Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Possible Chee Wee Hairstyle Puts Me in Danger
Sheriff Strain in nearby St. Tammany Parish recently said "I don't want to get into calling people names, but if you're going to walk the streets of St. Tammany Parish with dreadlocks and chee wee hairstyles, then you can expect to be getting a visit from a sheriff's deputy." Oh shit! I don't know what a chee wee hairstyle is, and what if I have one and wind up in St. Tammany Parish? I don't want to go to jail for having a criminally orientated haircut. I thought I'd ask my students, as they're pretty hip, or at least pretend to be. But they didn't know either. They said "Dr Homan, you would have to spend quite a bit of time in the sun before you'd be in danger in St. Tammany." But I'm still afraid. So I'm asking you, internet world, please tell me if I have a chee wee hairstyle and if so, what can I do to make it less threatening to the sheriff in St. Tammany Parish.
I love your Blog
ReplyDeleteMy name is Phil W Little and
I’m the author of Hostile Intent and Hell In a Briefcase
You are more than welcome to visit my page.
Detective Matt
Cooper.blogspot.com
Dear Michael,
ReplyDeleteAn internet search turned up the hint that this is a derogratory term for a hairstyle that "looks like Cheetos" and a link to the following site:
http://yp.bellsouth.com/sites/cheewee/index.html
evidently the manufacturers of these snack foods.
So, judging from your picture, at least your hair won't get you in trouble with the sheriff in St. Tammany Parish ...
I thought it was CheezWiz haircuts..but that sounds like you would be in more danger from the heat than "the Heat"
ReplyDeleteurban dictionary to the rescue
ReplyDeletei would gladly spend some time in jail in st. tamm if i could grow a chee wee doo.
Funny stuff! Just got your blog from the T-P article and as folks looking for a place in N.O. we're enjoying reading what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, I'm late to the party.
ReplyDeleteBased on the URL provided, I think that the "chee wee" comment was meant to rudely describe what is commonly known in the black community as "twists."
Done either in single strands or two (as opposed to the three strands used to make a traditional braid), this common hairstyle is worn by both women and men.
A practical style, twists allow those with naturally super curly hair to style it in a larger variety of ways.
Needless to say, shame on the police officer for his comments and whomever he got the derogatory term from.
Natasha
http://www.mydreadlocks.com/
Although the comment was way offensive, most people are seeing it out of context. Evidently, four people were recently murdered in Slidell in St. Tammany parish, and two suspects were identified as wearing dreadlocks and the chee wee style. I really don't know what other criteria one could use when the ability to identify suspects is limited. Identifying a hairstyle, particularly a distinctive one, may be analogous to identifying a blue car with tinted windows. As an African American male, the sheriff's comment was boorish and insensitive, yes. Remember, he's got four bodies, possibly American American also, laying down at the morgue. If a friend or family member was one of those corpses, I would certainly want more scrutiny placed on people matching the general description of the alledged perpetrators. We walk a fine line here between defending ourselves from unfair or racially characterizations cultural attacks, and doing the best things, really the best that we can to protect and uplift our communities. Each occurance must be examined in detail and understood for what it truly is.
ReplyDeleteWell, according to Google, these are the bad dudes representing "Chee Wee":
ReplyDeletehttp://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=%22chee%20wee%22%20&btnG=Search&sa=N&tab=wi
So maybe it's not just ALL non-whites that the sheriff is targeting.... :-)
Hi, My name is Joseph A. Stewart,a life long resident of the Uptown area. I had dreadlocks and they were kind of long, and the police use to stop me whenever I was just standing around the project (MAGNOLIA PROJECT). MOREOVER, I am a student at ITT Tech in St.Rose and I have a 3.0GPA, now you tell me if I am a danger to anyone but myself.
ReplyDeletewww.helenhill.org
ReplyDeletenice blog i like it
ReplyDeletehttp://www.shag-hairstyle.blogspot.com