African American
Related: About this forumColorblind Ideology is a Form of Racism
I posted this thread in GD and pissed a lot of people off. A member of this group suggested I post it here in hopes of having a more thoughtful discussion on the topic. Do members here think colorblindness exists, is a worthy goal, or as the author argues a form of racism?
http://election.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3361541
Original post in GD read as follows:
Interesting article and it's worth reading the whole thing. I chose four paragraphs that get at the crux of the argument. It shows the idea that we can do away with racism by ignoring it is false.
Racial issues are often uncomfortable to discuss and rife with stress and controversy. Many ideas have been advanced to address this sore spot in the American psyche. Currently, the most pervasive approach is known as colorblindness. Colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity.
. . .
Racism? Strong words, yes, but let's look the issue straight in its partially unseeing eye. In a colorblind society, White people, who are unlikely to experience disadvantages due to race, can effectively ignore racism in American life, justify the current social order, and feel more comfortable with their relatively privileged standing in society (Fryberg, 2010). Most minorities, however, who regularly encounter difficulties due to race, experience colorblind ideologies quite differently. Colorblindness creates a society that denies their negative racial experiences, rejects their cultural heritage, and invalidates their unique perspectives.
Let's break it down into simple terms: Color-Blind = "People of color we don't see you (at least not that bad colored' part)." As a person of color, I like who I am, and I don't want any aspect of that to be unseen or invisible. The need for colorblindness implies there is something shameful about the way God made me and the culture I was born into that we shouldn't talk about. Thus, colorblindness has helped make race into a taboo topic that polite people cannot openly discuss. And if you can't talk about it, you can't understand it, much less fix the racial problems that plague our society. . . .
The alternative to colorblindness is multiculturalism, an ideology that acknowledges, highlights, and celebrates ethnoracial differences. It recognizes that each tradition has something valuable to offer. It is not afraid to see how others have suffered as a result of racial conflict or differences.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/colorblind/201112/colorblind-ideology-is-form-racism
M0rpheus
(885 posts)I had to stop reading the one in GD 'cause...ugh!
BainsBane
(53,035 posts)of being a white do gooder who didn't actually know any black people. The person making that accusation was not, I believe, a person of color.
M0rpheus
(885 posts)You can't win because people won't take their heads out of their asses.
You were fighting the good fight in there, though.
JustAnotherGen
(31,828 posts)I did my best on that thread.
And I still agree with the article.
It goes to personal care and grooming - AND the prevailing perception of "beauty" by the dominant culture. It's easy for someone safe and snug in their womb of privilege to say they are color blind - but they don't have to navigate the world outside of the fish bowl. .
Kudos to you for acknowledging it.
Number23
(24,544 posts)and call every person shitting on it the fools that they were. I mean, does ALL of this shit have to be so damned hard??! This OP is about as cut and dried common sense as you can get. And folks still REFUSE to understand what is being said.
HoosierRadical
(390 posts)attempts by white people to silence any discussion that makes them uncomfortable and questions their unearned racial privilege. I find it insulting when a white person tells me they don't see color. I want to live in a POST- RACIST America, not a post racial.
BainsBane
(53,035 posts)what I was thinking. Those most insistent that they are colorblind and any other alternative is unacceptable also happen to be Zimmerman defenders. Funny how that works.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)but sadly, this conversation is doomed to fail, as that conversation inevitable devolves into white folks lecturing Black folks on how to be better negroes or white folks telling Black folks how color-blind they are. Question for white folks ... do you tell other white folks how color-blind you are? Or is that reserved for discussions that Black folks might see/hear?
As another DUer suggested ... we don't need to have a discussion on race; but rather on racism. I,as a Black man, don't want to discuss race ... for what? I want a conversation that as a Black man, I have nothing to contribute ... I want a discussion among white folks talking to other white folks on how they plan to solve their collective racism.
My only contribution on this topic is to say: pretending that race, with all its historical and cultural bagage in America, does not exist ... is not a good start.
