"Nowadays except for members of white supremacist organizations, few whites in the United States claim to be "racist." Most whites assert that they 'don't see any color, just people'; that although the ugly face of discrimination is still with us, it is no longer the central factor determining minorities' life chances; and, finally, that like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they aspire to live in a society where 'people are judged by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin.' More poignantly, most whites insist that minorities (especially blacks) are the ones responsible for whatever 'race problem' we have in this country. They publicly denounce blacks for 'playing the race card,' for demanding the maintenance of unnecessary and divisive race-based programs, such as affirmative action, and for crying "racism" whenever they are criticized by whites. Most whites believe that if blacks and other minorities would just stop thinking about the past, work hard, and complain less (particularly about racial discrimination), then Americans of all hues could 'all get along.'"
"But regardless of whites' "sincere fictions," racial considerations shade almost everything in America."
What do you think?
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I believe that even though we would like to think that we are “color blind”, race still permeates are daily lives and decisions. Even if we are not overtly racist, ideas engrained into our worldview by the media and other penetrating sources seep into our consciousness. I think that to move in the direction of color-blindness, we need to ignore any assumptions that we have about people of a different race than ourselves and give them a fresh start (free from stereotypes). I am not positive that “color blindness” can ever be achieved, because as children we are taught to pick which picture is different from the others, or which one “doesn’t fit.” When differences are so exaggerated you want to place a reason or explanation on the difference. In the case of racism and color-consciousness, a negative explanation is placed on those that are different.
I believe that even though people claim to not see color stereotypes of people do play a role in everyday life. People have these things stuck in their heads and its hard to break. Like in the video a white male helping an elderly lady across the street is not second guessed, but a person of color might be. They might question the motive of that person. Not to say that it is right to do so, but as of now, it's what happens.
Perhaps some people do pull a "race card" at times out of ignorance, but allowing that select minority (if it truly exists) to determine how a whole race or how a whole group of minorities is judged or treated seems a very narrow minded choice. To state that "there is no race problem" and that ethnic minority members should simply "get over it" is to ignore a central issue that has always been present and to discount, without much deep thought, the experiences and past sufferings of others. Racial equality and freedom from stereotypes or prejudice is a long time coming because of the difficulty of understanding and acknowledging it, history and its deeply ingrained sense of the difference between people, and many other factors; we must not allow a denial of the existence of racial inequality to allow it to fester.
Racial discimination is usually brought to attention when a situation of skin color presents itself. Race will always be a factor in today's world. I believe that people of color sometimes assume that they are being judged because they are a minority, even when thats not the case. I also believe that some races, mostly whites, are ignorant when it comes to racial issues. I would like to believe that people don't see different skin colors, but someone's skin color shouldn't even matter. Everyone is equal no matter what racial background they come from.
I agree with both Katherine and Scott. People like to believe that race is not relevant in today's time but it is evident that it does. It doesn't necessarily have to mean racism. People hold racial stereotypes, positive and negative. It's just something that's been instilled in us over the years. Do I believe that there will ever be a "color blind" generation? Probably not.
Just to add on to what everyone has said, I too believe that a "color blind" society is something we can strive for, but I don't feel it will ever be accomplished. Racial stereotypes are something that has been ingrained into our lives and it is something extremely hard to break. To this day (and I hate to admit it) I find myself stereotyping certain people. For instance, I'm guilty of thinking Kenyans can all run fast. As closed minded as that sounds, it's something I've found myself thinking. I hate it so much, but it happens on occasion. I think everyone does it unconsciously.
Racism is still a major part of everyday life in our country. Even though we think that we have maved toward color blindness we are still far from this impossible goal. Yes their are thouse minorities that do pull the race card in almost any situtation and thouse are the people who give a bad name to an entire group of people who already deal with racial desparities. However most minorities are not so quick to use race as an excuse for things or as a reason something did not go their way it is just thouse few that do, that lead us to stereotype all minorities because these few cause such bad feelings between ethnic groups.
