Really, I do like BROWN. I'm not really the kind of person that has a favorite anything, not a song or singer, not a book or a city. But a friend pointed out to me years ago that I had a lot of BROWN clothes, and then I noticed I had a lot of BROWN things. And then I started considering how I felt about BROWN, it’s a soothing color for me. The shine of a bay horse, the rough edges of the bark on a tree, the sweeping contour of the sand on a beach, a sturdy pair of boots and, I now realize, the rich tone of my son's skin.
My preschooler's favorite color changes with the season. He has been asking me for years what my favorite color is, I've always answered BROWN. After all I don't really have a favorite color, so I answered with my clothes color. He's never been satisfied with "I don't have one". He thinks, "Of course you have a favorite color, now what is it!?" BROWN was always my answer. Lately he has stopped asking me about my favorite color, bored with the answer I'm sure. RED has been his favorite for about 6 months, GREEN before that, plus a spattering of other so-called favorite colors over the last few years. Horror of horrors, yesterday he said his favorite color is WHITE. Now that alone is not really bad, but read in what context he shared this information with me.
While driving (we have all our good conversations in the car), we pass an elderly white man and my son says:
:: He looks like Mr Frank. (white man)
:: Who's that?
:: He's the one who helps Pastor Carter (black woman) at school.
:: Oh, she's been sick huh? Is she back yet?
:: No.
:: Do you like Mr Frank?
:: Yes.
:: Who do you like better, Mr Frank or Pastor Carter?
:: Mr Frank.
:: Why?
:: (pause) Because he has WHITE hair.
:: So does Pastor Carter.
:: No, she has gray hair.
:: So you like white hair more than gray hair? They look the same to me.
:: No, they look different.
:: Well Pastor Carter's skin is dark and Mr Frank's skin is white, or not really, more like pink. So they look like different people to be sure. But their hair seems the same to me.
:: I like WHITE. My favorite color is WHITE.
:: (horrified!) Really? I thought it was red. Now you like white?
:: Yes, WHITE is the happiest color because it’s the brightest color.
:: (oh my god!) Mmmm. Well really in science white is the absence of color. Its white because there is no color left. Besides I think shiny silver is the brightest.
:: Or maybe yellow is the brightest since it’s like the sun. The sun is bright.
:: Yes, yellow is a bright color. (Has he forgotten his love of WHITE already?)
Now I know that just because he likes white doesn't mean he dislikes himself and has a poor self-image, but doesn't it sound like that? I understand that its human nature to have favorites; I respect the fact that people look different and that should be observed and talked about; I even tried to dissipate white as a racial group since most of us really do look more pinkish.
