Racism: An Unacceptable Aspect of Caprican Life is a The Caprican Opinion article written by Toccara Castleman. It was printed in Martius 13, YR42.
Story
There's no disputing, at least in my mind, that Caprica is the beating heart of the Twelve Colonies, and you'll find no prouder resident of our fair planet and our fair city than me. And yet, fellow Capricans, there is a plague loose in our great society, one that has been allowed to grow in a fashion that I find unacceptable. That plague, friends, is the unbecoming prejudice against the people of Tauron. It's everywhere. It's ugly. And it needs to stop.
I recently heard about an incident involving a Tauron father and his young son enjoying a day of fishing together just outside of Caprica City. Their idyllic day was interrupted when a group of nearby kids were nearby started to call the boy a "dirt eater." The father told his son to just ignore them, which the boy tried to do. However, one of the kids in particular just wouldn't let up.
"Dirt eater." "Little dirt eater."
Finally, the Tauron boy picked up a rock and threw it at his tormentor, hitting him square in the forehead. The Tauron boy then proceeded to viciously attack the wounded boy, hitting him over and over until his father pulled him off.
I tell you, Capricans, it makes me despair.
It makes me despair that a race that is identified with strength and virility, of strong familial connections and personal honor, has to tolerate such mindless disrespect. Not just disrespect - hatred.
And ignorance. Do any of you occasional mutterers of such racial slurs even stop to think about what a term like "dirt eater" actually means? What feelings of horror and shame it must conjure for any Tauron unfortunate enough to hear it?
Allow me to educate you.
Tauron has a violent and troubled history, a not insignificant chapter being the Tauron Uprising, aka The Tauron Civil War, a mere thirty-five years ago, which pitted the Ha'La'Tha against the colony's own democratic party. I'm sure you know about that unfortunate bit of business.
But the trouble goes back even further, as over 800 years ago, Tauron's lack of resources made it an easy target for corrupt colonization by the likes of Virgon and Leonis. Liberation came in the form of "Our Day," but it was a long, hard road to get there.
Some early Tauron settlements were cut off from certain resources during times of war, one of which was beef liver. The lack of vitamins from the beef liver caused these settlers to develop "the spots" - bleeding from membranes, spotting on the skin as collagen broke down, and finally, death. These people were desperate for food but had no idea what their bodies needed, so they would resort to eating just about anything.
Yes, even dirt.
So that's where it comes from. And now that you know, open your heart, use your head and shut your mouth.
This cannot stand, Capricans. This will not stand.
Notes
- The event reported upon in this opinion piece ties into Caprica's "There is Another Sky", and the events of the Tauron Civil War are later touched on in Caprica's "The Dirteaters".
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