I think that no matter what we say no one will ever be completely color blind. Racism has been a crucial part of America for many years, and it will be for many to come. To say that racism no longer exist or it isn't a major factor is completely ludicrous. I agree with Frances in the fact that some people may "pull the race card," but that should not allow us to judge that specific group because of the actions of select members in it. I think racism does have an effect on the chances of minorities; it always has, and it always will...no matter if they are beneficial to a specific race or not. I do not believe that America will ever have that sense of complete "equality." I also find it funny that when speaking of racism most issues are only brought up on the racism between African-Americans and Caucasians; America needs to focus on all different minority racism because all exist and always will.
Race is not something that can be denied, and claiming to be "color blind" is almost as big of a problem as blatant racism. Race must be acknowledge, for it social impact and personal meaning to a person. We all come from somewhere, and that background usually includes our race and ethnic identity. By openly discussing and sharing our racial backgrounds with each other, a greater understanding will emerge between and within races. It is not necessarily anyones "fault" that racism or discrimination exists, it comes from a long history of ignorance and hatred. It's a difficult cycle to break, but education is the first step to bridging racial gaps of all kinds. It is up to today's generation to educate people about all races as in America race is quickly moving away from a black/white trend.
I feel that the color card has been overplayed since the civil rights movement. In my opinion, there is certainly no way that we as a nation can forget our past, but at the same time we must move on with our lives and concerns. With the exception of white supremecists, the statement is very true in that we as a nation have become a much more colorblind society. To me, the world I live around is for the most part getting along fine (at least in my eyes), but there are certainly instances where this color card is evident and can become quite heated in various situations. I have always believed that time heals all things, and I see no reason to view this as an exception.
I believe that even though many people, regardless of race, claim that they are not racist, indeed they are. "I'm not racist," comes out of many peoples mouth, yet for example if their daughter or son was dating a person of a different race, they would more than likely have a problem with it. To me, that is racist and obviously seeing color. I also agree with Nicole that many racial issues are always between African Americans and Caucausians; it is rarely any other races brought up. As for whites insisting that minorites are the ones responsible for the race problem, maybe they should take a walk in their shoes before they criticize. The overall problem is steming from ignorance. A "color blind" society seems achieveable, but at this point it seems unattainable without further education.
I don't believe that we will ever achieve a truly "color blind" society until everyone truly becomes color blind in the physical sense of the word. As long as people are different there will always be someone around to determine that one group is better than the other.
I think that people, or at least some people, feel it is their duty or responsibility to say that they don't see the color of a person. However a person's duty and a person's actions can be two totally different things. We may like to believe that we dont see color but in fact most of us have been raised in a world full of color. It is not necessarily a bad thing but it can prove to be an issue when it causes harm or problems for a person or group of people. Everyone is familair with at least some of the common stereotypes of the races and whether we know it or not, we sometimes act based on those beliefs. All we can hope for is that those beliefs do not influence our judgements on a person's character and abilities. Education and communication together are key for this issue
Although some may claim to be "colorblind," it is through incidences like the Jena 6 that reveal that our society is nowhere near to achieving this title. I agree that people should be judged by their character, but I do not see where casting aside race is a necessarily positive thing. I think it is okay to be proud of your race, as long as you do not prevent yourself from mixing with others due to racial differences. Being "colorblind" may not be the answer to racial issues, but I believe tolerance and the acceptance of others differences, whether they be race, culture, or religious differences is what needs to be achieved.
I believe that a "color blind" society in today's world and even in the future world is not going to be easily obtainable. All of us live in a racist society where generations have suffered from many cruilites due to racisim. It will make it espcially difficult to become a non-racist society if the minorities and even sometimes the majorities keep pulling out the racist card to get what they want. We all should learn to have an open mind that is free of all stereotypes and assumptions we have and be accepting of other people that do not have the same skin color as us becase we are all human and have more in common tha you may think.
