
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, November 6, 1995                   TAG: 9511070002
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DISQUALIFIED BY HIS HAIR?

I HAVE recently been confronted with a form of discrimination that I thought was outdated. My 17-year-old son has been looking for a part-time job after school. He applied at two major grocery stores and was told by managers at both stores that they would love to hire him, but he would have to cut his shoulder-length hair. My son asked if he could cut his sideburns and wear his hair pulled back. In both instances, he was told no.

In a day and time when employers can no longer discriminate for reasons such as race, sex and religion, I find it exasperating that a 17-year-old boy cannot get a minimum-wage job stocking groceries because of the length of his hair.

I don't know about the rest of the American public, but my main concern when I go to the grocery store is whether it's clean, organized and the prices are reasonable. I'm not scrutinizing the length of the bag boys' hair, but am more concerned with their bagging skills and politeness.

TRISH BURKE

MONTVALE

Don't blame all violence on O.J.

I AM very concerned about some opinions I have heard expressed since the Simpson verdict. Negative things such as: Women who have been battered are leaving shelters where they are protected because Simpson was acquitted. And: Because of the Simpson case, some prosecutors believe men who are charged with battering women will now look for sympathy from juries.

Negative statements such as these will only blind us from the truth. Evidence was tampered with. Simpson was found not guilty.

There were many cases of abuse and battering before Simpson, and there will be many after his case. One man didn't create domestic violence, and one man shouldn't carry the blame nor be blamed for future domestic violence.

JOHNNY TAYLOR II

ROANOKE

The green, green grass of home

I AM convinced that lawns are one of the reasons books such as ``Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus'' are prevalent. A little lawn for playing badminton or for wrestling with your son is fine. But why these huge stretches around your house that demand two to three hours of your valued day-off time every week in good weather?

Women probably don't want a big lawn any more than men, but once saddled with one - say, around a rental home - they have a lawn gene that tells them the grass has to be cut when it starts to get just a little high (or definitely if the neighbors cut theirs). It's funny how male and female perceptions differ concerning when the lawn should be cut. Needless to say, the timing of this act leads to a lot of unnecessary conflict between the sexes.

I mowed the lawn recently, and didn't even get finished in a couple hours. I made a lot of noise around everyone's supper time. I filled my head with images of grasshoppers meeting gruesome deaths. Who needs this?

JIM MANUEL

LEXINGTON

What's religion got to do with it?

I AM very disappointed with The Roanoke Times, because in an editorial on Friday your newspaper leveled unfair accusations against me and made unfair, false insinuations concerning me.

You stated that I should be elected if people "want Bibles on every desk and division on the School Board." I have never indicated I want Bibles on every desk or anything like that. I do not push my religion on other people. You could have learned this quickly by asking people who know me.

I believe that schools should not censor voluntary spoken prayer by students. I have no objection to your informing people the preceding sentence is my position on this particular issue. That would be honest and factual.

Unlike one of my opponents, who speaks about his church, I have done nothing to bring religion into this campaign. There is no reason it should be an issue.

In our joint appearances in the candidates' forums, all three of us candidates for the school-board seat were impressed by how much we agreed with each other. I don't believe any of us would cause harmful divisiveness on the board.

I am not "burdened" with the agenda of any special interest group. This assault on me suprises me greatly, because your newspaper has been very fair, even supportive, of my work with young people in Montgomery County.

BOB ANDERSON

CHRISTIANSBURG

by CNB