Blog 13

The author of Random Thoughts on Random Hair refers to America's attitude toward race as a "whack color game." It's a whack color game because it is a distorted perception on color and personality. He is Japanese, but not exactly; and he is African, but not exactly. He is a rare mix of Japanese and African, and not everyone is completely used to seeing people like him, and they react in different ways. He might feel down, because America is supposed to be a melting pot, but he is feeling left out, especially after his experience on the bus where he is denied a seat by middle-schoolers for being mixed. America at times focuses on race along with stereotypes in some areas. There are black stereotypes, white stereotypes, Asian stereotypes, etc. Some people within these groups even set 'standards' for people like them. For example, the black boy on the bus may have had a 'standard' of true black, when he was disgusted at the author for being a mix. This can greatly affect how people identify themselves. They may swing from liking one part of their heritage to another. In this case, the author would like to be a unique person with his unique hair, but admits, "or maybe I just wanted to escape my blackness..."