17 years and 9 months

Sometimes I forget how things are outside my little bubble. I grew up in a diverse family and was accustomed to a pleasant blend of colors. I realized the other day after showing someone a picture of my family how often the following scenario plays out.

Typically it begins with someone meeting or seeing a picture of my family and realizing that not all of us are pasty white and that there is an unusually large cocoa brown boy in the mix. Here's how it goes:

Random person: "So is your mom Polynesian?"
Me: "No."
Random person: "So that's not your brother."
Me: "Yes, it is."
Random person: "But he's adopted."
Me: "Right."
Random person: "Are all of you adopted?"
Me: "No, only him."
Random person: "So he's not your real brother."

At this point I usually just gloss over what they have said and continue on, but it has really come to irritate me!!!! Yes he's my "real" brother. I have known him all but 31 days of his life and he has known me for the same length of time. Is 17 years and 9 months not enough to consider him my brother? Just because we don't look the same does not mean that we are not family. Part of the reason people ask if all of us siblings are adopted is because none of us really look alike. Granted my baby brother has the advantage of a permanent tan whereas I must deal with instant sunburns and an aversion to heat. Does this make us that different? We have the same parents, we lived in the same houses, we ate the same food, were expected to follow the same rules,and we both are sealed to my parents. I know that people probably just don't realize what they are saying but if they really thought about what they are saying hopefully they would realize how insulting their comments can be. I have never actually taken the time to explain to people just how ridiculous they sound, but the next time this happens I may just.