This month saw World Orangutan Day. At Twycross zoo they were giving free entry tickets to ginger people. Or if you dyed your hair ginger or wore a ginger wig, you also got in for free.
At first, I thought, as everyone else did, that this was some sort of novelty and it's all very funny hahaha don't we have funny coloured hair etc etc.
Then I thought about it more.
I came to the conclusion that this phenomenon in our culture of everyone having a lighthearted dig at ginger people is the last bastion of legitimate racism we have in our society. Generally - indeed, arguably exclusively - racism and all racist remarks are considered off bounds, politically incorrect, unacceptable. Rightly. Our country has grown richly enough to unanimously agree that racism doesn't have a real place at the table of a progressive and modern society.
Gingers are different. No, 'ginger' is not a race. However, having ginger hair is not a choice, it is something you simply are. This is an important distinction. It is important because, like your race, gingerness is not something you can simply choose to be or not to be. Not in any genuine sense of the word, anyway.
So the fact that it is still socially acceptable to have a cheap and easy laugh at someone who is ginger is, I would argue, tantamount to racism.
Saying this sounds flippant and silly. A great number of people would say 'you need to get a sense of humour,' or, 'It's just a joke, sheeeeeeesh!' But I think we are better than that. I'm talking about society here. As a society, I know we are better than that.
We didn't take you to Twycross for free on that day Noah. We didn't.
That's not because we are principled. Holy shit, no. If it's free, we're there. We just didn't hear about it in time.
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