Color-blind........yeah right!!
Picture this......a young boy sitting next to his younger sister at a playground, both of them staring off into space and having meaningless conversations about the inanities and absurdities of life. No, we're not talking about 2 pot heads who got baked in a public area. We're talking about 2 small children just doing their thing. The younger sister produces a pack of skittles from her pocket and offers to share them with her brother (yes, quite a Kodak moment, right?). Now, the brother, being somewhat of an oddball, graciously accepts, but has difficulty deciding on which skittle he likes the best. The red had a potency that he found delectable, the orange felt natural and nutritious (did I mention he was an oddball?), the yellow had the same direct zest of lemons, the green was unique, the blue was a disappointment despite it being his favorite color and the purple was......well, who doesn't like purple? After trying each one and not being able to reach a decision, he promptly snatches the pack from his sister and runs, hoping to try enough so that he could eventually solve that ever-present question, which skittle tasted the best. However, he had not counted on the fact that his sister could out-run him and that, even at a young age, she had a mean punch that could scare the hell outta Tyson. What transpired afterwards is a tale that I dare not tell because.....well, it was simply humiliating and borderline horrific.
That peek into my "traumatic" childhood aside, there was a point to this.
My current residence, the town I inhabit, is a bit of an enigma (or mystery) to me, despite having lived here for a little over 2 years now. It's a sleepy little hamlet in the country side, with its own attractive qualities. It's small and quiet, it enjoys relatively wonderful weather, especially during the summers, and the scenery is simply gorgeous. Seriously, I can't walk out of my front door without catching a glimpse of nature's beauty.
This is not where the mystery lies for me. For me, the mystery is with the folks who inhabit this small town. To me, they are the enigma. I say this because, despite my best efforts, I can't seem to completely figure them out. On one hand, I have met many wonderful people who have been warm, welcoming, inviting and accepting of me, people who have not only extended the hand of friendship but also the hand of tolerance. They've been understanding and patient and perhaps even curious by me.
And on the other hand, there have been those who have not been as welcoming or accepting or inviting. Granted, I'm not expecting anyone to just open their doors and ask me over for Sunday night dinner (not that I would ever refuse), but it would be nice to be able to walk down the street without someone staring at me suspiciously as if my motives less than honorable.
During a late night beer-chug with one of the more accepting folks here, I had a chance to talk about this with them (and the fact that we were both "slightly inebriated" only served to make our talk blunter). He suggested that there were and are people everywhere, including here, including himself, that simply do not see color. He sprouted the idea that it's only skin-deep, we all bleed the same color underneath, we are the same species, blah blah blah. Although it was meant to inspire acceptance, I couldn't help but disagree with that. And I argued that point.
Before I continue, I have a small experiment I'd like to engage with you all, my dear readers. Open up your closets and take a good look inside. If my hunch is correct, you'll find an assortment of clothing in a whole range of colors (unless you're color-restricted for whatever reason). I'm sure you all have different clothes in different colors, plain and simple. Naturally some items may not be in the color you would've originally had intended, but it changes nothing. You chose these items based on factors that included color. Hence, you recognize them. You see them. And that is my point.
The sky is blue. The grass is green. And almost everything else can change and become every other color. Fire at different settings and temperatures, leaves in different seasons, rainbows, window-curtains, company t-shirts, excrement (forgive me for that last one, but it came to me because of a friends insistence that I look at his stool earlier this morning for fear that he might have developed some sort of vitamin/mineral deficiency, which I believe is simply him being a paranoid, overbearing hypochondriac......anyways.....sorry for the mental image, folks).
Color is as apparent and as obvious as anything else in the world. In its essence, at its core, color was never meant to divide or segregate. It isn't discriminating or bigoted. Hell, it's not even used to describe superiority. Color is exactly what it is......color!! It's the scenery that highlights where we live. It's the extra blast of creamy sweetness when we have a particularly delicious piece of cake. It's the background music that describes how the main characters in a cheesey romantic comedy.
In humanity, color is what differentiates us, but it is not supposed to divide us. It's part of our identity, but it's not the bottom line. It's an aspect of us, but it doesn't truly define who we are. At the end of the day, color is there, but its not the main idea in life's story, it's only a small, minor sub-plot.
So, in response to my friend's claim to color-blindness, I simply concluded that I disagreed with him on that. I see color, everywhere, in every different possible way. And I can not imagine the world being as beautiful as it is without it.
So, my answer to that debate on color........I see it. I accept it. I embrace it. I appreciate it. I love it. And if there is more color in the world, then I want to experience it too. Besides, what could be more boring and tragic than to see the world in black-and-white!?
That peek into my "traumatic" childhood aside, there was a point to this.
My current residence, the town I inhabit, is a bit of an enigma (or mystery) to me, despite having lived here for a little over 2 years now. It's a sleepy little hamlet in the country side, with its own attractive qualities. It's small and quiet, it enjoys relatively wonderful weather, especially during the summers, and the scenery is simply gorgeous. Seriously, I can't walk out of my front door without catching a glimpse of nature's beauty.
This is not where the mystery lies for me. For me, the mystery is with the folks who inhabit this small town. To me, they are the enigma. I say this because, despite my best efforts, I can't seem to completely figure them out. On one hand, I have met many wonderful people who have been warm, welcoming, inviting and accepting of me, people who have not only extended the hand of friendship but also the hand of tolerance. They've been understanding and patient and perhaps even curious by me.
And on the other hand, there have been those who have not been as welcoming or accepting or inviting. Granted, I'm not expecting anyone to just open their doors and ask me over for Sunday night dinner (not that I would ever refuse), but it would be nice to be able to walk down the street without someone staring at me suspiciously as if my motives less than honorable.
During a late night beer-chug with one of the more accepting folks here, I had a chance to talk about this with them (and the fact that we were both "slightly inebriated" only served to make our talk blunter). He suggested that there were and are people everywhere, including here, including himself, that simply do not see color. He sprouted the idea that it's only skin-deep, we all bleed the same color underneath, we are the same species, blah blah blah. Although it was meant to inspire acceptance, I couldn't help but disagree with that. And I argued that point.
The sky is blue. The grass is green. And almost everything else can change and become every other color. Fire at different settings and temperatures, leaves in different seasons, rainbows, window-curtains, company t-shirts, excrement (forgive me for that last one, but it came to me because of a friends insistence that I look at his stool earlier this morning for fear that he might have developed some sort of vitamin/mineral deficiency, which I believe is simply him being a paranoid, overbearing hypochondriac......anyways.....sorry for the mental image, folks).
Color is as apparent and as obvious as anything else in the world. In its essence, at its core, color was never meant to divide or segregate. It isn't discriminating or bigoted. Hell, it's not even used to describe superiority. Color is exactly what it is......color!! It's the scenery that highlights where we live. It's the extra blast of creamy sweetness when we have a particularly delicious piece of cake. It's the background music that describes how the main characters in a cheesey romantic comedy.
In humanity, color is what differentiates us, but it is not supposed to divide us. It's part of our identity, but it's not the bottom line. It's an aspect of us, but it doesn't truly define who we are. At the end of the day, color is there, but its not the main idea in life's story, it's only a small, minor sub-plot.
So, in response to my friend's claim to color-blindness, I simply concluded that I disagreed with him on that. I see color, everywhere, in every different possible way. And I can not imagine the world being as beautiful as it is without it.
So, my answer to that debate on color........I see it. I accept it. I embrace it. I appreciate it. I love it. And if there is more color in the world, then I want to experience it too. Besides, what could be more boring and tragic than to see the world in black-and-white!?
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