Before this lecture Neville watched a television segment about a cultured, bearded father — himself long-haired — whose fourteen-year-old son had been suspended from school over his ponytail and barred from returning until he cut it, despite never having disrupted class. The father argued publicly for allowing people some middle ground rather than forcing everything into rigid for-or-against categories. Neville agrees, comparing the episode to once-unquestioned customs like starched high collars or a judge's ceremonial wig, arguing that people should be free to be as they wish so long as they do not infringe on anyone else's freedom.