25. Will all humans someday be blended? Is this the direction humanity is going?
From the book:
Raz was one of those vanguard human beings of indeterminate ethnicity, the magnificent mutts that I hope we are all destined to become given another millennium of intermixing. His skin was a rich pecan color from his dad, who was part African American and part native Hawaiian. His hair, straight and glossy black, and the almond shape of his eyes came from his Japanese grandmother. But their color was the cool blue he'd inherited from his mum, a Swedish windsurfing champion. ... Raz's wife was the daughter of an Iranian-Kurdish mother and a Pakistani-American father. I couldn't wait to see their kids: they'd be walking Benetton ads (p. 141).
From today's
New York Times:
Obama’s family ... [is] ... unusual in the extent of its continent-crossing, religion-melding, color-fusing richness. But the Benetton-ad family is less unusual than it may seem. This is the age of globalized, far-flung families.
What's with the Benetton ads? Have you seen the ads? I haven't, so somebody please enlighten me. Okay, I did it myself, so here's one Benetton ad that I found:
FYI ~ information about
Benetton ads
From the book:
FYI ~ information about Benetton ads
3 comments:
i am not much in the "know" about advertising these days, but what i remember about the Benetton ads of the 80s was the feeling of celebrating diversity while at the same time recognizing our common humanity.
... the magnificent mutts that I hope we are all destined to become given another millennium of intermixing.
i loved this phrase when i read it. it gave me a connection to Hanna because i think the same thing. i am in a bi-racial marriage with three children - not as blended as Raz or Obama, but a situation that we celebrate!
Thanks for the Benetton ad link. I had enjoyed that quote when I read it. It reminded me of my niece who as a teen said that she wanted a bi-baby (she had to enlighten me on the term). Unlike my kids who did not reach their goals (my daughter makes comments about the cousins' successes in reaching theirs), my niece succeeded. Although the idea of seeking out a specific race for a mate is troublesome especially when combined with intentionally having a child even when one is neither married nor self-sufficient, my great-niece is beautiful both physically and in personality. My niece is right that bi-racial people do often have a special beauty. For my great-niece's sake as well as all others, I am thankful that she was born when the amount of overt prejudice has decreased.
I am the mother of a gorgeous bi-racial child (and I'm not the only one who thinks so!! LOL). I am not naive enough to think that he might not have trouble with racism or discrimination at some point in time, but so far we have had no major issues. He did come home from school once wanting to change his name (he has a very African name) but I remember wanting to change my name at various times when I was a kid (and I still think about it now occasionally).
I am grateful that society has come a long way in terms of tolerance. That doesn't mean to say that there isn't still a lot more to be done.
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