Comment on [deleted]
themeatbridge@lemmy.world 2 months agoBut being black or white is part of who they are. By ignoring their race, you are in fact devaluing who they are as a person. Black and white are different. Not better, not worse, and not limited to preconceived definitions.
It’s like the Stephen Colbert bit where he pretended he couldn’t see color. It was humorous because he acted like it made him anti-racist, but actually it was extremely racist. Your original point is the sort of well-meaning pandering naivete he was satirizing.
Social_Discussion@lemm.ee 2 months ago
themeatbridge@lemmy.world 2 months ago
You are different by your skin color. People are all literally different colors. And because racism exists, that affects every aspect of your existence from the moment you’re born. You cannot overcome racism by saying “let’s just all pretend we’re all the same.”
Set race aside for a minute, because I think you’re trying too hard to be un-racist. Consider height for a bit. Everyone is a different height. It doesn’t make you a good or bad person to be tall or short. Certain things are easier or harder, and people at each height bracket have similar experiences. People also face discrimination based on their height. It is discriminatory to make assumptions about a person’s qualities based on their height, but it is not discrimination to identify people as taller, shorter, or average height. Pretending height difference don’t exist will not counteract height discrimination, and in fact will foster attitudes that do not account for individual differences.