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Scary Guy teaches kids about tolerance
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So, yesterday I am eating my morning cereal and reading my local newspaper, when I flip over to the Lifestyle section and see this face. Of course, I am intrigued and feel compelled to read the accompanying article. I was expecting a story about tattoos, ex-cons or perhaps even professional wrestling. What I got was a story about a man who has devoted his life to spreading the word about love, acceptance and the rejection of prejudice.
His name is Scary Guy and my reaction to his appearance and the assumptions I made based on them are par for the course. "It's all good," says Guy. "I understand where they're coming from. ... They're going to judge me whether I want them to or not. It's learned behavior. We're all doing it. And we're passing it on."
Scary Guy would like for us to stop passing it on to our children. To that end, he travels the world speaking to school kids about intolerance and prejudice and the the bullying, violence and hatred it can breed.
"Could a guy in a suit and tie deliver this message?" he asks.
Born in Minnesota as Earl Kaufmann, Scary Guy is a sight to see. With 85 percent of his body covered in tattoos and multiple facial piercings, he's been described as "frightening" and was even banned from a school appearance after some parents got a look at him. Like me, those parents made assumptions based on how he looks and they were wrong. Scary Guy isn't a bad guy. He just looks different. And that is his whole point.
One thing he does with kids is to have them go an entire week without saying a negative thing about another person and not calling them anything but their name. "Every word you speak that has anything to do with negative energy in your heart creates another negative energy in this world," Guy says. I think a lot of adults could benefit from that exercise as well.
His name is Scary Guy and my reaction to his appearance and the assumptions I made based on them are par for the course. "It's all good," says Guy. "I understand where they're coming from. ... They're going to judge me whether I want them to or not. It's learned behavior. We're all doing it. And we're passing it on."
Scary Guy would like for us to stop passing it on to our children. To that end, he travels the world speaking to school kids about intolerance and prejudice and the the bullying, violence and hatred it can breed.
"Could a guy in a suit and tie deliver this message?" he asks.
Born in Minnesota as Earl Kaufmann, Scary Guy is a sight to see. With 85 percent of his body covered in tattoos and multiple facial piercings, he's been described as "frightening" and was even banned from a school appearance after some parents got a look at him. Like me, those parents made assumptions based on how he looks and they were wrong. Scary Guy isn't a bad guy. He just looks different. And that is his whole point.
One thing he does with kids is to have them go an entire week without saying a negative thing about another person and not calling them anything but their name. "Every word you speak that has anything to do with negative energy in your heart creates another negative energy in this world," Guy says. I think a lot of adults could benefit from that exercise as well.
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
1-26-2008 @ 12:16AM
Jennifer said...I think that in today's world there is a place for everyone. That is part of what makes progress such an amazing thing. That said...today's children need to be taught tolerance in order for progress to continue. This means accepting even those people whose looks do not adhere to the traditional norm. I applaud Scary Man for his work and hope he is able to touch many more lives in his quest to spread love and tolerance.
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1-26-2008 @ 12:59AM
SKL said...Yes, this guy does happen to have a job - indeed there is a place for everyone (or as my grandma would say, "for every aahss there is a seat"), but . . . .
As an attorney, I have to take a half hour class every other year about why I shouldn't engage in drug abuse (why they force us and not ex-cons to do this is another topic altogether). One year, the speaker of this always "riveting" class was an ex-prosecutor who had gone to jail and lost his law license as a result of stealing cocaine from the evidence room. The topic of his speech was how wonderful our state's tell-on-your-fellow-loser-attorney hotline is. How great it is that you can be the worst kind of scumbag, "get help," and eventually get your license back, and on top of that, even get to make money giving speeches about what a loser you are. To suckers like me who are losing an hour of work and a bunch of money in order to "benefit" from this guy's experience.
Yeah, there are all kinds of people in the world, and some people are so messed up that they are able to make money talking about it. Ah, what a great country we live in.
But now I suppose I am sounding intolerant.
Reply
1-26-2008 @ 1:43AM
Meagan said...Well... I'm not sure it's fair to put a guy who's dedicating his life to preaching tolerance to children in the same category as "scared straight" style reformed druggie (at least that's the impression I get from your description). I get what you're saying, and a lot of those meetings/lectures ARE pretty useless. That does not mean that all of them are however, and I can only applaud this guy's intentions since I have no way of knowing how effective he is as a speaker.
1-26-2008 @ 6:05AM
Sandyone said...Scary Guy seems to have a great message, but his premise is completely, absolutely, positively wrong. He says, "They're going to judge me whether I want them to or not. It's learned behavior."
This particular behavior of being scared is not learned. Little children shy away from him. They're scared of his appearance, even before their parents start teaching them the kinds of behavior that usually accompanies such an appearance.
I think that it's a particularly bad idea to teach children too young that they should ignore their instincts. What constitutes "too young", I haven't yet worked out for my children.
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1-26-2008 @ 12:57PM
Meagan said...The reason they shy away from him is because they've never seen anyone like him before. We instinctually fear what is different. You're right it's NOT learned behavior but that doesn't mean it's ok.
I grew up in a town with a 2% black population. I didn't see a black person for the first time until I was 3. The first time I saw a black person, I was afraid of him. I had to be taught to not be afraid... not the other way around.
1-26-2008 @ 8:09PM
Tree said...Doesn't your appearance usually say something about yourself? And isn't there a certain amount of judgment that's necessary? We can't always sit and observe a persons actions to determine what kind of person they are. I don't have the time to follow someone around for awhile to find out what they're about. In my area, it has been known to have a gang problem. Sometimes, I have to make quick judgments. You know, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck....
I have a duty to protect myself and my children and that usually requires making judgments in some situations. Not to say you can't be wrong, of course, but my point is I don't think it's wrong to look at a person's appearance as one way of telling something about them. When you don't know them, what else do you have to go on?
Reply
1-27-2008 @ 2:39AM
Phil E. Drifter said...Carlin/Scary Guy '08!
Stumbled here, already gave it a thumbs up, so expect other Stumblers!
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 4:49PM
Nadia said...I judge everyone I meet for the first time with equal distrust and unacceptance until Ive had the chance to get to know them and observe thier actions. That doesn't mean I dont extend common human courtesy, but I wouldnt trust them with anything important before getting to know them. Whether they're in a suit and tie with perfectly groomed hair, or not. Appearance has got nothing to do with it.
Ultimately, I believe it's wrong to automatically trust everyone you meet, while also wrong to deny anyone the oppurtuity to prove thier trusworthiness. The lesson this man teaches is important. I didn't get the impression he was telling children to hand over thier lives to every person they came across but only to equally give the oppurtunity to build that trust.
Mel, I would consider you a freak. Not because of you're blonde hair, but becuase of your beliefs and would trust the man in the article long before trusting you. It's a shame he wasnt around to teach you a lesson when you were a child.
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1-28-2008 @ 7:59PM
Skijack said...The opposite of courage is not cowardice; it is conformity. -Rollo May
Our world needs less conformity. We gladly let our children watch television for hours every day. Television, where the real faces of the programs are masked by the corpotate logos of our time. From behind the pretty painted faces of the corporations we so eagerly alow into our homes, what evil seeps into a childs heart and mind? If I can upset you by being different without harm, is it you or I who needs to be censored?
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