Racism is pointless. We may have different skin colours but underneath we still hurt when we are called names, bleed when cut and need love and sustenance to live. Underneath we are all the same. Fear is one of the big causes of racism. Fear of what we don’t know. What is foreign to us. When I was little people looked different. I could tell someone was from Asia, Africa even Greece and Scandinavia. They were different. These days I look at people and that is what I see. People. People the same as myself. They no longer look different (not vastly anyway.) Is it because I’ve travelled, that I truly live in an integrated mixed society (not true for I believe our government is extremely racist) or that people come into our lounge rooms via the television. Whatever it is I know they are people, with the same needs, wants and desires as myself.
Why the hell had he come to this rally? Yves squirmed in his seat as he listen to the vitriol pour from the mouths of the speakers. They were inciting the crowd to riot, mob and maim those from the Middle East, The Sudan and other parts of Africa. He had to risk that anger being transferred to him. He stood and commanded the floor. At least they respected him. Well at least for the moment. “Brothers” he said in a loud clear voice. “Why do you wish to hurt my brothers. We share the same Granny. Mitochondrial Eve.
Yes it’s true. We are all related. If you want to know more about maternal ancestors
This is in response to Charli’s prompt:
April 29, 2015 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that tackles racism. Think about common ground, about the things that rip us apart as humans. How we can recover our identities in a way that honors the identities of all individuals? What breaks the barrier of other-ness? Imagine a better tomorrow that doesn’t need expression in riots or taking sides on social media. As writers, think about genres, characters, tension and twists. We can rebuild.
Respond by May 5, 2015 to be included in the weekly compilation.Rules are here. All writers are welcome!
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
I read that article and was amazed it what our advancing technology is revealing about our origins. There is a company here in the US which will analyze your DNA and tell you from which of 3 secondary Eve’s (Africa, Asia, Europe) you are descended.
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Yes my brother has had his DNA tested and presumably I have the same which means I am a U5a1a1 – moving out from Africa to the middle East and then up to Scandinavia and Scotland. Amazing stuff.
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We all have different skin colours – white, beige, tan, brown…..
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which is only skin deep 🙂
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I wonder if our gaze does change as we age or as we are further exposed to a more global view. I recall being fascinated by people who were different, yet I can’t remember if I noticed physical differences or if I was drawn to personalities.
Your flash touches on that power of anger and peer pressure, too. Yves was strong to question, resist and use the influence he felt he had to try to diffuse the growing tide of violence. A good scene that uses tension well.
DNA is so fascinating and we all go back to Eve’s cradle. In my own DNA from Ancestry.com, most of my heritage is Ireland, West Europe and Iberian Penninsula (33%, 34% and 20%). Yet it is the trace DNA that captures my imagination because I have no genealogy to support it: Scandinavia, South Asia, Greece, Mali and the Middle East. I think that makes me cousin to globe! 🙂
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I noticed physical differences when I was a child. Children will always get along with other children and if they don’t if is for a reason other than their race. I used to love watching my nephews gravitating toward any child and managing to play despite not being able to speak the same language. For children there seems to be a universal communication system.
Anger and peer pressure are indeed powerful motivators and I think he had a lot of courage to take on a mob. It sounds as though you have the same traces as myself – cousin. I’ve always enjoyed having olive skin – I had visions that one of my forebears suffered under the rape of the Spaniards many years ago. Now I know it is probably my African/middle Eastern heritage.
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Well put, Irene. Similarly, I think travelling has helped extend my view of what “ordinary people like you and me” means. I also think it’s good for white people to experience being in the minority and not having to feel that fear. I remember returning from my travels in South Asia thinking I spotted people from there in the street – skin colour was irrelevant in that context, I was missing at my friends
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Thanks Anne. Yes I think travelling does extend your visions. That was the other way I was thinking of going was to talk about being the minority group and the reverse racism that we encountered. It is also interesting how you feel a real affinity with strangers that share characteristics with you – you do miss home. I remember being in Edinburgh with some item of clothing that showed i was Australian and the number of Aussies that stopped and talked simply because they were missing their friends and the world they were used to.
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beautiful Irene and soo soo true. Our links back to ground zero of the human race should teach us all a lesson but if course it wont because we are hard wired to feel comfortable in villages of 150 people and no more. Not that that should stop us trying..
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Villages of 150 – there must be no-one in the world comfortable any more. I can remember sitting with a black man in a coffee shop when he suddenly grabbed my arm, pointed and said “Look at that black man over there.” I responded that everyone was black and what was he talking about. He then explained that there are differences in the black and the closer to the equator a person comes from the blacker the pigment of skin. We also experienced reverse racism which was an interesting phenomena where white was racist toward other whites. So yes, I agree it is probably an impossible ask but you do have to try.
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The 150 – I think it’s 158 but close enough- comes from a series of anthropological studies that say we are hard wired to feel comfortable in groups of no more than this number. Goes back to our original villages. So teams in large business naturally break down into groups no bigger than this however they are set up. Something like that anyway. It was cool management shit once upon a time in my company
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All I can say is your law firm must have been huge, beyond my comprehension that more than 158 lawyers would be in the one place to have to break them down into groups. I hate groups more than 3. LOL
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We had 2000 lawyers in London alone at one point. Completely huge!
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Mind boggling
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Just lost my entire comment…grrrr… Just to say I found this utterly fascinating. I’ve read something about Mitochondrial Eve before and must read more. Great flash Irene, Yves is my new hero, I love him 🙂 ❤
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I just hate that when it happens and it is always when you have written a missive that you think is saying exactly what you want to say perfectly and you can never quite reach that level of perfection again. Yes I love Yves also.
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Yes…that is so true and so, so annoying…
❤ for Yves…
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