REDHEADS AT RISK FOR DISCRIMINATION ?

All the senseless deadly discriminatory violence that is occurring across our country has reminded me of historical accounts revealing the many different groups singled out for rejection at one time or another.   

Discriminatory stories prevail about the Native American Indians, Chinese, Irish, Italians, Hawaiians, Japanese, Negroes/African-Americans/Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Mexican, various religious groups, and many others.   Discrimination occurs from some on the basis of how others speech sounds, or other differences considered to be outside the so-called prevailing range of what they consider "normal", or acceptable, though we're all human beings.

Could it ever happen here?  For example, could discrimination occur based on even hair color?  Could redheads ever be discriminated against as a group?  Surely not!

But ... given so many of our fellow country-persons continuing to believe our former President's lies, his new ones, including conspiracy theories, the most despicable discriminatory words and behaviors with individuals being physically attacked have been more openly expressed.  There are those who believe that it's okay to treat some people as "less than," because they are different  from them in some respect -- by skin color, other physical body differences.

Perhaps redheads and some other groups, including religious, political, social, to which some of us belong shouldn't be so confident we'll never be discriminated against.  As for redheads, it's not as though those with red hair have never experienced discrimination before.  

A recent prime example of discrimination is a woman in India with natural red hair I recently discovered when researching whether or not there were no redheads in India as a Google search statement reported.  I thought, considering India was under the rule of Great Britain for so many years with many English persons and some other nationalities living there that possibly there might have been some genes mixing.

During my process of verifying the facts, I found this story written in 2017 with photos of a lovely young woman and her parents where you can see this, apparently, rare redhead in India.  She was thought to be diseased, her parents shunned because she looked different.  Perhaps there are other redheads in India hidden away for self-protection who simply have not been discovered.

Redheads have been revered by some and reviled by others through the ages.  Given the current obsession and susceptibility some people have for believing conspiracy theories perhaps we redheads should be concerned we could be placed on the list in the future to join those being discriminated against in our own U.S. country. 

For what, could others discriminate against you?   Those who discriminate against others should be aware that all groups of people are at risk of being discriminated against if some others decide, for whatever their reasons, to single them out for rejection because of their looks, beliefs, behaviors, or simply for political reasons as happens in some countries.

We see journalists as one group that are systematically under discriminatory attack by some nations leaders trying to exert excessive message control -- as did our previous President in his discriminatory press treatment.  Think also of Saudi Arabia's Jamal Khashoggi's assassination.  Other leaders stifle similar dissidents by imprisoning them as in China, Russia, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Turkey, to name a few current ones, by censoring their nation's press.

Some physical appearance differences occur that are unnatural.   I had occasion to be in Quito, Ecuador in the 1950's for a visit with family.  All of us had natural red hair and drew much attention with many stares, especially from native Indians we happened to encounter when we walked about the downtown area.

The surrounding region was inhabited by Indigenous Tsachila (means "true people") also known as Colorados which means "the red-colored ones" whose men traditionally dyed their hair red with sap from the achiote tree as in this Science Source link to a photo of a boy and one also on that site of an adult man.  So, some cultures have found red hair, even if artificially colored, to not only be desirable but to signify honored exceptionality.  

Redheads reportedly are thought by some amid current senseless conspiracy theories to be the result of aliens breeding with humans, citing supporting evidence involving red-headed kings and queens as farfetched as this may seem to most of us.

Then, there is also the belief some have had that redheads become vampires when we die.  Long ago ashes of redheaded males burned alive are reported to have been used to fertilize fields.  Redheads were believed to have no souls.  All this and more with photos appear in brief accounts of 11 historical myths about redheads by clicking on this link.

Redheaded women were thought to be witches, have volatile tempers.  A recent blurb featured by Wisewebwoman on her blog:  "The Other Side of Sixty" gave me pause, seeming apropos here:  

"Who knows why we were taught to fear the witches, And not those who burned them alive?"

On the other hand, redheads have been said to bring good luck.  When all is said and done, I don't think we have any special powers simply because of the color of our hair.  

Red hair (or ginger hair) is present in people all over the world though we're considered to be only less than 1-2% of the population.  Scotland and Ireland have the most frequency of redheads. 

A number of years ago redheads were reported to be becoming extinct but this study was subsequently refuted when Proctor and Gamble was disclosed to have sponsored the research in relation to selling their hair dying products as noted in a Smithsonian article, "Requiem for the Redhead" available with a direct search using this title.

A Geneticist reports redheaded people and even those with blue eyes will decrease significantly in number to become more rare, but will not completely cease to exist though there may be some disagreement among geneticists on that matter.

