Colour blindness in North America. For some people, it evokes thoughts of the physical condition. For others, it evokes feelings of resentment. For yet another set of other people, it evokes the one true solution to racism. This colour blindness, in short, is to see, judge, and evaluate a person on their merits and actions, not on their race or colour of their skin.
That sounds like a good idea. In fact, that’s a great idea. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone was judged based on the shit they did instead of people attributing it to their race? Recently, I heard someone vociferate that exact idea: race should not exist. I can get on board with that. The way to do away with the existence of race is to ignore it – no specialized groups, programs, or services directed towards anything that may take race into consideration. In short, to get rid of race is to not pay attention to it. To solve racism and make race as relevant as the shape of your bellybutton is to be colour blind. That’s the proposed solution I hear quite a bit from white people who think they are doing anti-racist work. Admittedly, I stormed out halfway through, so perhaps this person was telling a bad joke, but this is something that I’ve heard enough times to doubt it was sarcasm gone wrong.
Colour blindness is not a solution, it’s an endpoint. It’s a destination we must arrive at.
Colour blindness would mean to ignore the current perceptions of races, and racism stemming from those perceptions. It will not undo all of the years of learning that we have all undertaken. We will not unlearn that Europe was simply going abroad and settling in the “New World”, and all of knowledge was created by Europeans (well, the important ones, anyway). We will not unlearn that if the race of a murder victim is not specified (or divulged through name) in a news story, it must be a white person. We will not unlearn that Natives are supposedly ‘all’ alcoholics, drug users, and criminals, not because of colonialism and racism, but because that is just how Aboriginals are. We will not unlearn that young black men are only ever out to rob, stab, shoot, or sell drugs to you, and any time there is a young black man doing anything but robbing, stabbing, shooting, or selling drugs, he must be exceptional. We will not unlearn that businesses, media, politics, and other major institutions are inhabited by a majority white because they did it on their own.
Instead, we’ll simply ignore that we live in a racist society, and no one would have the footing to challenge these absurd perceptions because we live in a colour blind society where race does not matter. If, say tomorrow, 20 January 2009, North America suddenly decided that the solution to all of the racial tensions and racism is to ignore that race exists, well, a lot of people are going to be pissed off. Everything will stay the same. Maybe people will hurl less racial epithets at one another (white people will be glad to know they’re no longer crackers), but essentially it will stay the same. Those with white privilege and power can comfort themselves in knowing that they don’t think race matters, and people of colour will be at a loss for how to articulate subtle racism and discriminations they experience on a day to day basis. We can’t ignore what matters. Racism, in all its forms and nuances, exists and has material effects. Race will become irrelevant only after a fundamental change in the way we think and the way our institutions are structured.
Colour blindness, while it may seem attractive to a lot of people, is not a practice we should be following, but an end point we must work towards. We cannot demand colour blindness. It doesn’t come on tap.
Edited to add: I want to add this clarification in lest this seems like I think ‘colour blindness’ or that we shouldn’t actually see or think of colour at all:
I should have explained the definition of ‘colour blind’ that I was working with. I meant an end point at which a person’s colour will simply be a physical trait, and not an essentializing characteristic of that person. Colour blind (which now I’m realizing is actually an ableist term that I should have caught while I was writing this post) not in the sense that we don’t ’see’ or acknowledge different skin tones, but that we see skin tones and they are as relevant as shoe size. In short, colour would not come with social baggage. So, with your example, band-aids and makeup foundations would be available in all different shades of flesh tones, but they would matter little socially.
Thank you. I cannot tell you how frustrated I become when I hear a white person tell me that they are colour blind. A bigger piece of bullshit I have never heard. They see colour exactly like I do they just don’t want to admit that they do and that they assign value to difference. it is impossible to be socialized in North America and be colorblind when everything we do and learn reifies a dissonance of worth and value based specifically in race. To me the whole colour blind routine is just another rouse on the part of whiteness to deny their unearned privielge.
Firstly I’d like to say I really agree with the blog post.
