John Sinclair has had his hair cut twice in the last three years. Both times by pigs.
The first time when he left the Detroit House of Correction in July of 1966 after serving a six month sentence for possession of grass.
This time the White Panther Minister of Information had his shoulder-length black hair cut by a guard in the Oakland County jail.
Sinclair was sentenced June 10 to 30 days for assaulting a police officer after Judge Farrell Roberts refused to grant Sinclair’s attorney Bill Segesta a motion for a new trial even though a new witness had been brought forth that would have cleared John of the charges.
The unceremonious shearing came as John was waiting in jail for his wife, Leni, to post a $2,500 appeal bond. The pigs took advantage of the six hours it took her to raise the money and attacked Sinclair.
“They grabbed me and held me while some ponk with a pair of scissors cut my hair,” he said. “This is what the pigs are all about,” he continued, “They want everyone to look and be just like them.”
“They’ll pay for this one way or another,” he promised.
The following day the pig paper, The Detroit News, came out to White Panther national headquarters in Ann Arbor to do a story on the big event, but naturally John refused to cooperate with them.
Undaunted in their quest for the “news”, a News photographer began to shoot photos of John after he had been refused permission to do so. Several White Panthers chased the intruders and gently convinced them to relinquish their film.
The News thought it was such a big issue that they even ran a Sunday editorial about it. It was full of their usual anti-youth drivel about now seeing what he really looks like and “ten to one he looks like a human being.”
The pigs and their friends in the media may have had some momentary pleasure, but hair grows back and really is unimportant except as a symbol. It’s a symbol of what is happening all over this country from S. University to Berkeley and that process will go on if the motherfucking pigs shave everyone of us baldheaded.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
LONG, LONG HAIR
TO JOHN SINCLAIR