I posted one a while back about what a "White sale" was.

And now I will post one about "black sheep."

The majority of sheep are white.
Nothing racist - sheep aren't racist. They don't bleach their wool. Nor do they have slang terms used to describe theirselves. They just have ALWAYS had white WOOL. God made them that way - so sue him.

With sheep: their white wool is a dominate trait. Most sheep born will have white wool. It is common. The same way that most trees will have green leaves.
However - every now and then there will be a black sheep born to a white-wooled Mom/Dad. This is because that sheep had 2 recessive black-wool gene that overrode the natural God-given white-wool dominate gene.

So - there will be a herd of white wooled sheep, yay, great. And the black sheep - poor dear sweet thing - is the odd man out because he is the BLACK SHEEP.

Now - today it might not be quite a big deal (innoculations and more tech advanced science and technology make rearing and raising sheep a bit less of a risk - farmers use to loose quite a lot of their livestock due to these things.) But years in the past when every sheep's wool COUNTED and meant income for the farmer and there was a few black sheep it sucked for the farmer who couldn't sell that wool and so he ended up taking a dive in his income because a sheep was born with 2 recessive black-wool genes.

So - common sense - they refered to these different sheep as the "black sheep" or the "odd sheep" because *duh* the sheep's wool was an income reducing undesired "black." And, well, it was just a fact that the sheep had black wool. The sheep didn't fit in - and, in fact, sheep who didn't "blend in" with the rest of the heard were often picked off as food by wolves/etc because they were easy to see and easy to catch.
Thus - it was better to be born a white-wooled sheep for your survival and your income-bringing wool. You weren't different, you weren't a risk, if you were like all the others.

So - if YOU don't fit in you are the "Black sheep"
This doesn't mean you're a BAD person. It just means you are DIFFERENT than the rest.

I, for example, am the black sheep of my family because I am NOT religious, I don't go to church, I like death metal and I have a tattoo.
Does this mean I'm a horrible person?
No.
It means I am different. I am a black sheep.

Do I think ti's a bad thing? Nope - and, in fact, when people use to call me that in school I thought it was way cool!

So - there you go. Why the term "black sheep" is used. Where it came from and what it really means.

:carryon

I never thought "black sheep" was a bad thing.... do people think it is? :confuzzle

I never thought so either and I always have know what a white sale meant LOL

I feel like a black sheep everywhere, besides in my family. :P

I think everyone should be different, just tolerant more towards people of different race, actions, relegions, ect. You don't have to agree with them...