However I am horribly offended by Renee’s post.
Frankly I didn’t grow up with any racism around me, I didn’t have much inherent racism within me to ‘unlearn’. I remember, at a young age, reacting to my grandfather’s racism that he had learnt from fighting in World War II, and discussing with my parents about why he thought like that, because it seemed so alien.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing specific to Americans. All of my British friends are the same – I don’t see colour as something that I want to make judgements on. Sorry, but I don’t. It strikes me that your protestation that “a bigger piece of bullshit I have never heard” actually comes from some inability to understand that I am a learned, thoughtful human being.
Yes, I physically *see* colour, but that’s not what we are talking about. I see black hair, I see blonde hair, I see fat and thin. I may prefer to date a thin girl, or a Latino girl, but if I make a judgement about someone because of their hair or skin colour, then I am a bigot.
Of course I don’t deny that society has major problems that cannot be dealt with by closing our eyes to colour. That’s why I said at first “I agree with the blog post”.
But it seems strange to me that you simply cannot understand that I refuse to be a bigot. Well, it’s second nature to me. And as you can tell from my tone, I’m riled when people tell me ‘we are all a little bit racist’.
MrSmith, while I can see where you are coming from, it’s arrogant to assume that you haven’t learned any racism. We all grow up with racism around us, and we aren’t objective creatures who can see what is racist and what is not all the time. I miss things all the time, and I would say I’m in a good position to recognize racism against myself. Racism is not always blatant, as in the case of your grandfather, and we have to understand it as a system of injustice, not as individual actions.
We also have to recognize ourselves as people relating to a system of domination – racism – some of us benefit from racist ideas, and some of us do not. It doesn’t mean that we can’t simultaneously be living in a racist society and still be learned, thoughtful human beings. To act in a racist manner does not automatically equate to being a bigot or having transparently racial/racist goals as the BNP does.
A lot of racist ideas are unconscious, so we can’t recognize how we are acting in racist ways unless we are challenged to see ourselves as complicit. While you and your friends may not see or use colour as a conscious judgment, it does not mean that you are not a part of a racist society, or that white privilege does not exist in Britain. It also does not mean that you or your friends do not have any kind of relationship to racism as a system of oppression.
Also, if you’re willing to work with that, I think you should note that making conversations about racism about you, as an individual, is a common tactic that people use to deflect their responsibility in ending racism. If what Renee was saying doesn’t apply to you, you probably shouldn’t make it about you.
I’m arrogant to assume I haven’t learnt racism?
I have learnt OF racism, but I was brought up believing in tolerance, equality, and respect. These and a system of racism are mutually exclusive. I don’t think this is particularly radical.
I can identify institutionalised racism, subtle racism, racism in corporate and political life, and inverse racism – as much as the next person.
And, because I am a thinker, I am constantly attempting to dig-out any ’subconscious’ forces that act on / within my mind.
Whilst I’m sure that, as an imperfect human, I am unable to do this completely, let’s not be too dogmatic about this: racism is a belief not a disease.
And just because I grew up in a society where there are racist elements – or a system of racism as you call it – it doesn’t mean I subscribe to that belief, or indeed own it in any way. I don’t believe that this is to negate my responsibility within this society.
You say “we” can’t recognise how “we” are being racist unless “we” are challenged to see ourselves as complicit. From this, I glean that you believe we are all culpable for something our father’s fathers thought? Or do you mean that you think racism is inherent to humanity?
Regarding the autonomy a human being has from the society he or she was born into, I’d love to address this point on its own – in isolation from the issue of racism – as this is a far deeper philosophical point. However I don’t really want to go into too much depth here.
I am however worried that you would also conclude that, even though I was passionately marching on the streets against certain political decisions of our government, I am somehow for example personally complicit in all of their decisions because I am from a country that voted them to power. I guess my mind doesn’t really work like that. I didn’t vote for this government, nor do I take ownership of those aspects of society that are racist.
So no, I don’t think I have any relationship to racism as a system of oppression.
