Why the Neanderthals in The Hybrids of Spire Can Seem Self-Racist
I wrote characters who are, in a sense, self-racist, so let me explain why.
In my story, The Hybrids of Spire, the Neanderthals are living in the present day. They are essentially normal modern individuals. They are not unintelligent, and they speak perfect English. Their personalities and behaviors are heavily shaped by their environment, so because they were raised in America, they have many American cultural traits and behave like average Americans.
The issue is not that the Neanderthals hate themselves for being Neanderthals. In fact, they do not. They experienced discrimination back in America, but eventually they were moved to a land that was, at this point in the story, controlled by Israel.
The Neanderthals are technically Gentiles, while their leader, Lucas, is Israeli. Lucas was given dominion over the area, and he established schools and other institutions for…