The Right To Be Different

In many ways, 42-year-old Joseph Palmer was an ordinary person. He had a job and cared for his family. But in 1830, after he moved to a small town in Massachusetts, he began to face difficulties. Joseph looked different from other people: he had a long beard. People did not like it very much.

The town’s people avoided the man with a beard. They did not want to sit next to him. They even whispered behind his back, “What is he trying to hide?”

Some neighbors broke his windows. Others threw stones at him when he walked down the street. They told him to stop growing a beard. Joseph did not mind. He just wanted the freedom to have his beard. One day, four men attacked Joseph and threw him on the ground. “We’re going to cut off your beard!” they shouted. Joseph was a big man, and he was able to fight them off. But the men called the police and accused him of attacking them. Poor Joseph was arrested. He said to the judge, “I’m the victim here.” Sadly, no one believed a man with a beard, and he went to prison for over a year.

Joseph’s son, Thomas, wanted people to know the truth. He sent letters to newspapers across the country. People learned that Joseph was in prison just for protecting himself and his beard. Many people became angry about this, so the judge finally decided to set Joseph free.

After he was freed, Joseph traveled and told his story to lots of people. Slowly, people’s attitudes toward beards changed. Before Joseph died, a man with a beard became the President of the United States. His name was Abraham Lincoln. He made beards popular, but Joseph Palmer fought for the right to have them.