Current location:Culture Connection news portal > travel
How a barber helped change the views of a bigoted client
Culture Connection news portal2024-05-22 09:38:45【travel】1People have gathered around
IntroductionHow a haircut changed a bigot's views on queer people 02:42
Sometimes you feel a different person after getting a haircut. But the unlikely bond at a barbershop in Temecula changed the way one client looks at the world.
"I said to myself, I would never let this person touch me," client Jeff Comerchero said.
Comerchero added he realized he was a bigot when he first saw EJ Radford working at his hair salon in 2021. Radford is nonbinary. He has visible tattoos, piercings and a super endearing smile.
"I was sitting home that night and I was appalled at myself for what I was thinking, because I knew that wasn't me," Comerchero said.
Comerchero, the former mayor of Temecula, said he didn't learn a lot about queer people living in the conservative town. However, Radford did.
"You see a lot of hate in the media and a lot of hate from certain groups, but at the end of the day, Temecula's filled of a lot of really cool people. That's why I'm still here," Radford said.
This is why the young barber didn't judge a book by its cover.
"For him to open up to me and be like, 'Hey, I'm not really educated on this, but you're a cool person, and I'd like to know more about you,'" Radford said. "It was really nice and refreshing for me because, especially in his age group, I don't really get a whole lot of people who are genuinely curious and respectful about it."
The pair became good friends after Comerchero was educated about gender identity and deconstructed his prejudice in the barber's chair.
"That's my boy right there," Radford said. "He has my back and I have his."
In fact, their story inspired the two so much they decided to write a book about it: "The Old Man and The Queer: The Transformative Story of a Retired Mayor and the Barber Who Freed Him from Bigotry."
"Gender identity, sexual identity, although important, they are really superficial in terms of relationships and it really changed my life," Comerchero said.
Radford said that one of the goals of the book was to show that queer or transgender people are humans also.
"That's one of the goals of the book is to show people that have never met a queer or a trans person that we're just human beings like the rest of you guys."
More from CBS News
LA reacts to O.J. Simpson's death where infamous murder trial happenedAddress of this article:http://peru.shellye-mcdaniel.com/article-483c599511.html
Very good!(766)
Related articles
- Australia as Bangladesh vow to boost trade as foreign ministers meet in Dhaka
- Nation to advance pilot FTZs' opening
- FM urges U.S. actions to honor pledges
- Australia's 'expansion plan' for AUKUS raises concern
- New York's high court upholds requiring insurance to cover medically necessary abortions
- Reserve ensures survival of rare monkeys
- China Focus: Netflix's adaptation of Three
- Xi highlights upgrading of opening
- Caitlin Clark returns for 2nd half against Sun after apparent left leg injury in 1st half
- White salt flats become black fertile fields
Popular articles
Recommended
Seoul AI summit opens with companies including Google, Meta, OpenAI pledging to develop AI safely
MNCs keen on green ties in transport, logistics
China, Republic of Congo mark 60th anniversary of ties
China brings opportunities rather than risks to world, expert says
Haiti’s international airport reopens after gang violence
Hayao Miyazaki's animated fantasy leads Chinese box office
Legislation advances whole
Xi, Honduran President Exchange Congratulations on 1st Anniversary of Ties
Links
- Victory for free speech in the face of Brussels bullies! Nigel Farage returns to right
- Here's everything that could go wrong with your jam, Meghan…and my tips to make sure it doesn't
- Ford recalls over 456,000 Bronco Sport and Maverick cars
- House prices fell 0.2% in last year, official figures report
- Should I cancel my holiday to Dubai? As UAE is lashed by year
- Supreme Court makes it easier to sue for job discrimination over forced transfers
- Maui Fire Department report details how it was no match for unprecedented blazes
- The habits that add decades to your life
- Supreme Court makes it easier to sue for job discrimination over forced transfers
- Noah Eagle picked by NBC as play