Maybe it's because Steve has the same problem, even now, but he recognizes that self-deprecation, no matter how cheerfully it's said. He wishes he knew what to say - and how to say it - to get her to understand that's bullshit.
Finally, he just goes with honesty again. "So? Most of the people on the planet are a result of mutations. Not-- okay, not the the extent you're talking about, but I'm sure the first time some baby popped up with blue eyes, or a lighter skin tone, their parents, their community, were angry, terrified, or both. People have dimples and all colors of hair, and all of that's just another type of mutation. Who's to say in another hundred years, a kid being born without any sort of mutation won't be looked on with pity and horror, because having a mutation isn't the norm by then?"
...Shit. That's probably also not at all the right thing to say. He just can't help himself. People, as a group, can be assholes to those they see as 'different.' And it quite often pisses him off.
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Finally, he just goes with honesty again. "So? Most of the people on the planet are a result of mutations. Not-- okay, not the the extent you're talking about, but I'm sure the first time some baby popped up with blue eyes, or a lighter skin tone, their parents, their community, were angry, terrified, or both. People have dimples and all colors of hair, and all of that's just another type of mutation. Who's to say in another hundred years, a kid being born without any sort of mutation won't be looked on with pity and horror, because having a mutation isn't the norm by then?"
...Shit. That's probably also not at all the right thing to say. He just can't help himself. People, as a group, can be assholes to those they see as 'different.' And it quite often pisses him off.