigurements to put up with the ignorance, stares, comments, etc, of others as it is. The poor man has barely left his house since this happened. He has been awarded £2,500 in compensation by a court. I think he should have received at least ten times that amount, because of the psychological damage this incident has caused him.
How dare anyone judge another human being on the basis of something as shallow and insignificant as their appearance. And how very medieval. I thought we'd left those days far behind. So this man doesn't have the kind of face that our superficial society considers handsome. So what? Have they not heard the wise old adages that tell us beauty comes from within, and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? I truly hope Mr. Crowe can recover from the damage this incident has caused him, and go about his everyday life again - as it's his right to do.
This cult of the beautiful really must stop. None of life's so-called beautiful people are as perfect as they look, anyway. All images of models, actors, pop stars, etc, are airbrushed to the Nth degree anyway, to remove the imperfections we all have. No wonder society is so f***ed. We're too concerned with superficial exteriors to bother working on our inner, deeper selves. Next time you encounter someone who doesn't "meet the criteria", remember that true ugliness comes from inside, just as true beauty does. The outer shell really doesn't matter!
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Disfigured man ejected from club
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7 comments:
I completely agree. Too much emphasis is put on looks; it's more important what's on the inside, but our society tends to brand people by the way they look, and God help them if they don't conform to the "beautiful image." What a sad story.
Chris
That's really so sad. Nobody has the right to judge anyone. There's a similar incident here in the Philippines. It happened to a 'not so popular' gay comedian. He was thrown out of a restaurant because he's gay and was wearing a woman's dress.
What the hell were their standards? Who cares what someone's face looks like - what an absurd reason to throw someone out of a club. You're right - he wasn't awarded enough. That's just absolutely ridiculous. Thanks for sharing.
I am very angry at that nightclub for what they did. And my heart broke a little for Mr. Crowe when I read that he no longer wants to go out.
That's pretty darn awful. I remember reading on David Boles' Urban Semiotic site about "ugly laws" in Chicago that only recently came off the books. People were treated as this man was in Belfast.
Such ignorance. I guess rules and "criteria" are about creating exclusive groups rather than inclusive ones.
That was disgraceful behaviour on the part of the club. They were the ugly ones here. It goes to prove how warped the idea of beauty has become in our culture. The worst examples are Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham. Whend did we start venerating heads on sticks for god's sake? Bring back the Sheela na gig
Hi! I have tagged you and it's up at http://mlizcochico.blogspot.com. No rush though, most of us are busy for the coming holidays. Take care.
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