At what point do you have to accept that you are...strange?

I’ve seen a lot of comments around the internet on the “Teacher makes fun of student with Jolly Rancher’s in her hair on Facebook” story that go something like: Although the teacher had no right to put the girl’s photo on Facebook and make fun of it, why would a mother put candy in her child’s hair and not expect ridicule, at the least from other students?

Similarly, a recent episode of “How do I look?” featured this woman:

Her family put her on the show, because her outfits, which always contained one OR MORE tu-tus were embarrassing to them out in public, and were hindering her aspirations as a make-up/fashion designer.

My husband and I debated her need for a makeover. I said, yes, she needed one, a tu-tu is a costume, and while I love eccentricity, she was crossing the line into strange. He felt like her family should be ashamed of themselves for trying to push their style on to her, and not accepting her how she was.

These scenarios beg the questions: At what point do you have to accept that you are going to be considered odd?

Being eccentric is fine, and not caring about what others think is fine, but at what point do you have to anticipate negative reaction?

I am sure that there are some people who would say that because I where my hair natural I should EXPECT odd stares on the street at my ‘fro.

In a perfect would, it wouldn’t matter, it shouldn’t matter, what a person’s outside appearance is and how they dress or wear their hair, but in the real world, it does matter. Accepting that, and dressing out of the norm is fine, but if you’re wearing three tu-tus are you allowed to be offended if someone points, laughs or stares?