Monocolor: color madness in a chaotic world
On rare
occasions I get on my soapbox—usually when the world’s news has exasperated me
to distraction. My muse goes into overdrive and my mind slides into the
computer. I can’t stop it!
I know my voice
is a whisper on the wind, compared to those of the loudmouth know-it-all celebs
and politicos. I’m just a nobody know-it-all.
But, I may as
well share, since I spent so much time writing it … though someone will certainly
misinterpret my words; blow them all out of proportion, and send me into permanent
hibernation. Wait a minute—that isn’t such a bad idea …
You may think
you know what this week’s word means. You might feel I oversimplify a complex
issue. But let me put a different thought on it as we apply it to people …
MONOCHROME: (mänʹɘ krōmʹ) n. – 1) a painting, drawing, design, or photograph in black and
white, or in shades of one color
often with black or white;2) the art or process of making these; adj. – of or having to do with a single color … [the bolding and
italics are mine, hint, hint; WW #97].
Black and White, White vs. Black—but as
people, what are we, really? We’ve
battled our differences since the beginning of time. To what end? Add a little
brown, yellow … throw in some rainbow colors. Has no one thought to create a monochrome
blend?
Black and White are supposed to describe certain
ethnicities. But in this blended world I think we’ve outgrown those terms. They
have become impossible definitions that we continue to chase around the globe.
Again, for what purpose?
Hardly monochrome
A Black person may seem relatively easy to
define. Per Webster (in part): “designating
or of any of the dark-skinned traditional inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa,
Australia, or Melanesia or their descendants in other parts of the world.”
While Whites—Caucasians—are more of an
enigma now than ever, in the history of racial profiling. The dictionary states
(in part): “a
person with a light-colored skin; Caucasoid.” A tad
on the ambiguous side don’t you think?
I am an admitted Caucasian—as dictated by our
government—“White.
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle
East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as ‘White’ or
report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or
Caucasian.”
We “Caucasians” have quietly accepted and used
our official designation since the late 1700s. After just skimming the surface
of this issue however, I’m objecting.
If you read the light exploration into “Caucasian race” on Wiki, you’ll find arguments abound and the definition across
centuries and sciences is ill-defined. All ethnicities can have
light-colored skin members; doesn’t that make the official definitions of all races
erroneous from the get-go?
Even within the same family—my mother’s heritage is Irish and she had olive skin and black curly hair—I appeared with auburn
hair and great skin that tans easily (thanks mom!). My dad was of
Austrian/German descent. So what does that say about us?
And what of those folks who are lovely shades
of brown, tan, or ivory—through natural evolution or enjoyable romps in the hay?
Methinks we have diluted the melting pot.
Over the course of the past century, African Americans
have eschewed the term Black. Are there anymore “Black” people, or have they
all disappeared into the African American reference?
Even after millennia, we can’t agree on any
true and definitive basis for “race discrimination”—why not celebrate monochrome and the diversities that
brings in common understanding—rather than vilify each other for our
differences?
Honestly, any nuances in any race are
important only to those in that designation. The rest of us are busy with our
own discrepancies.
