Why Would Anyone Question This Guy When He Says He's Not Trained To Cut Black Hair?

DailyMail-  A South Carolina barber with a history of aggressive behavior toward potential customers faces charges after pulling out a gun on a man and telling him he 'does not cut black hair', authorities said.

A York County Sheriff's Office report says when would-be customer Arthur Hill asked 65-year-old Larry Thomas what he meant, he said that is when Thomas grabbed a pistol and held it at his side.

Thomas, who was arrested for pointing and presenting firearms at a person, said at the time he felt threatened and defended himself saying he is not a racist, claiming he simply is not trained in cutting African-American hair,  WBTV reported.

'I told him I did not do black hair and he kept coming towards me and I stepped back here and I always keep a gun right here and I just picked up my gun and put my gun at my side,' Thomas told WBTV on Wednesday.

'That's when he got into my face and said "you meant African-American now, didn't you?"'

Thomas told the station he has autism and does not like to be confronted by people, adding he never made any threats to Hill but noted that he keeps a gun at his shop for protection.

'I'm not good enough to cut it,' he told WSOCTV. 'I don't cut women's hair anymore either. It takes a skill I don't have.'



I am not going to defend this barber's right to withhold service to someone because of the color of their skin. Neither am I going to defend his ability to pull a gun all willy nilly at the first sign of controversy. I will, however, defend his ability to identify his strengths and weaknesses. He's probably as racist as they come, but I'll be damned if I don't believe the redneck that stole his look from 'The Partridge Family' when he says he's not trained to cut black hair. He may not deserve it, but I will give him that benefit of the doubt. This interaction honestly shouldn't have gotten past the front door, because the only thing worse than an straggly old white guy refusing to cut the hair of a black man is a black man that asks a straggly old white guy to cut his hair.

In my opinion, the person that is really doing African Americans a disservice is Arthur for WANTING Larry to come anywhere close to his precious head with any sort of buzzer or razor. Did he think the guy that hasn't let his sideburns grow down past his glasses since the 70's was capable of giving an adequate shape-up? Was he aware that he was asking a guy that modeled his mop after Shaggy from 'Scooby-Doo' for an even fade? At some point you have to realize that the best possible end game of arguing over the appropriateness of the word 'black' with an autistic bigot barber is that he decides to take your business and ends up working close to our scalp with some sort of sharp object. You deserve better Arthur, so maybe stop visiting establishments that think of you as less of a person because of your skin tone. Not only because it's a waste of your time, but because winning the argument will have you losing your upcoming battle with the mirror.