I graciously take your point about how personalising a conversation can be a way of deflecting responsibility, and I also see that my above argument doesn’t appear to go any way towards addressing this, and so I don’t know how it will be received. The point Renee made that I was responding to was a personal point, not a societal point, and it was about me (albeit indirectly) because I’m white and I think I’m colour-blind, and so I don’t think it was too crazy to respond. If you want me to piss-off from posting on your blog, I shall, but it looked like there was some considered debate going on here. As for what responsibility I am able to take for society’s system of racism, I don’t feel I can take any other than simply stating what I see… which is what I was hoping to do.
yo don’t even try responding to anymore posts about racism until you’ve read this, ok?
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html
even though it may not be your FAAAAAAAULT that you have these advantages, you are doing a fuck lotta good pretending that you do not benefit from them. while you benefit from these things, people of colour are suffering. can you HEEEEEELP that you’re benefitting and people are suffering as a result? not really, i guess. but let me ask you some things:
when you’re in a group of white friends and one of them makes a ’sort of racist joke,’ what do you do? do you stand there and laugh it off, thinking it’s no big deal? do you sort of say ‘hey man not cool’ and then back down when they say ‘it’s just a joke’… and then continue hanging out with these people and not call them out anymore?
a true white anti-racist ally would try, more often than not, to put their foot down and not let this shit go on, and use it as an opportunity to educate fellow white people.
how do you feel when you see a person of colour ‘fulfilling a stereotype’ (i dunno, like a pakistani man owning a corner store)? do you find it ‘unfortunate’? do you feel pity for that person? do you think to yourself how that person is doing a disservice to their race by proving white people/dominant society ‘right’ about them?
a true white anti-racist ally would cut down on the pity and also remember that it’s not all about white people and what they think.
do you participate in cultural appropriation? (i’m just sort of guessing your age for these examples, sorry) did you ever put your hair up in a mohawk as a teenager? did you dream of growing dreads? altho some skinheads are anti-racist, they (and thus punk and other offshoots) appropriated a huge chunk of their subculture from rudeboys, something that is largely unrecognized now. do you find yourself to be oh-so-very cultured by using curry in your cooking? did you know that curry isn’t an herb but a combination of herbs, of which there are hundreds of types? do you justify your cultural appropriation as ‘appreciating the culture’ and make a big deal whenever you see a person of colour participating in their own culture?
a true white anti-racist ally would at least attempt to educate him/herself on these issues, and not deny the fact that these things they enjoy have been stolen from other cultures (there’s other things white allies can do about cultural appropriation, i just don’t feel insanely qualified to answer it).
how do you react when people of colour complain about subtle racism? do you tell them to stop overreacting? do you tell them that they were just ‘misinterpreting’ the incident and/or that was not the intention of the person committing the act? do you secretly think they should appreciate how good things are now as opposed to before?
a true anti-racist white ally would listen to that person of colour and acknowledge what they were experiencing.
do you find that your commitment to colourblindness has lost you friends, has caused severed ties in your family, has granted you death threats, have you lost your job from your colourblindness?
many white anti-racist allies would be able to say that their commitment to ANTI-RACISM, that is, really trying to combat racism, has lead to many of those things.
are you sort of seeing the difference here? i’m sorry, but marches are not what they used to be. they don’t do anything anymore. a truly outrageous stepping-stone act would be telling your buddy that you won’t talk to his stupid ass anymore if he says that he wants to stop by the ‘pakishop’ or shit like that.
you have a lot of reading/learning to do, my friend.
Some random answers to your questions: the thought of growing dreads leaves me a little cold, and yes I do make curries, and I find it hilarious that you asked if I knew that curry is not a herb. Nobody thinks that. I find it no more impressive or cultured that I cook a curry than if I were to make myself French Onion Soup. It’s not ’stealing’ from cultures as much as my having learnt French at school would be ’stealing’ their language.
Seriously, I think we have such vastly different perspectives on these issues, there’s such a gulf of misunderstanding and experience between us, that I honestly don’t know if it’s worth my answering your questions.
