Stereotypes

That's the biggest warning I used to get, before I moved here, from haole friends who had lived here. There was actually racial prejudice here, against us, the supreme race, the wonderful ones, the sacred whiteskins. I mean it was made to sound as though I might get thrown into jail for breathing.

And I got here and found out that once in a while somebody who was real cross about something else might call me an effing haole, especially if I did something stupid or rude; and once in a while somebody who was in a really bad mood would be discourteous to me because he didn't like the color of my eyes; and maybe sometimes I'd believe the reason I couldn't get a job was that my hair was too pale... Ho, da injustice of it all, yeah?

Well, no, actually. What this is, is what it looks like when life gets a little more fair. Most places there's a one-word curse for everybody but haoles. Here, we get one too. Nobody gets singled out as specially good or specially bad by the whole of society. Everybody comes in for a little dissing from all the other racial or ethnic groups, and since there's no clear majority, what that means is that it's pretty darn evenly spread around. I'm real willing to carry my share, if it helps keep someone else from having to shoulder it all.

Sometimes that's the closest to fair we humans can manage. It'd be nice if we could say everybody's just super and we all love each other, but that's not the human way. We're a cranky and suspicious lot, not good at waging peace or distributing genuine fellowship, and our best is seldom good enough.

It's still better than our mediocre, and a heck of a lot better than our worst. (Let's do it!)

One of many things that means is, next time you find yourself impulsively judging somebody by a racial, ethnic, or any other stereotype, stop and think about it. Try to imagine what it would feel like to have people assume that because your skin is pale, you are necessarily rude, arrogant, inconsiderate, and unworthy.

If you're a woman, you know a little whereof I speak: somebody has ever assumed you were less intelligent than you are, or less logical, or in some way a lesser person than members of the other sex. Don't do the same thing to someone else. Skin or hair color is no better indication of a person's innate worth than sex is.

Cultural differences do exist and can cause difficulties in understanding. It helps to remember that different is not necessarily bad, it's just different. Not everyone has to believe the same thing or do things in the same way. There's room for rock n' roll, rap, classical, and a lot of other kinds of music in this world, and we're richer for the variety. Nobody has to like everything. But it is arrogant to imagine that if you don't choose it, no one should.

Amethysts have wildly varying tastes. The one thing we all share is our strong belief that our differences are both valuable and valid. When two people disagree, they can both be right.

Only think how boring this world would be if we were all exactly alike!

Copyright © 1992 by Melisa Michaels. Reproduction and distribution specifically prohibited. All rights reserved. Melisa Michaels is the author of the science fiction novels Skirmish, First Battle, Last War, Pirate Prince, Floater Factor, and Far Harbor, the fantasy novels Cold Iron and Sister to the Rain, and the mystery novel Through the Eyes of the Dead.