50 Greatest WHITE ATHLETES!

[_EAllusion]

I don't think the best way to end racism is treating people as equally as possible while ignoring the issue of race. I said the opposite. You quoted an artice that articulates nearly the exact same thing I did. It's virtually identical to what I just said today on this thread. It's like your IQ drops in real time when you get on this subject. It's fascinating.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

I don't think the best way to end racism is treating people as equally as possible. I said the opposite. You quoted an artice that articulates nearly the exact same thing I did. It's virtually identical to what I just said. It's like your IQ drops in real time when you get on this subject. It's fascinating.

Here's the article lest anyone buy into EAillusion's non sequitur:

Colorblind Ideology Is a Form of Racism

A colorblind approach allows us to deny uncomfortable cultural differences.
Posted Dec 27, 2011

What is racial colorblindness?

Racial issues are often uncomfortable to discuss and rife with stress and controversy. Many ideas have been advanced to address this sore spot in the American psyche. Currently, the most pervasive approach is known as colorblindness. Colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity.

At its face value, colorblindness seems like a good thing — really taking MLK seriously on his call to judge people on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. It focuses on commonalities between people, such as their shared humanity.

However, colorblindness alone is not sufficient to heal racial wounds on a national or personal level. It is only a half-measure that in the end operates as a form of racism.

Problems with the colorblind approach

Racism? Strong words, yes, but let's look the issue straight in its partially unseeing eye. In a colorblind society, White people, who are unlikely to experience disadvantages due to race, can effectively ignore racism in American life, justify the current social order, and feel more comfortable with their relatively privileged standing in society (Fryberg, 2010). Most minorities, however, who regularly encounter difficulties due to race, experience colorblind ideologies quite differently. Colorblindness creates a society that denies their negative racial experiences, rejects their cultural heritage, and invalidates their unique perspectives.

Let's break it down into simple terms: Color-Blind = "People of color — we don't see you (at least not that bad ‘colored' part)." As a person of color, I like who I am, and I don't want any aspect of that to be unseen or invisible. The need for colorblindness implies there is something shameful about the way God made me and the culture I was born into that we shouldn't talk about. Thus, colorblindness has helped make race into a taboo topic that polite people cannot openly discuss. And if you can't talk about it, you can't understand it, much less fix the racial problems that plague our society.

Colorblindness is not the answer

If you can't see it, you can't fix it.

Many Americans view colorblindness as helpful to people of color by asserting that race does not matter (Tarca, 2005). But in America, most underrepresented minorities will explain that race does matter, as it affects opportunities, perceptions, income, and so much more. When race-related problems arise, colorblindness tends to individualize conflicts and shortcomings, rather than examining the larger picture with cultural differences, stereotypes, and values placed into context. Instead of resulting from an enlightened (albeit well-meaning) position, colorblindness comes from a lack of awareness of racial privilege conferred by Whiteness (Tarca, 2005). White people can guiltlessly subscribe to colorblindness because they are usually unaware of how race affects people of color and American society as a whole.

Colorblindness in a psychotherapeutic relationship

How might colorblindness cause harm? Here's an example close to home for those of you who are psychologically-minded. In the not-so-distant past, in psychotherapy a client's racial and ethnic remarks were viewed as a defensive shift away from important issues, and the therapist tended to interpret this as resistance (Comas-Diaz & Jacobsen, 1991). However, such an approach hinders the exploration of conflicts related to race, ethnicity, and culture. The therapist doesn't see the whole picture, and the client is left frustrated.

A colorblind approach effectively does the same thing. Blind means not being able to see things. I don't want to be blind. I want to see things clearly, even if they make me uncomfortable. As a therapist I need to be able to hear and "see" everything my client is communicating on many different levels. I can't afford to be blind to anything. Would you want to see a surgeon who operated blindfolded? Of course not. Likewise, a therapist should not be blinded either, especially to something as critical as a person's culture or racial identity. By encouraging the exploration of racial and cultural concepts, the therapist can provide a more authentic opportunity to understand and resolve the client's problems (Comas-Diaz & Jacobsen, 1991).

