Fridge / Save the Pearls

• Fridge Logic: If the society is based on black people being superior, why would they call themselves "Coals"? That's not exactly flattering, especially since the white people (ostensibly discriminated against) are named after a precious thing.
  • Supposedly because coal is useful, pearls are pretty but useless, this is stated in the book too if I remember correctly. Which is technically true... except that pearls are a highly valuable and since it's just the future (and not an alternate 'verse) pearls should still be considered expensive. The author has obviously also never seen black pearls before because she could have just had the black people be called pearls, and the white people be called something that actually sounds offensive, like pale faces, or sun burns. It just boils down to the author wanting to call the white protagonist a pearl without Values Dissonance, as all white people are pearls. It just makes it seem like the coals are endangering a precious and beautiful thing out of jealousy or something. In short, the author is an idiot.
  • Another Epic Fail is that there are PLENTY of valuable black things that don't have the boring implications of "coal." Obsidian, jet, ebony, and onyx are all right on Wikipedia.
  • It's especially glaring when all the other races are also named after precious stones: Asians are Ambers and Latinos are Tiger's Eyes.
  • Just to further muddy the waters: black pearls exist and are more valuable than white pearls.