dawny0826 said:
I used to color my hair manic panic Vampire Red,
Ah, those were the days! I used the same manic panic color and had hair down to my knees. Yeah, it couldn't be missed.
(I've also had purple hair, blue hair, orange hair, black hair and dreads - all usually down to my knees. Anyway.....)
However, bright red hair isn't the same as a religious symbol. With hair it's "just a phase." With religion it's "we need to save you from the harm you are doing to yourself but just don't know it."
Kcnorwood: While I won't tell you if you should or not, because ultimately it is up to you, I will say that you have to be prepared to deal with some of the things that people will say and the attitudes that go along with it. If you feel that you can deal with the comments/attitudes/stares/etc. then I say that there should be no problem with it. Think of what you might say to potential commentors, good and bad, if they are to ask you a few questions.
I'm going to tell you about an experience I had while wearing one in public, so that you get an idea of some of the things that may happen. But I will let you know that this is an extreme example. I used to wear a pentagram when I was younger (when I was about 16) as I thought that this was a way to express my beliefs. I had some situations that were great when talking to people and some that were very uncomfortable - like the time I was sitting at a resturant with some friends.
This lady was talking to a friend of hers but I wasn't really paying attention to her, so I didn't know what they were talking about. I think it made her mad that I wasn't, so she started talking louder and louder until everyone in the immediate area could hear. She was talking about my necklace. Soon, everyone was paying attention and soon after that she was preaching to the whole resturant about how evil I was and how the whole world was against me and that I needed to mend my ways. She decided that she needed to pray for me right then and there and tried to get the whole resturant to do so with her.
Luckily, someone stood up for me and basically pointed out that I wasn't the one that was making a fool of myself and told her to sit down because it was none of her business. She was soon told to leave by the management. The management offered to pay for my meal. I declined as it wasn't their fault.
Of course, while this did happen, it is an extreme example. But I put it out there so that you can think about what you might have to say or how you would deal with something that may come up.
Should you be able to wear it? Oh, yeah. Should you wear it? That is up to you and how you see your situation working out.
Anyway, good luck with your decision if you haven't made one yet, as I see this thread was started a couple of months ago.