It's very cliche to say, "I don't see color." We all do. The difference is how we treat people who are different. So please see my color and respect it.
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It's very cliche to say, "I don't see color." We all do. The difference is how we treat people who are different. So please see my color and respect it.
Oh, I see your color, and won't treat you better or worse because of it. However... if I was to look at a color sample of your skin tone and classify it based on my knowledge and understanding of the color spectrum, I would never call it "BLACK" any more that you would call the coloration of my skin "WHITE," and that is part of the problem. Just like GOOD and EVIL, BLACK & WHITE are polar opposites. I think that there is a reason that people have been labeled with these terms, since it subtly places the two against one another. This isn't really a "black and white" issue now, is it?
Thanks @ty2nicerva, and I do get your point.
I 100% agree with why the colors were used that way. Alot of words get used that way. Like conservative or liberal. I don't know anyone who is 100% conservative or liberal, but we divide ourselves by that, and ride with the whole agenda of the group we choose. It's sickening how far gone we are from our animal nature.
I refer to seeing color as 'color aware.' Many people pride themselves on being color 'blind,' but I think that implies a level of ignorance that they do not really mean. Not seeing something (being blind to it) is very different from seeing and recognizing (being aware) the issues associated with various tones.
As a former teacher in an urban setting, I could not treat my students as if their skin color did not affect their daily experience. Instead, I had to learn how to be aware of those differences and reach each student accordingly. For example, as a white person I rarely think of whether I will be questioned, much less arrested or attacked by police officers if I've legitimately done nothing wrong. However, that is a reality my students faced daily.
One student, a ninth grader, was pushed to the ground and had his face stomped into a curb by a police officer because he was suspected of stealing something from a convenience store because he happened to be black, just like the person who actually stole the items. He lost several teeth in the incident and switched schools to avoid the embarrassment of returning. Both of those things will have a lifetime impact on him as a result of something he didn't even do.
Another time, a group of students was harassed at a public park simply for being in a group. The students had just come from school, and the school had a dress code so they were all dressed similarly in black slacks and white button down shirts. A woman actually called the police on them for acting suspiciously at a public park. The students received a clear message that they were not welcome at that park.
If I were to act like skin color doesn't matter, I'd be doing these students a disservice. It matters. It colors many aspects of their daily lives in a negative way. I feel it is my job to be color aware and fight back against those who seek to discriminate based on melanin.
With that being said, yes, I think white people should feel free to wear their hair however they please.
Ouch! That sounds terrible. I used to live in "the black pearl" which is a specific area of New Orleans. Frequently there was a loud message that I was not welcome there by various community members, but when I did not move, they learned to deal with me. It's a sad state of the world that we live in when skin tone plays such a large role.