Monday, October 8, 2007, 8:52pm
Like many people, I'm riveted by what's going on in Burma, and also feeling unsure of what I could possibly do to help. My idea was to shave my head, like the monks do, to show my support, raise awareness, and hopefully rally more people to do the same. My understanding is that they have already begun doing this in Burma.
I heartily agree with one of the comments:
i think you've hit upon a fine idea -- the head shaving *will* be subtle, probably only noticeable to your friends; but i think this is the type of act people will respond well to.
Maybe it's because I attended college at Berkeley, and I'm used to ignoring people holding fluorescent signs and saying naive things into megaphones, or maybe it's because I'm jaded and apathetic, but I tend to shut out most overt protest. However, if one of my friends shaved their head and I was like 'hey, whoa, crazy haircut', and they told me, 'oh, i did it because X', I'd be much more likely to listen.
of course, I'm assuming that you're not going to be actively pushing flyers in people's faces who aren't already curious about your haircut. Sure, this limits the number of people you reach, but it makes the quality of the interaction much greater, IMHO.