Nonetheless, I have encountered many fellow therapists who ascribe to a colorblind philosophy. They ignore race or pretend its personal, social, and historical effects don't exist. This approach ignores the incredibly salient experience of being stigmatized by society and represents an empathetic failure on the part of the therapist. Colorblindness does not foster equality or respect; it merely relieves the therapist of his or her obligation to address important racial differences and difficulties.

Multiculturalism is better than blindness

Research has shown that hearing colorblind messages predict negative outcomes among Whites, such as greater racial bias and negative affect; likewise colorblind messages cause stress in ethnic minorities, resulting in decreased cognitive performance (Holoien et al., 2011). Given how much is at stake, we can no longer afford to be blind. It's time for change and growth. It's time to see.

The alternative to colorblindness is multiculturalism, an ideology that acknowledges, highlights, and celebrates ethnoracial differences. It recognizes that each tradition has something valuable to offer. It is not afraid to see how others have suffered as a result of racial conflict or differences.

So, how do we become multicultural? The following suggestions would make a good start (McCabe, 2011):

Recognizing and valuing differences,
Teaching and learning about differences, and
Fostering personal friendships and organizational alliances
Moving from colorblindness to multiculturalism is a process of change, and change is never easy, but we can't afford to stay the same.

References

Comas-Diaz, L., and Jacobsen, F. M. (1991). Clinical Ethnocultural Transference and Countertransference in the Therapeutic Dyad. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 61(3), 392-402.

Fryberg, S. M. (2010). When the World Is Colorblind, American Indians Are Invisible: A Diversity Science Approach. Psychological Inquiry, 21(2), 115-119.

Holoien, D. S., and Shelton, J. N. (October 2011). You deplete me: The cognitive costs of colorblindness on ethnic minorities. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.09.010.

McCabe, J. (2011). Doing Multiculturalism: An Interactionist Analysis of the Practices of a Multicultural Sorority. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 40 (5), 521-549.

Tarca, K. (2005). Colorblind in Control: The Risks of Resisting Difference Amid Demographic Change. Educational Studies, 38(2), 99-120.

I'm hurt and a little bit offended you waved your privileged white hand around so dismissively. This WOC's voice needs to be heard and we need to acknowledge she's right and your position is that of racial discomfort.

- Doc

[_EAllusion]

The article specifically endorses the point of view I expressed. When I said, "Regarding your views, you seem to have thoroughly bought into an assertion of color-blindness as a way of ignoring the impacts structural racism and dismissing good-faith efforts to do anything about it. Color blindness is supposed to be a long-term goal, not a means to actively dismiss what society is actually like," I was expressing the exact same theme in the article you quoted.

I can't tell if you are willfully doing this or are simply being obtuse. To spell it out, thinking that at some point in the future it would be good if the color of a person's skin did not impact how people thought about or treated one another is not thinking that it is good to ignore present-day racial context. Ignoring race now functions as a way of ignoring the impacts of race in society and dismissing attempts to address the harms of racism. You know, like when someone criticizes the existence of lists that celebrate black accomplishments because they don't think race should matter.

I brought up white history month because it is one of the, if not thee most common example of when people complain why can't there be a white specific focus on something if there is a minority one. The idea that I, or anyone you imagine yourself to be disagreeing with, thinks that it is inherently racist to criticize a black person is ridiculous and betrays your lack of understanding of what you think you oppose. That you try to play up the language of identify politics for gotcha sarcasm, but badly botch it, suggests you lack an awareness of what you are mocking and a lack of awareness of your own ignorance. Maybe cut down on the blowhards on reddit for your information diet?

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

I literally copied and pasted the article into this thread. You literally didn't read it if you're still doubling down on your nonsense. I don't know what your malfunction is, but it's becoming clearer and clearer the Backfire Effect is in full swing. Enjoy non sequiturs, strawmen, and whatever-the-heck you're on about right now. You're wrong about your color blindness example. One would think my pizza aphorism would've been obvious enough, but alas...

