seeing colors
3 Mar 2008 02:28 amOver the past few days, for some reason I keep ending up reading a variety of blogs focused on racism (a number of which are due to following links through fascinating conversations about the current primaries etc). I came across one blog post that -- while I'm sure there was a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek mixed in with a clearly bitter and angry attitude -- I've been turning over and over in my head.
The short version was this: when a (non-color) person says, "I don't see race," what they really mean (according to the blog author) is "I'm not comfortable with the issue so I'd rather pretend it doesn't exist."
Uh.
Excuse me while I laugh hysterically.
Okay, I think I'm calmer now. I'm over the knee-jerk response of saying, "that generalization is ludicrous," followed in rapid succession by the impulse to cry in glee, "what amazing mindreading skills you have, my dear!"
Lack of ire isn't due only to maturity; even when younger, I had a hard time reacting defensively in a "are you talking to me" way. The best memory-example I have is of being cornered by angry classmates insisting that having my nose in a book meant I had to be saying I was better than them -- and that this behavior therefore made me racist. ( Given I didn't want to get the crap beaten out of me by a girl a head taller than me, I gave her words careful consideration, because if she had a point, I'd rather concede it than just argue for the sake of arguing and get my nose broken in the process. )
I also know that we tend to overlay assumptions based on what we're used to seeing. ( As a natural evolution of that contemplation, I started thinking about yet another essay, which called for more 'people of color' in the SFF world. )
Next, I'll be discussing antimacassars. Stay tuned!
The short version was this: when a (non-color) person says, "I don't see race," what they really mean (according to the blog author) is "I'm not comfortable with the issue so I'd rather pretend it doesn't exist."
Uh.
Excuse me while I laugh hysterically.
Okay, I think I'm calmer now. I'm over the knee-jerk response of saying, "that generalization is ludicrous," followed in rapid succession by the impulse to cry in glee, "what amazing mindreading skills you have, my dear!"
Lack of ire isn't due only to maturity; even when younger, I had a hard time reacting defensively in a "are you talking to me" way. The best memory-example I have is of being cornered by angry classmates insisting that having my nose in a book meant I had to be saying I was better than them -- and that this behavior therefore made me racist. ( Given I didn't want to get the crap beaten out of me by a girl a head taller than me, I gave her words careful consideration, because if she had a point, I'd rather concede it than just argue for the sake of arguing and get my nose broken in the process. )
I also know that we tend to overlay assumptions based on what we're used to seeing. ( As a natural evolution of that contemplation, I started thinking about yet another essay, which called for more 'people of color' in the SFF world. )
Next, I'll be discussing antimacassars. Stay tuned!