I don't think we should try to be a "color blind" society. First off I think it's inevitable that we as humans will see race when we look at another human being. Denying this only aggravates the issue. What we shouldn't do though is let someone's race get in the way of getting to know someone or our attitudes towards each other. We shouldn't deny our differences in our efforts to achieve a "color blind" society. Race is part of who we are. It probably plays a part in how we were raised, and it definitely plays a part in how we are and have been treated. We shouldn't judge people based on race, but we shouldn't ignore it as if it doesn't exist.
Everyone is racist. I don’t care what anyone says. In some form or another there is a hint of racism in everyone. In some more than others but, generally, everyone once in awhile has or does pass judgments on someone of the opposite skin. It is just that one may not openly reveal racism but, that does not mean that s/he does not have racist thoughts that circulate the mind. I was born and raised in New York and I moved to Charleston, SC only three years ago. After living in both of these socially divided regions I have concluded that both are equally and inherently racist. The South is not more racist than the North as most northerners would claim; it is just that we northerners are more discreet about our racism. Whereas, to a certain extent, southerners almost pride themselves in it. Anyway, before I stray off the subject, I just want to point out that race is something that will always be prevalent among society. It will never die down or disappear. It will always be an issue. Sadly, I cannot deny that while waiting in a line inside a gas station or convenient store my heart has not raced at the sight of three black teenagers entering the store. Why is this so? Because, society has painted images that often portray blacks as criminals or of lesser beings, hence creating such extreme stereotypes. Furthermore, it is these extreme stereotypes that prevent blacks and other ethnic “races” from advancing in society. The corporate world cannot deny the fact that when they hire people or when banks issue loans that they ignore the color of one’s skin. Color always matters. The slavery era and mentality still haunts and follows blacks into every new era and as a result they continue to suffer economic burdens and other hardships. We have socially imprisoned African Americans thereby causing them to suffer great financial burdens. This prevents the majority from obtaining the same resources that most white Americans have access to. In conclusion, programs such as affirmative action are the least we can do in a white dominated society, if anything there needs to be more programs like it. We live in a race obsessed society and it is one of the first characteristics that people use to describe someone. A “girl” isn’t just a “girl.” She is a “white girl” or a “black girl.” And, unfortunately this racial struggle will never end.
I believe that everybody wants to feel part of a group. That people look for themselves within others. This encompasses thought process, heritage, ideals, political views, ect, escalating the natural tendancy to interact with one's own race. This could be one the reasons behind the feelings of racism that still remain in the United States. I would like to think that we have gone past judging one merely on the color of their skin, but am not naive enough to think that we do not discriminate based on other aspects that make up a person.
Placing blame on one race or another and trying to pinpoint who creates the "racism" in America is an impossible goal. Everyone and every group of people can point to reasons why they are the victim in society and they have not been given a fair chance in one rhelm or another. These feelings of indebtedness and discrimination are subjective in nature and cannot be proven, only agreed with, making me see that quotation as simply evidence of another person's subjective testimony and opinion, nothing more.
I believe that what Derek said might be right. Though I would like to say that one day we could look past color, but the fact is that we like he said see color and differences in everyone and everyday. If its not color is gays or the nerd in your elementary class we are all human and we all have faults. One of which is that we see differences and in some cases have been known to pick on someone else difference to make us feel better but why?
I think that everyone would like to think that them and the world is "color blind". But the truth of the matter is that people are not. We may not be racists, but part of it isfear from the past. For color blindness to truly happened, fear must not exist and stereotypes must disappear as well as any assumptions about race. It would be nice to think that this can happen, but it is in human nature to see differences within different types of people other than our own.
Even in the minds of people who are not racist there are still stereotypes that will always be associated with certain races. Although a color blind world would be ideal, race cannot be ignored. People like to categorize and will subconsciously or consciously continue to discriminate between different races. Racial problems will be perpetuated because of how hard it is to completely ignore what has been instilled in us since we were born.
