Harry & Meghan 16

[viii]

8 hours ago, Father Son Holy Goat said:

Supposedly Harry and Charles are meeting for peace talks.

https://nypost.com/2023/08/20/prince-harry-king-charles-set-date-for-peace-talks-report/

This rumour has been brewing for a while, I wonder if there isn’t any truth to it. 

Isn’t there also supposed to be a family meeting to discuss the future of the monarchy? I forgot where I read that. Perhaps this factors into it. 

[Father Son Holy Goat]

21 minutes ago, viii said:

This rumour has been brewing for a while, I wonder if there isn’t any truth to it. 

Isn’t there also supposed to be a family meeting to discuss the future of the monarchy? I forgot where I read that. Perhaps this factors into it. 

I’ve been hearing those rumors too. It would make sense for the two talks to factor in together. 

[TN-peach]

I honestly hope that Charles and Harry can come to some sort of agreement at least in their personal relationship. 

[viii]

I would like to see Harry reunited with his family. I know it’s hard to separate family from the BRF, because the entire monarchy rules their private lives, but I can’t imagine that Harry doesn’t long for some sort of resolution. If he’s content without his family, then more power to him, but most people wouldn’t be. Charles isn’t exactly young and I think Harry would be left with regrets if his dad died while they were at odds. 

[Father Son Holy Goat]

6 hours ago, TN-peach said:

I honestly hope that Charles and Harry can come to some sort of agreement at least in their personal relationship. 

I suspect Charles may have been the one to question how dark the Sussex’s child would be. If that is correct peace talks may not be effective. 

[Jackie3]

12 hours ago, viii said:

I would like to see Harry reunited with his family. I know it’s hard to separate family from the BRF, because the entire monarchy rules their private lives, but I can’t imagine that Harry doesn’t long for some sort of resolution. If he’s content without his family, then more power to him, but most people wouldn’t be. Charles isn’t exactly young and I think Harry would be left with regrets if his dad died while they were at odds. 

I think Charles may have regrets if he doesn't apologize to his son before he passes. He's made some serious missteps.

Harry seems happier than he ever was in the US, no reason for him to have regrets. 

[prayawaythefundie]

13 hours ago, Father Son Holy Goat said:

I suspect Charles may have been the one to question how dark the Sussex’s child would be. If that is correct peace talks may not be effective. 

I‘ve always suspected it to be Anne. But we don‘t even know what (and it what context) was even asked.

[Jackie3]

5 hours ago, prayawaythefundie said:

I‘ve always suspected it to be Anne. But we don‘t even know what (and it what context) was even asked.

I wonder what context would make it OK?

"Out of context" is what people often say when their ugly words are quoted.

I'm sure it was about optics. On the balcony, all eyes would be drawn to the little person who looked different--instead of the waving septuagenarian king and queen.

MM had received a lot of racist hate before she had kids. I'm sure the Sussexes worried that if their baby took after Doria, that child would draw even more hate from the press and parts of the public. And they worried with good reason, imo. 

[nokidsmom]

5 hours ago, prayawaythefundie said:

I‘ve always suspected it to be Anne. But we don‘t even know what (and it what context) was even asked.

I have no idea who might have raised the topic, but it's quite typical for people, when expecting, to wonder what their child might look like.  Will he/she have Dad's blue eyes or Mom's blonde hair, Great grandma's hazel eyes, that sort of thing.  Often it's just harmless speculation so wonder if it was all really in that context.  

[viii]

Context really is the key here. I know that if I got pregnant, I’d wonder what the baby would look like. I think that’s normal. The issue, however, is whether or not you care how the baby looks and I think that’s what happened here. It’s natural to be curious about how dark the skin will be, but I have a feeling whoever posed the question did it in a way that made it appear like it mattered how dark he was. 

[TN-peach]

I read somewhere on Twitter that Harry in his book even wrote that he speculated as to what the future children would look like.  Maybe the senior royal was him?! From the interviews, the comment was not made in Meghan's presence - Harry told her about it.  But as Harry pointed he is not a reliable narrator so 🤷‍♀️

[nokidsmom]

2 hours ago, viii said:

Context really is the key here. I know that if I got pregnant, I’d wonder what the baby would look like. I think that’s normal. The issue, however, is whether or not you care how the baby looks and I think that’s what happened here. It’s natural to be curious about how dark the skin will be, but I have a feeling whoever posed the question did it in a way that made it appear like it mattered how dark he was. 

That's the thing.   We really don't know what the context was, if whoever said it made it sound like it a casual speculation or was more serious/concerned about it to the point it was deemed not so casual on the receiving end. 

[viii]

12 minutes ago, TN-peach said:

I read somewhere on Twitter that Harry in his book even wrote that he speculated as to what the future children would look like.  Maybe the senior royal was him?! From the interviews, the comment was not made in Meghan's presence - Harry told her about it.  But as Harry pointed he is not a reliable narrator so 🤷‍♀️

Harry isn’t a reliable narrator but to be fair, majority of us aren’t. We all view experiences through our own lens. My sister and I will have the same childhood memory but come at it from completely different point of views. 