Whatever our future holds I hope discriminatory words and actions cease.  How everyone talks everyday with loved ones, friends, and others -- beginning in the home with children, our grandchildren, nieces and nephews, strongly contributes to eliminating discrimination.  Communication demands civility, courtesy and respect to all -- those we know and those we don't.  There is no place for physical assaults.

Language, words and actions matter!  

HURRICANES -- CHAOS -- REDHEAD'S DENTITION

HURRICANES ON MY RADAR

Hurricanes have never really been on my radar much, but they have certainly made their presence known in recent years.    My familiarity had been pretty much limited to news reports.

My only and closest hurricane encounter was in the late 1950’s when I had occasion to be in Miami -- staying overnight in a motel near the airport awaiting a next day’s flight to Ecuador.    Early evening I recall leaving my room for dinner at the restaurant, then for nearby clothing store shopping.  When I stepped out of my room, I was confronted with an oppressive wall of humid heat unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.  Thinking this was just more of the dense hot humid weather I associated with Florida, I gave little more thought to the matter. 

Even more of the intense heavy moist air greeting me the next morning gave me reason to be glad we were flying out.   Only on my arrival at my destination did I learn a hurricane had assaulted Miami the day after I left causing me to be glad I wasn’t there.  

Now I see as the most recent Harvey and Irma hurricanes have wrought their damage that we have three more raging in the Atlantic ocean: Maria possibly threatening to follow Irma’s path – Jose, though offshore, is spinning with potential impacts further up the U.S. east coast – Tropical Storm Lee is expected to spin itself out with no land warnings issued presently.

Storm language has its own terminology:  systems over the Atlantic or the eastern Pacific Oceans are named “hurricanes”.    Western North Pacific and Philippines systems are called “typhoons”.  Indian and South Pacific Ocean systems are called “cyclones”.   Strong destructive winds and flooding rains whatever we call them.

HURRICANES AREN’T ALL THAT CREATE CHAOS

Hurricanes in the U.S. are apropos for the chaotic world our leader and his cohort, Mr. Bannon have been dedicated to creating in their efforts for “deconstruction of the administrative state” with “a new political order being formed.”   Continued orchestrated chaos is the order of the day.

Thinking citizens might want to closely examine what that language really means -- not just what some want to believe -- or they may awaken one morning to learn they got more than they expected and not what they wanted at all – but could be too late to preserve the constitutional democratic republic our forefathers created and some of my ancestors fought to establish.   

  

Is the Washington swamp that was to be cleaned out by this Administration increasingly appearing to have been replaced by a cesspool?

REDHEAD REVELATIONS

Redheads, or “Gingers” as we’re known in some other countries, have a number of distinct features from those with different hair color.    Recently my attention has had to be focused on my teeth.   A root canal, followed by a crown that came without a kingdom, then my routine cleaning has meant I have had to focus on the condition of those chompers. 

I was reminded of what had periodically crossed my mind much of my adult life.  Toothpaste commercials, dental caps, implants all touted the bright white teeth they offered.   I often wondered why I didn’t seem to have those eye-blinding “pearly white” teeth so highly desired.   I had carefully brushed my teeth as recommended.  

If I ever mentioned the topic to a dentist, I basically was told just that tooth coloring varied for individuals which seemed sufficient and acceptable to me. This time when I thought about it, I spontaneously decided to see what might be said on the Internet which seems to have an answer for everything.  This is what I learned. 

One site states there is a scientific reason for why a redhead’s teeth can have a slightly yellowish cast that’s attributed to “a Dental Hygenist” on Yahoo Answers.  

The scientific reason given is:

“Embryonically, there are 3 germ layers: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm.  The tooth enamel (the outermost part) and the skin both derive from the ectoderm.

….redheads usually have a very fair, translucent skin…in general, their skin is thinner than that of people with other hair colors…having been derived from the ectoderm, their tooth enamel is thinner, as well

…the effect you see, due to the thinner enamel, is more of the underlying tooth surface (dentin) showing through the enamel…dentin is normally a yellowish or grayish color. 

 As a result, the redhead’s teeth will appear to be less white, because more dentin is apparent.”

There is a web site for a purported dentist promoting teeth whitening that says hair color has nothing to do with tooth color.  Yellow teeth indicate lack of proper dental care.  Well, I know my teeth have had and still do have appropriate care.

I don’t know if the purported scientific explanation is reliable and authentic or not as I couldn’t locate a credible science link.    I’ll ask my dentist when I see him next year – if I remember.