Yeah, I’d much rather the haircut than the shave, but that’s just me. I’m only guessing, but I suspect the hazing at the Cranbrook School in 1965 included some events that were a lot more objectionable than this and that’s why Romney’s good friend Stu White had either never heard of it at the time or had forgotten it in the interim.
Whatever “hazing” took place could not have equaled this violent act, Mitt was 18, effeminate, soon to be avoiding the draft, but by golly give him enough backup and he could take on the nerd guy, too bad there wasn’t a white hat wearing conservative present that could have put him in his place.
Removing someone’s hair is a very big deal.