re: The childish reasoning behind race identification

quote:

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yet as we get older, we care very little enough to find out what is on the inside of a person and who they are, but only what the wrapping paper is and what kind of box it is that is wrapped

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We do? Or is it that as we get older we’ve opened a lot of presents. Some more than others. We’ve learned how to discern what they are by how they are shaped, how they feel, how they sound.
We look at the wrapping and can get a pretty good idea of where they came from.

Some papers are beautifully wrapped, with ribbons and bows and ornate tags.
Some are wrapped in plain paper, others in the funny papers (that was always my favourite)
Some of the more maudlin come wrapped in the obituaries.
Some in the bag they came from at the store, and their deliverer reeking of rotgut and BO.

As you open more packages you learn a lot about them. Some are big and single, some come in a set.

And hell, you get good at guessing, and when you are wrong it’s usually either a welcome surprise or a big disappointment. But that’s because it’s outside the norm you’ve seen time and time again.

The exception proves the rule, and I’m quoting now, no clue who, but a smarter man than I.

“You can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can get a pretty good idea by reading the jacket.”