Mutants V. Normals

Recently I was on a walk in a store where I saw this older woman, not quite to the stage of being called a senior citizen, and she was looking at a coloring book with what I can only assume were her grandchildren. The young ones, looking roughly kindergarten age, were paging through coloring books and the woman was asking them point blank questions about what colors things would be in the book. Of course, I am listening to this all go down.  What color is the fire truck? Red.  What color is the fireman's jacket? Black.

The Sewer Mutants

The line of questioning seems the standard sort of thing for kids of that age group...up until the last question. What color is the fireman's skin? Knee jerk reaction, my head snaps in the direction of what is going on. The kids are hesitant to answer. It could be because they don't know enough color names, or because they know too many color names, or because they realize how ridiculous it is to ask that question. My money is on the last one. One of the kids then responds Pink. The woman agrees and then offers "peach" as an alternative color. Of course I am thinking What the hell is wrong with this woman?

Sure, we could blame it on her age, claiming that she is old and doesn't know any better or she is incapable of change. That isn't good enough considering how she lived through several decades of social change in this country. At some point she must have heard on TV, in a class, or on the radio about some of it and seen the positive effects of equality in her lifetime.

Just Remember: As one in over six billion people on this planet, it is silly to assume that one group is the standard gauge for the whole even if we are part of that group.

Trademark 20th Century Fox

-Future_Man_3000


P.S. - If you have any questions you want answered, feel free to contact me by email: futureman3000@yahoo.com