Why yes, yes they are!
How?: It seems in my small town, in order to get a job, you have to look like a clone of the perfect, American child. You WILL NOT get hired if (a) your hair is dyed, or cut in an odd way, (b) you have any type of piercings, or (c) you’re not dressed like you came from a church house. I have personally had to dye my hair brown, remove my nose ring (because it made my boss’ eyes water, how lame of an excuse is that?) AND remove my tongue ring, in which you CAN’T EVEN SEE! I’ve also been forced to wear full makeup everyday, have my hair STYLED (not just brushed and looking nice) and even get in a TANNING BED because I was too pale. Yes. I’m anemic you dumbass! What does any of this matter in a town of 2,000 people? This is what small business owners do to anyone that is unique. They cram you into that little cookie cutter and dare you speak up. If you do, you are gone. Fired. End of story.
Why?: Because there is NO other choice. If you have to have a job, these are the only places that will hire you. There really isn’t any other options in my town and many others like it. They figure that their football playing son who can’t spell is the mold for the rest of the town, just because he has blonde hair cut like a military wannabe. Even though he harrasses his classmates and rapes his girlfriends, you better believe he’s the model child in his family’s eyes. Just because a kid has, oh no, black hair and, gasp, earrings doesn’t make him a criminal. Just because you look different doesn’t make it right to discriminate against them. And don’t give me the ‘but you gotta look professional’ crap. There is NOTHING professional about a grocery store, and it’s horribly sad that they force people to change because ‘they don’t like the way you look’. All they care about is old people being offended by it. What about people with visible deformities? Sometimes you just don’t wanna see that. But if they work somewhere, you have to. But you get over it. A nose ring is not nearly as mortifing as someone missing an arm. People need to accept EVERYONE, no matter what they look like.
What can be done?: At this point, probably nothing. Hopefully in the future there will be some sort of discrimination lawsuit filed, but even then, when will people realize it’s ok to be ‘different’? Why is it such a crime?