I also think it’s very likely Harry thought nothing of the comment until he mentioned it to Meghan and she was upset. Harry has not lived his life with the micro aggressions that Meghan has. 

[Baxter]

Based on the number of incidents that Harry and Megan have blown out of proportion and it was later proved that their account was overly dramatic or just completely untrue, I would guess that it was an innocuous comment that Megan took out of context and freaked out about. 

[Jackie3]

10 hours ago, nokidsmom said:

I have no idea who might have raised the topic, but it's quite typical for people, when expecting, to wonder what their child might look like.  Will he/she have Dad's blue eyes or Mom's blonde hair, Great grandma's hazel eyes, that sort of thing.  Often it's just harmless speculation so wonder if it was all really in that context.  

White people speculating about a mixed race's baby color is a very different thing. Skin color is far more loaded. And this is a family whose wealth was built on enslaving dark skin people, and who have a terrible track record on racism. So, please don't normalize that inherent racism. I don't think you want to defend racism.

 

35 minutes ago, Baxter said:

Based on the number of incidents that Harry and Megan have blown out of proportion and it was later proved that their account was overly dramatic or just completely untrue, I would guess that it was an innocuous comment that Megan took out of context and freaked out about. 

You can like the royals without defending their racist comments. 

And gaslighting too. Telling Oprah about it -- even being upset about it -- is not "freaking out." Not unless you are trying to silence the Black woman.

 

If I knew a mixed race couple, living in white community, I wouldn't say to them, "I wonder how dark your baby will be?"

It's basically saying, "Your baby will be different. I wonder how different it will be?"

Just tacky and rude.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Jackie3

[viii]

I’m comfortable calling Meghan out on a lot of things, but as a white woman, I’m not going to even suggest that she blew a comment about skin colour out of control. That’s the kind of micro aggressions people of colour deal with all the time and it’s not my place to say what they can or can’t be offended over. 

[DalmatianCat]

19 hours ago, nokidsmom said:

I have no idea who might have raised the topic, but it's quite typical for people, when expecting, to wonder what their child might look like.  Will he/she have Dad's blue eyes or Mom's blonde hair, Great grandma's hazel eyes, that sort of thing.  Often it's just harmless speculation so wonder if it was all really in that context.  

Considering Meghan’s skin tone and Harry’s skin tone are only a few shades apart, I always thought it was a dumb question for someone to bring up. Genetics can throw in a few surprises, but in general, everyone could have just assumed their children’s skin tone would be somewhere in between the two of them and been right.

[prayawaythefundie]

16 hours ago, viii said:

I also think it’s very likely Harry thought nothing of the comment until he mentioned it to Meghan and she was upset. Harry has not lived his life with the micro aggressions that Meghan has. 

That‘s very possible and could also be true for the person who made the comment / asked the question. This is where it gets interesting to me: Was the person made aware of having caused offense before the Oprah interview? Did they maybe contact Harry & Meghan after the interview? Could that talk maybe even have caused the slightly confusing way of Harry softening the incident in later interviews?
(That‘s what I‘ve gathered from quotes / excerpts. Since I didn‘t watch any of his interviews in full, I might be misinterpreting his remarks.)

[prayawaythefundie]

On 8/22/2023 at 6:03 PM, Jackie3 said:

I wonder what context would make it OK?

"Out of context" is what people often say when their ugly words are quoted.

Easy one: If a student asked me whether it would be possible for H&M to have a baby with either darker skin than Meghan or lighter skin than Harry during a genetics lesson, then that would be ok. 

Now, is it likely that the situation was similar to my example? No. But there is a whole spektrum from inconsiderate to openly aggressive questions or comments that could have been made. And without knowing what was said with a bit of context, I simply can‘t judge the severity of a transgression.

In case you are curious about genetics: Skin pigmentation is passed on through several genes whose effects „ad up“. For a couple with a „medium“ skin color (both), this means pretty much everything is possible through recombination. Their child could have gotten all the genes for high melanin (dark) or all the genes for low melanin (light) or - statistically most likely - a mixture which would give them a „medium“ shade. Now in H&M‘s case, Meghan has a „medium“ skin tone (simplification!) which means she can pass on a variety of genes when it comes to melanin. Harry, however, is a very white redhead. He can‘t produce melanin to save his life. Literally. His skin would just burn. That makes it extremely unlikely for him to pass on any genes for a high melanin level and therefore almost (mutation is always a possibility) impossible for one of their kids to have a darker skin color than Meghan. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by prayawaythefundie

[louisa05]

On 8/13/2023 at 10:32 AM, Jackie3 said:

When you criticize a US private citizen for reasons like this, it can only be racism and jealousy. Otherwise, who cares what this lady wears?

I mean, there are women out there committing violent crimes--but this is the issue that bothers you?

