I bring this up as the result of an article I read on tvwriter.com regarding pop culture and it’s impact on societal evolution, namely racial issues, specifically regarding African Americans (if in fact that is still the correct vernacular). Naturally, I reflected on my own personal contribution of pop culture to the masses in my writing.

That’s when I asked myself a question that I imagine many readers might ponder upon: “Why is Darlene prejudice against Native Americans when she’s married to a black man?” My simple answer is this: I don’t write my series to change the political discourse. I write what I have observed and absorbed about the world around me. And one thing that resonates time and again is the human compulsion for duplicity.

We are very privileged to be born with these huge brains that are more than willing to compartmentalize our beliefs into neat little packages that don’t make sense or communicate with each other. And Darlene is a perfect example of that. She grew up in a pervading environment of belief that Native Americans were violent alcoholics with diminished family lives who wasted away on the reservations waiting for government assistance. It’s probably safe to say that Darlene never knew any of her Native American neighbors personally, so her prejudices stayed stubbornly intact.

Not so with Cameron. Her exposure to him probably eliminated many preconceived notions that were most likely influenced almost exclusively by movies and television. He broadened her perspective about African Americans, but did little to affect her misconceptions about Native Americans. And Cameron most likely has preconceived notions about rural Caucasians that will only be eliminated with exposure and vise versa.

No matter what convenient label the media (myself included) would like to put an any demographic, it really does nothing to explain the entire picture. I like to think my characters resonate with readers because they see traits of themselves in all of them, regardless of race, gender, orientation, etc. It is up to the readers to observe the small sliver of reflection and decide if I’ve exposed them to the possibility of self examination and change.

And if my observations only reinforced deep seeded stereotypes, I take this time to apologize. I blame my big brain.

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