I suspect Lola doesn't know all her family history and suspect if she travels to Palinor might discover she can wield magic.
I was born in Miami Beach, Florida. My oldest friend in the world is the child of a German and Cuban - both immigrants. I ended up in Tallahassee for a few years, but we'll skip that (other to note in history classes our teacher bragged about Tallahassee being the only Confederate capital to not fall to the Union. She was not impressed when 8-year-old Mike pointed out 1 - it was the farthest from the front and, 2 - the Confederacy had surrendered - i.e. LOST - before the Union Army made it to Florida.). Eventually we ended up in So Cali, where the first three friends I had were Mexican, Korean, and Indian. All of this is to agree that exposure to people from different cultures is a good thing (So Cali has the largest populations of over a hundred different ethnic/cultural groups outside their home nations, from South America, Africa, Russia, etc.) . Travel also broadens the mind, but I was older before I had that opportunity.
I ALSO grew up when American Civics classes taught the US was a "melting pot," formed by peoples of all nations, who all brought their own ideas and innovations to the US, which made us a strong nation through our unique diversity, which is why the ugliness of the last decade and a half has been so shocking. The specter of Eurocentric supremacists inflamed by the unique brand of Evangelical Christianity which arose in the 1800's is as antithetical to the "American Ideal" as anything I can imagine. Then again, we were also taught that the Puritans came to the Americas seeking religious freedom to avoid oppression rather than that the Puritans were a group of deeply intolerant people who left England because the English were sick of them pushing their views on everyone else as if it were the only truth. Yet I still remember the ideal of the "melting pot."
The influence of my parents cannot be understated, but this comment is already long enough, so I'll blithely hint at it with they turned me on to 60's Star Trek - that show where people of all nationalities (nay, species) from a United Federation of Planets worked together with respect. Oh, and, of course THEY were friends of German Peter and Cuban Raquel. Also, Mom: Irish Roman Catholic. Dad: Eastern European Jew. Their marriage in the 1950's was ahead of its time. Also, I'm descended from the Waldbaum family, and if you Wiki the old Waldbaum's department store, you'll see my family was progressive a century ago. I have family photos of an interracial (African/European Jew) couple in the 1930's and a series of cartoons my grandfather drew about the family... Including the African lady.
So, I don't get racial/cultural/gender/orientation bias. I admit I've developed a bias against the aforementioned Evangelicals, but this is a late in life bias largely earned by the actions and views of that particular group. I struggle to ignore it. There, knowing people like Luke and Rody at ActionVFX help. They are examples of men genuine in their Evangelical faith without falling into the trap of assuming their way is the ONLY way.
Vahko's line at the end made me laugh. I'd almost want to see the crowd's faces as they're protesting and then the two koth appear. Heh.
Lashki is a wise koth.
I suspect Lola doesn't know all her family history and suspect if she travels to Palinor might discover she can wield magic.
I was born in Miami Beach, Florida. My oldest friend in the world is the child of a German and Cuban - both immigrants. I ended up in Tallahassee for a few years, but we'll skip that (other to note in history classes our teacher bragged about Tallahassee being the only Confederate capital to not fall to the Union. She was not impressed when 8-year-old Mike pointed out 1 - it was the farthest from the front and, 2 - the Confederacy had surrendered - i.e. LOST - before the Union Army made it to Florida.). Eventually we ended up in So Cali, where the first three friends I had were Mexican, Korean, and Indian. All of this is to agree that exposure to people from different cultures is a good thing (So Cali has the largest populations of over a hundred different ethnic/cultural groups outside their home nations, from South America, Africa, Russia, etc.) . Travel also broadens the mind, but I was older before I had that opportunity.
I ALSO grew up when American Civics classes taught the US was a "melting pot," formed by peoples of all nations, who all brought their own ideas and innovations to the US, which made us a strong nation through our unique diversity, which is why the ugliness of the last decade and a half has been so shocking. The specter of Eurocentric supremacists inflamed by the unique brand of Evangelical Christianity which arose in the 1800's is as antithetical to the "American Ideal" as anything I can imagine. Then again, we were also taught that the Puritans came to the Americas seeking religious freedom to avoid oppression rather than that the Puritans were a group of deeply intolerant people who left England because the English were sick of them pushing their views on everyone else as if it were the only truth. Yet I still remember the ideal of the "melting pot."
The influence of my parents cannot be understated, but this comment is already long enough, so I'll blithely hint at it with they turned me on to 60's Star Trek - that show where people of all nationalities (nay, species) from a United Federation of Planets worked together with respect. Oh, and, of course THEY were friends of German Peter and Cuban Raquel. Also, Mom: Irish Roman Catholic. Dad: Eastern European Jew. Their marriage in the 1950's was ahead of its time. Also, I'm descended from the Waldbaum family, and if you Wiki the old Waldbaum's department store, you'll see my family was progressive a century ago. I have family photos of an interracial (African/European Jew) couple in the 1930's and a series of cartoons my grandfather drew about the family... Including the African lady.
So, I don't get racial/cultural/gender/orientation bias. I admit I've developed a bias against the aforementioned Evangelicals, but this is a late in life bias largely earned by the actions and views of that particular group. I struggle to ignore it. There, knowing people like Luke and Rody at ActionVFX help. They are examples of men genuine in their Evangelical faith without falling into the trap of assuming their way is the ONLY way.