Hello Steemians!
I wanted to discuss this post that I saw on twitter today:
Now, I have almost no problem with what this guy is saying. He says “See my black skin. Understand what it means. Acknowledge its mistreatment.” Okay-- don’t forget about the history of black people in America. Sure, and nobody wants you to abandon your heritage or ancestry. However, I struggle to get on board with the “Act accordingly” part. My understanding is that he doesn’t want to be treated poorly based on the color of his skin but is telling me to acknowledge the color of his skin and react a certain way based upon that observation—is that a contradiction I smell?
There are over 100 comments on the post, with most people agreeing with him. However, there were a few people confused in the same manner that I am. Many responses went like this:
The girl’s response is, I feel, exactly what people mean when they say they "don’t see color" so… good job? Another person replied with: “But you must acknowledge that society has treated Black and Brown people unfairly. Accept that and then you see your privilege”. I have an issue with this comment as well; I haven’t polled the entire country lately, but I don’t think there are many people out there denying that slavery and segregation ever existed. There are also comments like this, which seem quite logical:
(Thank god @ teknomagic had the answer to that one! Phew!)
These following comments I also feel that I don’t fully understand. They seem to be implying that if I treat you decently because you are another human being, I am only doing it by ‘bypassing’ your ethnicity… because it is apparently impossible for me to be kind to you if I don’t pretend that you are white?
I am posting this because when people say “I don’t see color” I don’t believe that they mean they have to pretend you are white so they can deal with you, I don’t believe they mean that your history and culture and ethnicity don’t matter, and I don’t believe it means they are racist. The topic of race is, obviously, very heated right now and backward posts like this make it hard to understand what people want anymore.
Then again, I’m white so maybe I just don’t get it ;)
I have to admit I'm not sure what he wants. Can't we just be people starting now?
My wife, a minority, made the statement "don't see color" to a white liberal. The white liberal then chastised her that "black people don't want you to say things like that." I was astonished. A white liberal lecturing an African American on "what black people think."
Therein lies the problem. Stereotyping comes in many shapes and sizes.
It's all a bunch of BS. First of all, less than 1% of today's US population has any ancestral ties to slaves or slave owners. Most people came here in the 1900's, well after slavery was ended.
I'm not sure how "brown" people ended up included in this guy's rant since hispanics were never slaves, and have actually made white people into their slaves by illegally invading our country and colonizing it with a bunch iof anchor spawn that we're being forced to pay for.
Second, black people also owned slaves, and white people came over as slaves too. Read the book "White Cargo" about how terribly the Irish were treated as indentured servants that could never work off their debt and ended up as slaves.
Conveniently, never mentioned are all the white people that died to fight a civil war and end slavery. No wonder they enjoy demanding that our history and heritage be erased by tearing down statues. What's next, book burning?
It seems to me utterly ridiculous for people here today who were never slaves to be bitching and whining that other people who never owned slaves owe them something, anything based on skin color. That is the very definition of racism and discrimination.
As I white person, I can tell you that me or my family never recieved any "privilege". We've worked for everything we have and while we are not rich, we're proud of what we have earned. I'm so sick an tired of minorities of any type bashing the white people in this country that was founded by white people, and is still majority white people. It seems that their real goal was never to be satisfied with being treated equally - they want to be treated better than white people and are with programs like affirmative action which is government sponsored discrimination against whites.
No white would ever be treated so nicely in a country run by minorities. I will bet you everything I own.
Took the words right out of my mouth...lol
Obviously, the people who see "I don't see color" as meaning "I see you as a white person" are the bigger racist. I guess the best way to clear it up is to say "I don't see color" means "I see you as a bag of bones and blood of no particular shape form or color".
I prefer the days when everyone didn't have some sort of self-perceived disability that everyone has to acknowledge for the world to be whole.
I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil.
- Albert Einstein
Don't even get me started...lol This white-privlidge concept is soooo unAmerican!
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