Everyone for two generations now knows of Tommy Chong, comedy legend and all-around goofball. But as his career has taken him from Cheech & Chong to That 70s Show, it has now led him to the celebrated piece of television known as Dancing with the Stars. Unfortunately for poor old Chong (76 years young) his reign on the popular dance-themed show came to an end yesterday evening, 17 November 2014. And though, to all who watched, Tommy looked to be a serious contender, he was eliminated from the competition Monday evening. Why, if his dancing was up to snuff, should poor Tommy go home? This could likely be a case of beardism.
Yes, though most of those with taste and an appreciation for the finer things are in the know when it comes to beards and the like, could, or even should, we expect that anyone having anything to do with a show that pairs former celebrities with no-name professional dancers for the anesthetizing entertainment of the unwashed masses would share this appreciation for such a glorious masculine accessory. A safe postulation would be: of course not. Again, though there is a small, yet steadily increasing band of bearded brethren and their female supporters, they are, unfortunately, still in the vast minority when it comes to this and related opinions.
But, does this mean definitively that Tommy Chong was nixed because of his beard? Or, more specifically, because of an anti-beard sentiment among those with power in the Dancing with the Stars staff? This might be a tenuous assertion at best, but simply based on intuition or fundamental gut feeling, it may stand to reason that some people just aren’t ready for the reversal of societal norms that would put beards back on the map, as well as on the faces of men around the country.
"Beardists like those working for Dancing with the Stars may think that they have the upper hand at the moment, but soon enough it will be the bearded who are enjoying their many, many days in the sun, and all will be good and right in the world."
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