BainsBane
(53,035 posts)thinking people of all races might find it interesting. I have read enough strange stuff about "racism" against whites on this site to know that the article would not be universally embraced. I can't say I'm actually surprised by the negative response, but I didn't anticipate it either.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)DU, like America, is not ready for a discussion on racism ... let alone race.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)recently, and older, white gay man told me this: "if all black people were are nice as you, i'd talk to all of them." and i responded: "how many black people do you know?" his response: none. this was after he confessed to me that he would cross the street if he saw a group of young black men hanging out. i asked him if he would feel the same if the young black men were wearing business suits and carrying briefcases, and he said no.
how in the hell can we have a discussion about race, given where he is and where i am? it would be like trying to explain quantum physics to a two-year old. conclusion: the white people who are willing to discuss race are not the ones who need the discussion.
onpatrol98
(1,989 posts)"the white people who are willing to discuss race are not the ones who need the discussion"
I never thought about it like that. That is so true.
Number23
(24,544 posts)but I can guarantee you that the responses you will get will be thoughtful, informed and insightful. Three qualities you will not get in GD in great quantities.
I don't how many times people of color have made this same point. I have lost track of the number of times I've had to say to well-meaning white people (including incredibly educated white people who should know better) that my race is a huge component of who I am as a person. So when someone says "I don't see color" you are in essence saying, "I don't see a huge part of who you are as a person."
As Hoosier so perfectly stated upthread, the goal is to live in a post-RACIST world, not post-racial. Black people are different from whites. Asians are different from Hispanics. The differences should be acknowledged and respected. It's the JUDGEMENT and presupposition that comes with those differences that we want to get rid of.
JustAnotherGen
(31,828 posts)On the other thread to take what you need and leave the rest. Why? They were taking my statements personally. This is why:
I don't how many times people of color have made this same point. I have lost track of the number of times I've had to say to well-meaning white people (including incredibly educated white people who should know better) that my race is a huge component of who I am as a person. So when someone says "I don't see color" you are in essence saying, "I don't see a huge part of who you are as a person."
If you can't honor my personal experience - I don't have to honor your reaction to it.
Number23
(24,544 posts)that they 'get it' and that everyone will know that they get it. They sometimes are the first ones to brush off/minimize/dismiss what people are saying. Kind of like academics who think they know everything about everything but are actually quite clueless about quite a bit.
If you can't honor my personal experience - I don't have to honor your reaction to it.
You NAILED it.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)Sawubona. It's an African Zulu greeting that means "I see you." It has a long oral history and it means more that our traditional "hello."
It says, "I see your personality. I see your humanity. I see your dignity and respect." In the African village context, where everyone knows one another, it's an exceedingly powerful representation of understanding.
Number23
(24,544 posts)And for alot of us, that means our color and culture. We need them to be SEEN. It's the judgement that goes with them that we can live without.
NOLALady
(4,003 posts)It's a common greeting in my community, especially to young children. But, I didn't know the origin.
onpatrol98
(1,989 posts)Not to mention, that is crazy as hell. Unless you are blind, you see color. Intuitively, we react based on what we see.
The differences are good. Flowers come in many colors and varieties.
Could you imagine someone walking through a flower garden and saying something as stupid as...I don't see color. They all look alike.
You would turn around and think...that person is an idiot. But the scary part is...they're too smart to realize how dumb it sounds.
I've been told that. I tend to respond. Well, I see color. You should get that checked out.
TJ-Tretman
(7 posts)Simply pretending like you don't see people's ethnicity is not going to solve the problem. I think we need to acknowledge our biases and prejudice and combat them.
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)If anything, but to identify everyone's opinions.
onpatrol98
(1,989 posts)People throw up that ideology when they either want to 1) put themselves on some undeserved pedestal or 2) don't want to deal with the reality of a situation. Either way, it's self serving and ridiculous to boot.