CHEYENNE — There’s an unwritten rule that two topics that don’t cut it for conversation in a barbershop — politics and religion.
But that hasn’t stopped many people getting their hair cut at Cheyenne barbershops from venting about the state of America heading into the Nov. 5 general election.
At Trujillo’s Barber Shop in Cheyenne, barber Glen Chavez said the economy is one of the most common subjects brought up as customers voice their opposition to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
“She talks about the economy and price gouging, but it’s her economy that’s caused all this shit,” Chavez said.
Chavez was cutting Reshaun Cann’s hair Friday afternoon. Cann, who moved to Wyoming from New York City to start a business, said over-regulation by government is his biggest peeve heading into the election.
“People don’t want all those regulations,” he said.
At The Presidential Barbershop in downtown Cheyenne, barber Angel Maldonado said the economy has been burning up the clipper conversation.
“People are saying, ‘Please don’t raise your haircut price, I can’t even afford to get a haircut,’” Maldonado said.
To alleviate their customers’ concerns about inflation and rising prices, Maldonado said Presidential has been able to keep its prices flat while offering new barber services they hadn’t provided in the past.
“If you want to treat yourself you can do that, there’s new opportunities,” he said.
Although the election season leads to some breaking of the unwritten rule against talking politics, the TVs at two of the three shots visited Friday were all tuned to sports.
Barber Jen Vincent, right, cuts Reese Kopka’s hair at Drew’s Barbershop on Friday afternoon. (Leo Wolfson, Cowboy State Daily) 
Angel Maldonado, right, of Presidential Barbershop said he general tries to avoid talking about politics when cutting hair. (Leo Wolfson, Cowboy State Daily) 
A political sign in the front window of the Presidential Barbershop in Cheyenne. (Leo Wolfson, Cowboy State Daily)
Razor’s Edge
Maldonado said he’s shared his political views with customers in the past, a move he said backfired with certain clients.
Most people, he said, want to stay as far away as possible from talking about politics, which is exactly what his customer Chad DeRenzo told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
“People so much want things to be normal again,” Maldonado said. “Everyone is so tired.”
Rich Trujillo, one of Trujillo's barbers, said people who want to talk about politics while they get their haircut tend to go where they believe they’ll get an appreciative audience for their views. Arguing with your barber and other customers isn’t the usual experience people seek out.
“People find people who think like they do,” he said.
Trujillo himself shies away from talking about politics, but even when he tries to change the conversation, he said some customers won’t relent.
“We’re just barbers,” he said. “We’re not here to solve the world’s problems.”
Chavez on the other hand, usually embraces the talk.
He said people are also deeply concerned about illegal immigration and the federal government’s emergency response to the hurricanes battering the southeast United States.
Some, he said, have specifically expressed irritation with non-U.S. citizens being eligible for thousands of dollars in federal assistance, while at the same time giving out more limited payouts to victims of Hurricane Helene for initial direct relief payments. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has countered that more money is available for victims after the initial payment is doled out.
“They’ve allowed America to become a third-world country right under our noses,” Chavez said.
There’s also been some concern about how local issues are being handled in Cheyenne, Chavez said, mentioning the growing population of homeless people in the Capital City.
“The biggest concern is the deterioration of our own city,” he said.
But Cheyenne resident Todd Thibodeaux, who was getting a haircut at Trujillo’s on Friday, expressed support for how Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins has been running the city the past four years.
“I like a lot of what he’s doing,” Thibodeaux said. “I think it’s important to spend money on the community.”
‘Silently Voting’
Over at Drew’s Barbershop, barber Jen Vincent said conversation has become decidedly nonpartisan recently, with a concerted focus placed on the hurricanes and wildfires in northern Wyoming.
Vincent said she’s also been encouraged that her social media feeds have filled up with conversations about where people can donate to victims of the disasters rather than divisiveness about the upcoming election.
“Instead of just putting all our eggs into the election, everyone is all about helping one another and helping get America back,” she said.
Vincent believes that people are “silently voting” this election cycle out of a desire to return to a sense of political normalcy in America.
“Everyone’s hoping for their own silent outcome,” she said.
The government mandates orchestrated during the COVID-19 pandemic and controversial 2020 election she believes divided Americans. Now, Vincent said many are keeping their political views closer to the vest.
“Americans needed to see each other as neighbors again,” she said. “We all still love each other. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that people haven’t been talking about it (election).”
Maldonado shares this mindset to a certain degree, but is generally fed up with both Democrats and Republicans and doesn’t plan to vote in November. He joked that the only political stance his barbershop takes is supporting haircuts with no assassinations.
“We want everybody looking good,” he said. “I hope the country gets back to doing something good.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
