A Reflection on Race – Yes, This is a Post About Race

I was in the shop earlier today and I spotted the most beautiful thing ever – a mixed race family. The mother was dark-skin mixed race (half black, half white), the father was white and the children were a beautifully blended mix of the two. The little boy had curly dark blonde hair, piercingly blue eyes and tanned skin. The daughter had near green eyes, brown curls, a great grin and lighter skin.

I’m mixed race too (half black as my mother is Jamaican, and half white from my Irish-British father), and I’ve always been very proud of it. I love my skin! Being a blend of two races means I get the best of both worlds! I can have straight hair and curly hair. I don’t desire a tan. Do I wish I had green eyes? Hell yeah! But all in all, I love being mixed.

So I don’t understand why people are against the mixing of races. How someone can be so up their own arse or ignorant as to think another race is any different to how they are. Yes, physically, they have differences. Like the shade of their skin, how their hair grows, tone of voice potentially, body shape and size, but that’s all. Does someone having a fatter ass make them a bad person? Does someone having blue eyes make them someone you can’t possibly be friends with? Does a European have to be white and an African have to be black? I can’t wait for the day where mixed race people aren’t rare. Where you can ask a person where they’re from without guessing and being right.

I mean, why limit yourself? There’s so much to be learnt from people of other cultures. Our world could be a bigger, better place where an Asian could hold hands with a black person without getting weird looks. Where a white mother could have a dark-skinned child without people raising an eyebrow. We’re all beautiful. We’re all fascinating. I was so happy to see so many different races in the shops today. I walked past a few black people and they nodded at me, asking if I’m alright because that’s what we do! Black people are amazing! We value respect and camaraderie, so how can some people walk past us with their heads down as if they want nothing to do with us?

As you may have noticed, I said “we” and that’s because I mostly identify myself with the black race. I get who they are more so than the white side of me, due to my upbringing. Perhaps being mixed means I can appreciate and love more races, but that shouldn’t be the case. It shouldn’t take the mixing of skin to develop an open mind.

I know it’s weird, but I love Asian people. I love their culture, I love their ideals and look (not saying every Asian is the same, of course), and I loved learning Japanese and teaching myself a bit of Mandarin. But it’s a shame that Asians tend to only associate with fellow Asians. I wish there was more friendship groups of mixed races like me and my friends back at school but there wasn’t. It was mostly the black people grouped together, the white people and the odd Asian dotted here and there. It truly saddens me.

It’s mind-boggling that race is even a consideration. I’ve grown up with the black side of my family and I’ve mostly had white friends. However, I’ve had Indian friends, Vietnamese friends, Jamaican friends, Greek friends and much more. Now, my boyfriend is African. My brother has a good friend who is Italian and he’s learning loads from her about her life. And isn’t that beautiful? One race sharing their stories? I’m blessed to have so many different types of people around me and they’ve enriched my life. I want to seek more! I must travel and make international friends because people are amazing. Damsels, don’t limit yourself to one place or one type of person because you will be at such a loss.

If you’re even worse and you’re a racist, I pity you. I really do. I feel sorry for you that you’re so pathetically closed minded that you actually believe race is more than just skin. That beneath one’s skin isn’t someone beautiful who could bring such wonder and joy to your life. That you’d rather discriminate and curse instead of open your arms and your mind. You’ll never know the beauty of a colourful life.

This was a bit of a random post, but when the thought hits you, you write, right? Hope you enjoyed it and can relate. Next time you see someone of another race, smile at them. Let them know you respect and admire who they are for you never know what hell they’ve been through just because of their skin. I love all of you.

~ Damsel