I Saw a Unicorn

On a recent trip to the mall, I saw a unicorn…or at least, someone who fancies herself a unicorn.

She wore a black dress which was too small and too short for her oversized dimensions.  I first noticed her, however, because of her footwear…silver platform boots.  She was clomping along on the super-thick soles of shiny silver boots which went almost to her knees.  As my eyes drifted upward taking this all in, I came to the black lipstick and then to…wonder of wonders…a head piece featuring a single black horn.

I chuckled to myself that she must have intended to go to Walmart and took the wrong turn and ended up in the mall.

Following her was a very round child of indeterminate gender dressed totally in black, but with no visible horn in the midst of a bizarre haircut.  Even so, I guessed the child was the unicorn’s offspring.

My amusement faded into a still lingering sadness.

Our society says we must accept others as they are, and that includes all manner of “self-expression.”  We are expected to walk past a “unicorn” without reacting with laughter, derision or pity, even if Halloween is still months away. 

However, as I see it, this woman is actually screaming for attention.  She wants to be noticed.  I seriously doubt that she dresses this way at home on a regular basis.  It would be pretty difficult to do housework in those platform boots on which she was precariously perched.  No…she dressed up to go into public.  She wanted people to think, “Well, there is someone who is not troubled by convention, and has the guts to express herself.”

I am sad for what she is doing to herself and her child.  Dressing appropriately for a situation says something about our respect for others and our respect for ourselves.  While I would hope she wouldn’t go to a job interview dressed in this manner, what if she passes someone in the mall with whom she has a job interview later this week?  As a potential employer, I would be afraid she had a screw loose and wouldn’t risk hiring her.  What kind of example is she setting for her child?  Is she setting her child up for bullying?  Or, will her child eventually be embarrassed by the mother and lose all respect?

Accepting others as they are is one thing.  Ignoring bizarre behavior is another.  How have we come to this place in our society, that there are no standards of conduct?  We look the other way no matter what others do or say.  Does this woman have no spouse or no friend who can encourage her in the right direction?  If I go up to her as a complete stranger and say, “Oh, honey, you really shouldn’t be walking around like this,” she will have no reason to think I genuinely care about her and that my opinions are valid.  It will just reinforce her desire to “follow her own path.”

So, since I don’t know her, I can say nothing, do nothing.  I can only feel sad for her and her child and pray that someone close to her will have the courage to help her.  She is screaming for help without knowing it.