At work, a white person was wondering if "tow-head", for a very light-haired person (often a child with white-blond hair), is racist.
Perhaps they were thinking of the slur towel head?
Or they are confused and frightened about anything related to race. Wanting to be a nice, non-racist white person, they overshot, and in the wrong direction.
Isn't life interesting?
I do wish we had words that differentiated between
1. the racism of, say, a person proudly proclaiming white supremacy, and,
2. the racism of a person with biases that formed growing up in a society where racial bias is as prevalent and unquestioned as fluoride in the water.
Like the difference between having a socially conditioned preference for blonde hair, and thinking we should have eugenics programs to breed light-haired people.
I see people trying to untangle these snarls (and I try too), but I haven't heard them clarified in language yet.
Phrases like implicit bias and systemic racism are not all that user-friendly.
Anyway, I looked up the etymology of tow-head and was happy to be able to clear it up. The word refers to the light color and tousled look of plant fibers being processed into textiles:
"tow (n.1) : the coarse, broken fibers of flax, hemp, etc., separated from the finer parts," late 14c., probably from Old English tow- "spinning""When I saw these English towhead evacuees from German bombing in WWII, I wished I had one of the two blonde girlettes I gave away.
And then--I found another on eBay. Not like that's a miracle or anything--it's eBay, there are plenty--but this one is not only a blondie, she has the best sweater!
You know what else is coming?
Cooler weather!
Cooler nights, at least.
Even though today is in the mid-90s, I am cheered because the bike path is now lined with late summer/harvest-time flowers.
Black-eyed Susans are my favorite, with their cones of brown velvet.
I woke up feeling icky today. I think I didn't drink enough water yesterday (again), while I was working hard enough that I was sweating.
PUSH THE FLUIDS!
I stayed home.
I feel better after a morning lying on the couch drinking weak lemon water ( a pint of water with the juice of half a lemon, a tiny pinch of salt, & a sprinkle of sugar).
I also cancelled plans to see my sister this weekend.
She means well, but her insensitivity grates on my frayed nerves--not good when I'm feeling sharky. I don't want to bite her head off.
Here's what. If someone told me they were feeling frazzled, (like I told my sister), and I recommended an emotional TV show that they rejected--even rudely--I would apologize. I'd say something like,
"Oh, hey, I'm sorry! That was really off the mark, wasn't it, to recommend a sad show when you're feeling low.
Ha-ha. Silly me.
How bout this Korean dramedy (K-drama) I heard about, instead: Crash Landing on You, about a rich and beautiful Korean woman who gets blown in a tornado into North Korea, where a handsome army major gives her shelter from the officials.
It sounds perfect distraction for a poor little bunny like you."
bink had recommended Crash Landing on You, in fact.
I watched an episode. It was kind of bad and kind of adorable, and also, entirely off my radar, the topic of relations between northern and southern Koreans. (Like, did I even get the capitalization correct there?)
In other words, perfect for a tender bunny shark-lady such as I.
And this afternoon I am going to watch the Netflix movie Juanita (2019), about a woman escaping her frazzled existence to start over again in Paper Moon, Montana.
It sounds like a Hallmark movie, which I usually can't stand, but it stars Alfre Woodward.
I've loved her ever since, as Lily, she talked sense into Capt. Picard in Star Trek: First Contact.
Favorite line--useful for when someone hurts themself, throwing a tantrum:
