This thread reminds me of a story my father told about a visit he made to eretz yisrael.
My father is a clean shaven man. Once a young chassidishe boy came over to him and said “du bist a yid”?
My father was furious and outraged that a child could grow up thinking that despite wearing a yarmulke, a man might not even be Jewish without a beard.
And that, my friends, is closed mindedness at it’s best.