- Doc

[_EAllusion]

I literally copied and pasted the article into this thread.

It seems like you genuinely cannot understand how the article is an expression of the position on color-blindness I first articulated in the thread. I specifically discussed color-blindness in a negative context as a way of ignoring structural racism and dismissing efforts to address it. I brought up the notion as a criticism of the posts you were writing at that time. I think, and said as much, that the imperative to be color-blind is bad because it ignores the reality of how race functions in society. This is the exact same position in the article. You seem to have confused this with an ultimate idealistic goal of skin color not being relevant to people's behavior. If you can't distinguish the two, not much can be done about that. Read better?

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

I literally can't break the article down further since it's astonishingly simple and clear. I legitimately feel bad for you.

- Doc

[_EAllusion]

I literally can't break the article down further since it's astonishingly simple and clear. I legitimately feel bad for you.

- Doc

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10626367

[_honorentheos]

Hey EA,

If I may divert from the main conversation, I wanted to highlight something you said for discussion.

Color-blindness isn't about eliminating cultural differences. It's about treating everyone with equity regardless of race to the point that different behavior based on race isn't wanted or needed. It's a laudable goal that is unfortunately used as a fig-leaf to avoid thinking about or addressing racism. Here, you seem to rely on equivocating culture and race.

While I agree that we aren't culturally in a place where color-blindness simply happens, and the obstacles are deeply engrained in us to the point this generation isn't going to get there I'm not sure I agree with the idea that espousing this as the goal functions as a fig-leaf inherently. To the contrary, I think making it explict that this is the goal, that we aren't there, and that our biases make this very difficult to achieve with explanations for why would in fact be the path to eventually getting there. So long as the dialog is about differences, it seems the best of intentions for leveling the field are also adding fuel to the problem without articulating a better way forward.

Why not articulate the ideal, the need for it, and contextualize the immediate means of "positive discrimination" in the language of the preferred future as well as the past?

[_EAllusion]

Hey EA,

If I may divert from the main conversation, I wanted to highlight something you said for discussion.

Color-blindness isn't about eliminating cultural differences. It's about treating everyone with equity regardless of race to the point that different behavior based on race isn't wanted or needed. It's a laudable goal that is unfortunately used as a fig-leaf to avoid thinking about or addressing racism. Here, you seem to rely on equivocating culture and race.

While I agree that we aren't culturally in a place where color-blindness simply happens, and the obstacles are deeply engrained in us to the point this generation isn't going to get there I'm not sure I agree with the idea that espousing this as the goal functions as a fig-leaf inherently. To the contrary, I think making it explict that this is the goal, that we aren't there, and that our biases make this very difficult to achieve with explanations for why would in fact be the path to eventually getting there. So long as the dialog is about differences, it seems the best of intentions for leveling the field are also adding fuel to the problem without articulating a better way forward.

Why not articulate the ideal, the need for it, and contextualize the immediate means of "positive discrimination" in the language of the preferred future as well as the past?

I didn't say it inherently is used as a fig-leaf. I said it was. One of Stephen Colbert's - the parody conservative version of himself - longstanding bits was to claim he was colorblind and therefore ignore obvious racial points like if his guest was black. He was mocking conservative pundits who opt for the fig-leaf to ignore problems with race in America.

I think it should be treated as a utopian goal while we in the present day do not ignore how ideas about race influences how society functions. This doesn't even mean things like affirmative action necessarily. It's just recognizing that racial identity impacts how people behave and think about one another. Cultural affinity need not tie to socially constructed and malleable racial identity and one (*cough*) shouldn't conflate the two, but at the same time racial experience and its correlations with cultural heritage is a component of social life you just can't ignore. And ignoring it in the real world means ignoring the ill-effects of racial discrimination. You can't see victims of racism unless you can see race.

[_EAllusion]

538 - Harry Enten really - has a timely article here:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/ch ... -politics/