Is the Term "Colorblind" Silly?

[Dr. Cheese]

Many whites speak of being "colorblind" when it come to race. An example was on TV last night. Chris Matthews said he forgot President Obama was black during the state of the union address. I honestly felt he meant to compliment the president, but for many blacks, "forgetting" color is not the issue, the issue is not letting color be the basis of judgements. It's just funny how people can talk past each other.

BTW, this post is solely about the notion of social "colorblindness." Political discussion of the President or Matthews is not appropriate or necessary.

http://www.theroot.com/buzz/check-it...bama-was-black

[geeza]

If you "forget" that the President (or whoever you're talking with) is Black, you are making judgments on something other than the color of their skin, therefore IMO, I don't think it's silly.

[FL Knifemaker]

I wouldn't put too much thought into what Matthews says. He's still got that tingle going on up his leg He's been rather publically reprimanded by his own network for saying "silly things".

[Phalex]

There was a great commentary on this subject on NPR a week or so ago. I've tried to find the transcripts, but "colorblind" brings up a lot of stuff!

[superfunk47]

I see it as a nervous way of trying to say "Look at me! I'm not racist!" IMO, of course.

I think denying differences entirely is unnecessary and frankly, doesn't help anyone. We're all different; we're human, sort of comes with the territory.

Is it really so hard for everyone to just accept that we're all just people (without having to come up with all kinds of contrived, roundabout ways of saying that same thing)?

[Mike N]

Originally Posted by superfunk47

I see it as a nervous way of trying to say "Look at me! I'm not racist!" IMO, of course.

I think denying differences entirely is unnecessary and frankly, doesn't help anyone. We're all different; we're human, sort of comes with the territory.

Is it really so hard for everyone to just accept that we're all just people (without having to come up with all kinds of contrived, roundabout ways of saying that same thing)?

+1

[john turner]

Originally Posted by geeza

If you "forget" that the President (or whoever you're talking with) is Black, you are making judgments on something other than the color of their skin, therefore IMO, I don't think it's silly.

except the racial makeup of someone, or any other physical characteristic for that matter, ought to be something that is "ignored", not "forgotten", when formulating an opinion on something they do or say. (i know this may seem like splitting hairs, but i think the distinction is important).

it's like an unintentional insult wrapped in a complement. it's making a distinction by announcing that it is ignoring that distinction.

sorta like saying 'you're smart for a girl' implies something derrogatory, even if it specifically states something positive.

all imo, of course.

edit(jt) : wanted to add - the fact that this guy brought up the prez's race could be at least partially explained because obama's ethnic makeup has been one of the major news issues of his presidency, which is totally understandable. let's face it, this is going to be a president who is remembered clearly as long as there is a u.s.a. for this very reason, if for no other. that being said, if i was that news guy, i'd have let someone else on the panel make that comment, even if it is "newsworthy" to discuss it. just because something is "newsworthy" does not mean it is "worthy", imo.

[baba]

Originally Posted by superfunk47

I think denying differences entirely is unnecessary and frankly, doesn't help anyone. We're all different; we're human, sort of comes with the territory.

Exactly.

[tycobb73]

Apparently everyone is color blind becasue the president is not black.

He is half black, half white. Having known a white person with children who's father was black, it makes a difference.

Also, anthropologists don't recognize race colors. They just see a gradual from light to dark with many in between.

[Steve]

You don't judge you're level of prejudice by listening to someone talk.
You judge your level of prejudice by what goes through your head the instant someone of a different ethnicity cuts you off in traffic.

IMHO

[IotaNet]

Originally Posted by superfunk47

I see it as a nervous way of trying to say "Look at me! I'm not racist!" IMO, of course ...

Yes and no. I saw Matthews later in the evening and he (attempted) to clarify his earlier remarks. He basically said that Obama has done such a great job that race was not in issue in the room as he spoke.

While I think Matthews' heart was truly in the right place, his comments spoke more about what was going on in HIS mind (his expectations, preconceived notions and perceptions) than anything else.

Originally Posted by superfunk47

... I think denying differences entirely is unnecessary and frankly, doesn't help anyone. We're all different ...

Totally agreed. We ARE different and that's what makes us better as a nation.

I've often said that America is NOT a "Melting Pot" ... it's more like a pot of Gumbo (or Beef Stew for the uninitiated). You got meat, you got veggies, you got rice, you got spices ... all different things but each one of those things adds something that contributes to the great flavor of the dish.

The trick is to not value one ingredient over another and to recognize that each one contributes something vitally important to the mix. And to recognize that to remove any of the ingredients would serve to devalue the whole.

[blendermassacre]

Originally Posted by Phalex

There was a great commentary on this subject on NPR a week or so ago. I've tried to find the transcripts, but "colorblind" brings up a lot of stuff!

I'm thinking it was on talk of the nation on MLK JR day. A lady, who's name I cannot recall, who was black, was talking about how being colorblind robs people of their culture, basically.

IMO it harkens back to the segregationist term "separate but equal" but turns it on it's head. Yes, we are different: culturally, in skin color, and a hundred other ways, but in all aspects one is not better than the other.

[john turner]

Originally Posted by superfunk47

I think denying differences entirely is unnecessary and frankly, doesn't help anyone. We're all different; we're human, sort of comes with the territory.

the problem, too, is that in the process of denying, the differences are first "quantified" where no quantification is appropriate.

does mr. x like this or that because he's white, or tall, or fat, or gay? does mrs. y think that way because she's japanese, or elderly, or blind?

these are not the qualities that should be used in forming value judgements about how folks behave intellectually, and serve to trivialize both the individual and the group that they belong to.

"pretty fly for a white guy" =
1. white guys aren't "fly" on the whole.
2. the individual in question is "pretty fly" by some degraded standard of "fly", but not "fly" by the absolute standard to which the speaker subscribes.

[DaveDeVille]

hmmm ...

i wonder what everyone would be saying right now if Rush Limbaugh
had made the exact same statement ?

...

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by david meissner

hmmm ...

i wonder what everyone would be saying right now if Rush Limbaugh
had made the exact same statement ?

...

He would have to make the statement for any of us to know. Other than trying to slip in politics, what's the point in you bringing Limbaugh into the discussion?

[DaveDeVille]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

He would have to make the statement for any of us to know.
Other than trying to slip in politics, what's the point in you bringing Limbaugh into the discussion?

no point really ... just wondering out loud .

[geeza]

Originally Posted by john turner

except the racial makeup of someone, or any other physical characteristic for that matter, ought to be something that is "ignored", not "forgotten", when formulating an opinion on something they do or say. (i know this may seem like splitting hairs, but i think the distinction is important).

I absolutely agree. The vast majority of my employees through my career have been black. Do I ignore that? Absolutely... I treat everybody equally. Do I forget it? Absolutely not. I'm extremely cognizant of the fact that there are cultural differences between us and are a factor in how I communicate with them. Have I ever been accused of being racist or unfair? Not yet, and probably never will.

sorta like saying 'you're smart for a girl' implies something derrogatory, even if it specifically states something positive.

There are smart girls?

[FL Knifemaker]

Originally Posted by david meissner

hmmm ...

i wonder what everyone would be saying right now if Rush Limbaugh
had made the exact same statement ?

...

Saying?? There would be people with torches and pitchforks at the EB Studio.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

I think if you have little contact with people of different races, you tend to notice race more. If you spend a lot of time among people of different races, like at work, church, etc., you don't notice it as much, and at times race may even drop from conscious consideration. Eradicating feelings on race from the subconscious is probably much more difficult.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

Saying?? There would be people with torches and pitchforks at the EIB Studio.

Do they work there?