Assignment B
“COLORBLINDNESS IS THE NEW RASCISM’’ All Live Matter
As I sat at my desk
to read this article for the second time I had an ah ha moment, it clicked in.
This article is related to what I read in Allen Johnson’s Privilege, Power and
Difference”. My friend and colleague appear at my door and I shared what I just
learned. I felt this article was about
tolerance and diversity. I do like what was said on page 63 “white privilege
includes the assumption that white people define a societal norm and that
people of color are “other”, often considered inferior or dangerous. Because
Whites represent the societal “normal” benchmark the White person has an
everyday option not to think of herself in racial terms at all.”
I worked with a lot of people of many different races at one
job even thou they are different and had other small differences. I did see
them as just people, my parents taught
me to accept people for what they are and treat them as I would like to be
treated. As we say the golden rule “do on to other as you would have them do on
to you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKvNoC0SRoY
I love it in
the bible where Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love Tone another as I
have loved you so you must love one another” (John 13 :34). God looks on the
inward being and not on what we look like outwardly.
I shared
with my co-worker that I was impressed with the authors talk about the power
line. The power line gave me a thought in my brain about those people who had
all privileges and those who have limit privileges.
Page
In
conclusion I do like that what the authors say “Color insight does not provide
a magic wand that dispenses with racism, but it does offer a vocabulary and
some significant points of entry for deeper conversation.” (page 76)
In “all
lives matter” I feel that the underlying message is to the white race. We need to get along and make everyone feel
worthwhile in this world. Also, while reading this article I was a little
confused and not sure what the whole thing meant.
Like you, I was brought up not to notice differences in people and to look at the character of people over their outward appearance. Is this class and these articles causing us to question that theory/belief? I do believe that all people are created equal but maybe it is necessary to look at differences in respect to privilege versus non-privilege. What do I have or get and how am I treated or viewed that is different than how other people are treated or viewed or what they have or get? On the other hand, do I need to take the blame for my strong desire to get a higher education in order to better my teaching skills for my students of diverse backgrounds? Do I need to change my views of people instead of treating everyone equally with respect? SO many questions but I don't feel there are many answers being given.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading your post, I was reminded about my initial reactions to Armstrong & Wildman's article. Similar to you (and Karen), my family raised me to judge people by their character, and while Armstrong & Wildman do not negate this idea, there is a notion that it is necessary to understand one another's additional experiences as a non-White person, regardless of how pure of heart an individual is. Unfortunately, the racial issues in our society do not arise out of people being judged by their character but rather because these individuals were judged on their outer appearance (something they could not control) that was then coupled with environmental circumstances. I think both articles address the fact that we need to validate other people's experience and contemplate how our white experience impedes and impacts a non-White experience. The thing that we are doing wrong is pretending that there is not a racial divide affecting the other outer circle privileges Johnson (2001) discussed in his article.
ReplyDeleteI think that most of us will resonate with the idea that the articles we are reading CHALLENGE the fundamental core of our upbringings. In kindergarten, we were taught that we are all alike, all the same. Hold hands and sing kumbaya. Treat everyone as you want to be treated. But what if instead, we treated everyone as THEY want to be treated? This could be a part of color-insight. Maybe we don't all need/want the same things? And as several of you have said, maybe acknowledging that we are different -- that my blond haired, blue eyed boy will likely have different interactions with the police than his friend who is dark-skinned and speaks with an accent -- is a step toward understanding and (to use Karen's word) "recovery." Hmmmmm.....
ReplyDeleteSometimes I fear kids are learning too much too young, but then I see the society we live in an see why it has become so necessary. It is never going to be easy but it is important to bring up the realities and discuss the inequities and even why they exist. To pretend it doesn't exist or to try to avoid it in the classroom, does not change society. Maybe discussions in safe classroom environments can be the very start to a change that is long overdue in our society. We also need more people to lead by example.
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