I've seen this image now a couple of times during the past few days on Facebook; aside from this I have heard similar things quoted over the years. Now, I have nothing wrong with the idea behind this image and the quote - discrimination of any kind is wrong and disconcerting in this day and age. And I will freely admit that this is an instance where I'm thinking a little too hard about it. If it didn't bother me so much I'd probably say to someone complaining like me right now, "That's not the point..."
But, alas, it does bother me. Even though I know it's probably a silly thing to criticize, it's just one of those things that gets under my skin whenever I hear it. Because, well... we're not exactly - you know, if you want to get technical.
But, alas, it does bother me. Even though I know it's probably a silly thing to criticize, it's just one of those things that gets under my skin whenever I hear it. Because, well... we're not exactly - you know, if you want to get technical.
We're not really all the same down at our skeletons. You know who would agree? This lady.
Well, anthropologists/anatomy experts. Yes, to a layman like the majority of human beings on this earth, one skinless body, one skeleton is going to look very much like, if not exactly like, another. But, the fact of the matter is there are differences in the bone structure of different humans, particularly in the face, that can identify them by their racial ancestry.
Well, anthropologists/anatomy experts. Yes, to a layman like the majority of human beings on this earth, one skinless body, one skeleton is going to look very much like, if not exactly like, another. But, the fact of the matter is there are differences in the bone structure of different humans, particularly in the face, that can identify them by their racial ancestry.
It's a nice quote, "We're all the same under the skin." And to some extent, I guess it's true. We're all blood vessels and meat and bone and Shylock's "Has not a Jew eyes?" speech could easily be recited by any victim of discrimination with a single word of editing. It just bugs me a little knowing that, actually... we're not the same at our bones. As diverse and fluid the melting pot of racial convergence is becoming, our roots are still evident in our faces. I knew a girl in high school who was mostly white but sported the full lips and high, well rounded cheekbones that I've seen most often on people of African descent (and she did indeed have some African in her ancestry). Our race - or our ancestral descent, no matter what race we identify with - is evident in our bones, for those who have the skill to decipher it.
We are not really the same.
But why should we want to be? We are all human beings and yes, in that we are the same. But the differences between us that Mother Nature molded into our ancestors when Pangea divided are part of what makes us so special. We are so beautiful in so many different ways - some ways which would be impossible if it wasn't for the differences in bone structure that come along with race. The discrimination and lack of love that runs rampant in so many places for so many reasons as illustrated in the above meme is disappointing and despicable, but I wish that we might someday get over the hatred and start celebrating our differences, physical and otherwise, for what they truly are. Beautiful. We don't have to be the same. We shouldn't be the same. We should be free to live our beauty the way it is, be free to be wonderfully unique. Maybe someday all our differences will be celebrated. Maybe someday we will stop hating, stop same-ing and simply love.
We are not really the same.
But why should we want to be? We are all human beings and yes, in that we are the same. But the differences between us that Mother Nature molded into our ancestors when Pangea divided are part of what makes us so special. We are so beautiful in so many different ways - some ways which would be impossible if it wasn't for the differences in bone structure that come along with race. The discrimination and lack of love that runs rampant in so many places for so many reasons as illustrated in the above meme is disappointing and despicable, but I wish that we might someday get over the hatred and start celebrating our differences, physical and otherwise, for what they truly are. Beautiful. We don't have to be the same. We shouldn't be the same. We should be free to live our beauty the way it is, be free to be wonderfully unique. Maybe someday all our differences will be celebrated. Maybe someday we will stop hating, stop same-ing and simply love.