Back in the 60s, long hair and beards became a thing. There were men who sported beards before that time, but not many. And long hair was a new phenomenon in the 1960s. I never had long hair. At the time, it was associated with active druggies or people who had been druggies. From what I can see, that association still holds. In 1976 I grew a mustache I've never shaved since. From time to time, I've sported a very trimmed beard, but my whiskers just aren't dense enough to make a nice beard.

Back in the 80s, the television show Miami Vice started the trend of men wearing several days' growth on their faces. It looked scruffy and unkempt, but it became a fashion statement.

Now, apparently, we've entered the era of what I call the "hobo beard". This is men who allow their beards to grow quite long. Sometimes they'll let the whole thing grow for months. But for a lot of them, it's just the part below the mouth that grows several inches down below their heads.

I can't imagine in what world this passes for attractive. I call it a "hobo beard" for a reason. It's the kind of beard I'd expect to see on a hobo, or someone who lives in a shack deep in the woods.

Of course, I also consider tattoos and piercings to be unattractive as well. That's another trend that started a few decades back. Prior to that period, the only folks who had tattoos were men who'd served in the military and thugs who were in gangs. Piercings is a whole different thing. I don't know where they came from.

Anyway, can we stop with the hobo beards? I mean, seriously.

And by the way, get off my lawn.