I’d be prepared to spit in the face of a best friend who made a racist comment – fact is, I don’t have friends who make racist jokes, at least not ones that I find offensive, in my own judgement. I await your retort that I’m therefore “not anti racist enough” or that I “can’t see subtle racism” or somesuch.
Maybe we are just from a different era. The word “Pakishop” used to be highly offensive when I was too young to understand, but now my Pakistani friends use it when talking to me in the same way I’d call our place “the local halal butcher”.
Or maybe it’s not era, maybe it’s where one lives. London is variable; some parts are ‘cosmopolitan’ and some are ‘community’. I live in the former, so perhaps I notice things a little less.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you wrote “can you HEEEEEELP [sic] that you’re benefitting and people are suffering as a result? not really, i guess.”
The “I guess” bit is one of those examples where language betrays what you really think, if reading between the lines. But I prefer to take things at face value and think the best of people, so that is what I shall do.
‘Color blindness’ without doing the racism eradication leads to what happened in France last year.
Excellent post! I just linked to it from my blog:
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/being-colour-blind-is-not-a-solution/
Many of my white commenters do not seem to get this. Thanks!
Thanks, everyone. I’m in complete agreement with your points.
I just wanted to add, especially on one of my later points about how it effects POC, invoking ‘I’m colour blind’ is usually an act of white privilege, and the sad thing is, people of colour do get duped by it and reproduce the idea. I did for a long time. It shows we need to start debunking colour blindness more fervently because this idea that North America is colour blind is a violent one. For a long time, I didn’t know what to call what I was feeling as a young teenager, and it nearly destroyed me.
[...] Being “colour blind” is NOT a solution (@ Uppity Brown Woman) [...]
I don’t think colour blindness should even be an end point. I think the colours of band-aids and makeup foundation should take skin colour into account, instead of the shades of brown being assigned randomly.
I actually agree with you on that. I should have explained the definition of ‘colour blind’ that I was working with. I meant an end point at which a person’s colour will simply be a physical trait, and not an essentializing characteristic of that person. Colour blind (which now I’m realizing is actually an ableist term that I should have caught while I was writing this post) not in the sense that we don’t ’see’ or acknowledge different skin tones, but that we see skin tones and they are as relevant as shoe size. In short, colour would not come with social baggage. So, with your example, band-aids and makeup foundations would be available in all different shades of flesh tones, but they would matter little socially.
There’s a great post by nquest2xl:
Stuff White People Say: “Color Doesn’t Matter…”
For what it’s worth.
When I was growing up there were black and asian kids at my school (I’m white).
It never occurred to me that they were different. I honestly never thought of them as being different in any way except for the colour of their skin. And even then I barely noticed it.
I’m older now, and I recognise that racial inequality exists and has to be fought and not wished away by colour blindness.
I still feel like I’ve lost a certain innocence though. The ability to see someone without their skin colour being a factor. Good thing or bad thing, I don’t know.
Nick, I don’t believe you. Sorry. Even when we’re little we know others are different. I remember playing with the family doctor’s white kids in Apartheid South Africa. No-one was ever nasty to me and I didn’t even know Apartheid existed. But I knew I was different to those kids.
Race is a social construction, but it is still constructed. You don’t demolish a building by not admitting that it exists. And you don’t dismantle race by pretending it hasn’t been constructed.
And it’s great to say “I treat both my arms equally,” but if one is cut open and bleeding, you can’t say that both arms need the same medical treatment.
“Color-blindness” right now would just be injustice-blindness.
[...] great interest, and a very open mind on this matter, I followed this link to a blog entitled Uppity Brown Woman, and read [...]
“Colour blindness is not a solution, it’s an endpoint. It’s a destination we must arrive at.”
This.
And I think that’s why “I’m color blind” is always so–basically it’s in the same vein as “racism is over.”
and, that the accurate response to pretty much everyone I’ve known who invoked “I don’t see color!” is “Um, yes you do; you’ve made that pretty clear through a lot of OTHER shit you’ve said and your actions as well…”