To everyone who keeps making metaphorical stories about aliens being connected to race, and humans judging them based on their skin color:Ā
You know nothing of this world, this universe, or Javert!
Yes, yes, the āaliens are a different colorāĀ trope is great and you can get a lot of commentary out of it. After all, we humans do hate things that are a different color than peach.
But do you know what else we humans hate?
We humans hate anything other than the normal ābodyā.
Give me an Earth - no, no, not just the broad Earth, give me a high school - whereĀ a few different groups of aliens are there as part of the universal foreign exchange program, and the human students are having a field day.
Give me bullies who taunt all of the aliens. Give me an administrative body that does nothing. āWell, humans will be humans.ā Give me parents who teach their children that itās alright to stare at the aliens. Give me a metaphor so blunt that youāre all probably groaning.
And then give me a group of disabled kids who come to the aliensā defense.
Give me an alien who canāt see, who cannot possibly grasp the concept of seeing, who doesnāt know what the big deal is about seeing. And then give me a blind kid whoās like,Ā āYeah, I donāt get what the big deal is, either. But youāre never going to survive on this planet without having some sense of where youāre going. Here, try this.ā
āIS IT A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION?ā
āā¦Close. Itās called a cane. No, no, itās not - you donāt have to - okay, seriously, stop poking everyone with it.ā
āThatās literally doing nothing.ā
āYouāre not injuring anyone.ā
āIām pretty sure youāre poking the lamp.ā
Give me an alien who doesnāt walk, so much as it slithers. And it gets along well with a boy in a wheelchair, who really regrets letting it borrow said wheelchair because it somehow turned it into a nuclear-powered mini spaceship that travels down the hallways at the speed of light. (āI was in the bathroom for like two minutes.ā)
Give me an alien who is over-stimulated and begins creating weird sonic waves from its mouth, before an autistic girl covers him with a weighted blanket, completely pacifying him.
Give me a girl with behavioral issues who talks to an alien with behavioral issues and is like,Ā āIāll tell you what; Iāll promise not to punch Jane āHomecoming Queenā Doe in her face, if you promise not to destroy the entire east side with the push of a button.ā
Give me a boy with a prosthetic arm and leg building a prosthetic arm and leg for a very excited alien, who doesnāt know how to thank them enough.
Give me an alien who is really, really, really, really, really confused because what do you mean you have a machine that keeps your life source from exploding, what is this maker of paces, you humans are hard core.
Give me an alien who is equally confused because what do you mean she canāt hear? Her hearing appendages are right there? I see nothing wrong with them?
And then give me the alien parents who are the biggest soccer moms of the galaxy and find out that the other kids were picking on their children and are ready to blow up the entire world before the aliens are like,Ā āNo, look, itās cool, these humans donāt pick on us.āĀ āYeah, theyāre cool.āĀ āBesides, they give us weapons of mass destruction.ā *Poke poke*
Wait a minute, Iām an author!
Iāll give it to myself.