Thread by @EveKeneinan

1985, Marvel’s SECRET WARS

Iron Man (James Rhodes) and Reed Richards.

THIS is EXACTLY what is meant by “colorblindness.” This is what superheroes taught kids in the 80s. Reed has *exactly* the right attitude.

This *can* actually be done. It isn’t even that *hard* to do. This is how I have lived my life.

I have taught students of every ethnicity, faith, and continent in the world.

I've had students tell me, on numerous occasions (“students of color” we are supposed to say today), that they were VERY appreciative of the way I treat everyone just the same. That wasn’t their default experience (liberal professors what be embarrassingly patronizing to them).

I don’t say this to praise myself for moral virtue. I say it because I always found it an ODD thing to be thanked for—because it had simply NEVER OCCURRED TO ME to treat any of my students differently.

My parents and Reed Richards taught me better than that.

I have related before that Black Panther was my favorite Avenger when I was very young. I didn’t *know* he was black. I was too young to understand any political meaning of Black Panthers (I just really like Bagheera in the Jungle Book)—even Shere Khan was a bit afraid of him.

When, eventually. we saw Black Panther remove his mask, and I found out he was black, my reaction was pretty much like Reed Richard’s. “Oh.” It was just another fact I filed away about him, not super important.

And it was partly COMICS that had taught me that.

Many comics fans like Rogue, from the X-Men. I had gotten out of reading comics, but she got me back in—when I read X-Men 171, the issue she joins the X-Men.

She was a SUPERVILLAIN, literally a member of the BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL MUTANTS.

Rogue was a villain, but she came to the X-Men, her enemies, to ask for help. She had badly hurt Carol Danvers, taking her powers and memories—and Carol was very close to the X-Men, having stayed with them (and fought beside them) as Professor X helped her to regain her memory.

What the X-Men didn’t know was that Rogue’s theft of Carol’s powers and psyche was an ACCIDENT—more precisely, a set-up that Mystique had tricked Rogue into to power her up more. But the schism in Rogue’s mind was driving her slowly insane.

The X-Men, led by Storm, REFUSE to help Rogue. They are too angry at what she did to Carol.

Professor X proceeds to tear them apart.

Professor X gives one of the best speeches in comics. He basically says HE is going to HELP ROGUE, and if every single X-Man quits, then not to let the door hit their asses on the way out.

Here’s how THAT plays out: