In A blog by Alia Harvey Wingfield titled ” Colorblindness is counter productive, Alia describes a common situation or experience we have all seen or found ourselves in, where we don’t think we are racist or judge people by their skin color , class, ect. Racism looks a lot different then it did a hundred years ago and probably no one today thinks they are racist, but alas, we have a system ripe with injustice and inequality. So how can both these exist simultaneously? Maybe we are just fanciful thinking.
“In most social interactions, whites get to be seen as individuals. Racial minorities, by contrast, become aware from a young age that people will often judge them as members of their group, and treat them in accordance with the (usually negative) stereotypes attached to that group.”-Aida Harver Wingfield
Adia explains that by claiming to not see color we are actually denying the real life experiences and injustices to many people. Its like a blind spot in all of American culture to just be aware of our own experience and privilege and not really take in account reality of so many people in America right now.
By claiming to be colorblind your basically ignoring the plight of many people and allowing injustices to continue, by not acknowledging reality, racism, classism, sexism continues. I can think of a few instances right now ,where not identifying and admitting there is a problem has snowballed into a huge avalanche of an issue, Missing Murdered Indigenous Women, there has been countless Native American women missing or murdered and you barely hear of them on the news. So many Native peoples have been found in dead in Alaska that many people speculate there is a mass murderer on the loose, or a few of them. By not acknowledging the injustice and inequalities it breeds resentment and anger. I think that is where America is right now, with the left and the right and the few that fall between there is a truth and reality and we need the real raw reality of everyone’s voice and for everyone’s voice to be heard. When everyone has a seat at the table, their voices heard is where change can and will happen.
In “The Real Reason White People Say ‘All lives Matter’ by John Halstead He writes “The problem with being “colorblind” — aside from the fact that we’re not really — is that it is really a white privilege to be able to ignore race. “ John Halstead writes that our silence on issues affirms to them they are” not as important as White people “, claiming to be colorblind we are turning our heads away from the truth and that leaves us in a position of no action. So how do we not fall into this cozy trap of being colorblind? Recognize it. And are you in an echo chamber of information and influence? Do you listen to other sides of your political affiliations? Think of the the family member that you hate and aways argue with about everything, have you ever had a real in depth conversation about what they really think about a situation and why do they believe that? Or think of a group of people you have a natural bias about, go make a friend in that group, get to know them. I think this is one of the many ways we can actually make change in the world, confronting our own biases, knowing our spheres of influence, really listening to people, in our family, friend groups, workplaces, churches, communities, this is where change happens .Also knowing your own values and living by them not forcing them on anyone around you. Go buy coffee and sit with that family member you turn your ears off around and put away your own superiority for a moment, build a bridge where you can reason and find common ground together. Also I suggest getting off the TV’s its hard to find a critical original thought especially from the tv, most of America sounds like they are just regurgitating far right ,far left talking points and the truth is usually right there somewhere in the middle. And no one is going to make headway just attacking the other side, There is going to be people to learn from everywhere you go and usually come from people who challenge you the most. What I’m trying to say is, if someone is on the side of injustice and supporting inequality your best bet to influence or change their mind is going to be to hear their beliefs and challenge them, but it must come from a place of care and love, nobody is going to change if they feel they are being attacked, and I think our current political system is pouring gasoline on both parties and has made echo chambers where there will be no resolve, just violence , further divide and more political control .I don’t think the fight is against people but forces and power, opposing ideologies, value and belief systems. I think if most people had knowledge and awareness they would change. Its Like shaking up a bunch of ants and watching them fight each other, but who’s the one shaking the cup?
Trinity Podbicanin
Your blog had some good points. When you said, “By claiming to be colorblind your basically ignoring the plight of many people and allowing injustices to continue, by not acknowledging reality, racism, classism, [and] sexism continues.” You bring up a really good point and follow it with a good example. I am not from Alaska, so I do not know what situation you are mainly talking about. However, suppose there are multiple murders of native people or multiple murders in general. In that case, there should be a ton of news coverage and insight into the current situation, and for there to be barely anything on it is just crazy. Something I think is also significant that you included is, “…Claiming to be colorblind we are turning our heads away from the truth and that leaves us in a position of no action.” I feel like this correlated to the source in saying, “…We whites are uncomfortable with Black-ness. We don’t even like to say the word. It feels wrong in our mouths… We need to say ‘Black Lives Matter’ because we need to overcome our discomfort with Blacks and face up to our unconscious bias.” When we say we are colorblind, we are not moving forward. We need to overcome the discomfort and take action.
Robi Naranjo
Thank you for reading my blog, I’m really not skilled on getting thoughts on to blogs or distilling information into a cohesive report yet and I didn’t think anyone read it or my tone was off or something. Yes I agree its as if being colorblind is widespread denial of an entire nation and it would be great to explore ways in having non rivalry, or tug of war, face offs where no one is heard, everyone is mad or offended, conversations where we can address these issues without people shutting down, like talking circles where everyone is heard, seen and experience valued.