File under “Links that Frink already posted but are relevant to the conversation:”
The part pertaining to “I don’t see color”/“color blind:”
- “I Don’t See Color.”
On the surface, this might seem like a harmless statement affirming that race doesn’t matter to you one way or another. But what it’s really doing is claiming that all of us are the same - which isn’t true. Because even though we are all human and are all made of the same stuff, it is our responsibility to acknowledge that, since we do exist within a societal system of racism, the color of our skin can and does dictate the way each of us experiences life.
To state that there is no difference between a white person and a black person is to completely erase the black person’s experience of oppression in today’s society - and that’s not helpful.
What to say instead: “Though I believe every human deserves equal rights, I recognize that people of color have had very different experiences of life than I have, due to the struggles they have endured based on the color of their skin.”
This is doesn’t really answer the question as to how to put that idea into practical use, like when a small company is hiring an accountant.