She can't breathe right for some people. It's the melatonin in her skin.

Private citizens are not represented by William Morris. 
Can we stop pretending Meg has even a tiny desire to be a private citizen? There wouldn’t be pap walks if that were true. 

[IrishCarrie]

18 hours ago, prayawaythefundie said:

In case you are curious about genetics: Skin pigmentation is passed on through several genes whose effects „ad up“. For a couple with a „medium“ skin color (both), this means pretty much everything is possible through recombination. Their child could have gotten all the genes for high melanin (dark) or all the genes for low melanin (light) or - statistically most likely - a mixture which would give them a „medium“ shade. Now in H&M‘s case, Meghan has a „medium“ skin tone (simplification!) which means she can pass on a variety of genes when it comes to melanin. Harry, however, is a very white redhead. He can‘t produce melanin to save his life. Literally. His skin would just burn. That makes it extremely unlikely for him to pass on any genes for a high melanin level and therefore almost (mutation is always a possibility) impossible for one of their kids to have a darker skin color than Meghan. 

Can I ask what may be a very stupid question about this, but I'm genuinely confused and hope you know I mean no offence to anyone... ❤️

As a child I watched The Cosby Show and was always slightly bewildered that all five children were different colours. I know that probably sounds daft but you have to remember that I was growing up in an almost all-white Ireland, and genuinely didn't know a single person of colour. I remember asking my mother about it and she said it was like me having freckles when my sister didn't. Which was probably a sweet way to explain it, but didn't leave me any less confused 

Before anyone points out the obvious; yes, I'm aware that it was a TV show, not a documentary and they were actors, not a real family! But here's my question: is is plausible that five children with the same parents would have such a wide variety of melanin? Or in real life would their skin tones be a lot closer together? 

Free Jinger: Where You Ask The Question That You've Been Wondering About For Thirty Years But Never Asked... 

[prayawaythefundie]

@IrishCarrie I used to love that show when I was a kid! 

Short answer to your question: Yes, it would be plausible for the Huxtable siblings to have a fairly broad variety of skin shades.

Long answer under spoiler tag…

Spoiler

I‘ll include a picture of the cast of the Cosby show for visualization:

While the mom‘s skin is a little lighter than the dad‘s, both parents in this tv family have what could be considered a medium shade in the genetic model used to explain skin pigmentation. This basically means neither has the darkest or lightest possible shade. So it can be assumed that both of them have genes carrying the information for a high melanin level as well as genes carrying the information for a low melanin level. 

When egg cells and sperm cells are produced in humans, their 46 chromosomes are first arranged into pairs which are then split. How they are split is pure coincidence. This means all eggs one woman produces carry only 23 of her 46 chromosomes but since each of the pairs has been split independently from the others, there is a huge number of possible combinations of chromosomes and each egg of the same woman is therefore different. 

The same applies to the dad‘s sperm which means he can also produce a huge number of different sperms. When sperm meets an egg, it is again pure coincidence which ones meet.

As a whole this is called genetic recombination.

As I mentioned before, skin pigmentation is passed on through several genes and since they are located on different chromosomes, they will be recombined independently from one another.

In the case of the Huxtable couple this would mean that the mom could produce egg cells with only high melanin genes, egg cells with only low melanin genes or anything in between. The same would apply to the dad and his sperm (though he might not produce cells with only low melanin genes). 

When egg and sperm meet, all those melanin genes add up in our model, meaning there could be zygotes (resulting in children) with lots of high melanin genes just as there could be zygotes with only a few high melanin genes. The former would result in a skin color more like Theo‘s (their only boy), the latter would result in a skin color more like Sondra‘s (daughter on the top right).

I really hope that made sense and I apologize for any misunderstandings that could result from me trying to explain genetics in a foreign language. I usually don‘t explain this in English. 

Can you tell I miss teaching a lot? 😉

Edited August 24, 2023 by prayawaythefundie

[noseybutt]

I am no fan of the Royal family yet I hope this is true. Ongoing feuding serves no purpose for anyone.

[Baxter]

@IrishCarrie my sister had a friend whose mother was brown and the dad was white. My sister's friend had an olive skin tone. Her sister apparently had quite dark skin and some people seemed very confused that they were sisters. 

Also, my cousins have wildly different skin tones. One is very fair which comes from her dad's side( my mom's brother), the other has pretty dark skin from his mom's side. My aunt has an olive skin tone. My cousin's skin is darker than hers. My uncle said he overheard someone once wondering if my cousin was adopted. But he is not. 

On the flip side, my husband and I both come from long lines of pasty white people. So the only real option for our kids was really pasty white or just regular pasty white 😄. 

[SoSoNosy]

My daughter's three children are differing skin tones; the oldest one is so white she has to completely avoid the sun (like her dad), the middle one slightly less so, and the youngest rarely has to worry about being in the sun because she tans.  None of them are sun people, so only the oldest has to be aware of her time in the sun.