Like Dr. Bonilla-Silva says, many people do believe that they are not racist. But many contradict themselves by judging the people they see everyday by the color of their skin before they meet. The "race card" is often thought of as an excuse that a certain race might use to get out of situations or problems they experience. In all actuality people of all stereotypes pull some sort of "card" to excuse themselves from circumstances. Even though most people don't consider themselves racist almost everyone has stereotyped a group or excluded someone because of the way they looked. It is up to people to finally put racial discrimination behind us.
Racism, no matter what color you are is prevalent in our society. Even if an individual claims that they have no visual discrimination towards other races, its just not possibly capable of being true. If people are judged in other ways such as hight, weight, lip size, breast size, hair color, eye color etc. what makes skin color any different? Our society will never ever be color blind due to the simple fact that we judge according to appearance, for everything! The media provokes this and is not changing anytime soon, in fact it is becoming more of a trend to judge by appearance and the next generations to come will take it even further. Just like the Indians where forced to change to fit into the society by changing their religion, clothing,and language. So are today's people by getting cosmetic procedures, idolizing celebrities,taking up trends, and slang, just in order to fit in and avoid criticism, or suppression ( like the Indians and Blacks). Although the whole legal issue of race is somewhat solved, the real life situations that happen towards individuals daily are still happening.
No one is "color blind". We will always see the color of people before anything else. There is a point in the fact that African Americans are always pulling the race card, and using the past. I know what happened was wrong, but certain things have to be let go at certain points. People just need to realize that our world will always be one of prejudice, and we cannot change it in a day, or in a lifetime. It will take many generations with the cooperation of just about every race in the world. Possible-yes, but probable-not really.
I don't think we are color blind. I think everyone has prejudices whether they accept them or not. I personally try to understand that it is natural to have prejudice but the key is to recognize that as wrong and try to get over it or deal with it. And this is wear I think the whole "color blind" thing that many white people say they believe in comes from. Many of us are raised with such a fear of being racist or prejudice that we don't want to ever admit or deal with the fact that people are. So we try to ignore the problems.
I also think that this effort to ignore is part of the problem with saying that the "race card" is pulled to often and that everyone should just work harder and stop complaining. We don't want to admit the problems because of fear.
Instead of dealing with the problems in an active and productive way, we battle to hide it because we know how wrong it is. It isn't like in the past when racism was acceptable. Now we know it is wrong and fear being prejudice and/or racist so all of this is an effort to ignore our own short comings.
I think it is obvious that no one is truly "color blind" and to think otherwise is to be ignorant of the world we live in. The perfect example of how race is still a factor in our everyday lives is occuring right now in the case of the Jena 6.
It is hard for me to pick one side of the argument to agree with more after reading this post. Although I do think that many white people are not racist, it is defiantly impossible to claim that you do not see color. I believe that there is a big difference between racism and prejudice. White people may not feel they are racist and believe they are superior to other colors, but they will still always have certain prejudices or preconceived notions about that race. And I think the same goes for blacks, they will always have certain preconceived notions about the white race. I don't think that there will ever become a time when this doesn’t happen.
I believe that America is not a
"color blind" place. No matter what people try to say racist mentalities are still prevalent today. Everytime someone says if minorities would just work harder and they could be just as successful as whites or that minorities shouoldn't be given advantages in certain areas,that in my opinion is a racist statement. If affirmative action and other programs that are currently in place were not there minorities could once again be denied things that they deserve. A "color blind" society in my opinion will never happen because no matter what happens people are going to notice race. The best that America can hope for is that in noticing race people don't develop preconcieved notions about a person because of it.
As much as I would love to say that I am "colorblind", I know that that would be a lie. As much as I would love to live in a society where the color of one's skin or one's race is not an issue, I know that I probably never will. I've never considered myself racist, but prior to class I guess I was a little more narrowminded. I did/do feel that sometimes minorities pull the "race card", but being white I know I will never be able to associate with that. I agree with Katherine's comment "we need to ignore any assumptions that we have about people of a different race than ourselves and give them a fresh start (free from stereotypes)".
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