Skip to main content


"I don't see color, just people" can either lead to "I treat everyone the same" which is good but ignores historical consequences of #racism, or "everybody must be having the same experience of life as me" which is utterly wrong and privileged.

In either case, it's a red flag.
Stephen Colbert addressed the issue.
How about 'I don't see color, only class.'? Class may not always be a good representative of historical suffering, but it is indicative of the current suffering of an individual.
Just drop "I don't see color", it really doesn't serve any good purpose.
Interesting. Long post below.

My fear if we see color for reconciliatory efforts, then we could end up zigzagging about the equality line: e.g.,support blacks until they have more priviliege than whites, then remove support or support whites until they have more privilege, and so on. The reason why we have to zigzag is that there's a long delay between first doing something to equalize, and seeing the effects of that action.

But perhaps a zigzag is better and fairer than a slow rise.
Which is why I think one-time reparations would be better than prolonged affirmative action, which is already better than doing nothing, which is better than telling anyone that you don't see colors, which is still better than discriminating against people of color.

One of the reasons is that the US society will look very different when reparations would be able to be voted by Congress and not require as much efforts against discriminations anymore. I think it would be the ending point of society overhauling instead of the starting point of the US redeeming itself for slavery then mass incarceration/unpunished killings.
Nice comment, Christian.
But it is not about "feeling less racist". We are all capable of either contributing to racism or fighting it, within ourselves or in society.
The question shouldn't be "Am I a racist or not?", or "Do I see color or not?"
Rather, it is better to be against racism, wherever you find it, inside or out.
I would never say "I am not a racist", or "I am colorblind, I don't see race".
But I do, proudly say, "I am an anti-racist. I am against racism."
@**joe Choosing the wording "feeling less racist" expressed my inherent doubt that ones own thoughts are self-controlled. They are definitely not always reflected upon. And hence, even though I do consider myself being anti-racist some of my thoughts obviously were not as anti-racist as I believed them to be. Mostly, because I didn't reflect upon them from that angle.
I get it and I appreciate you, Christian. Your words are those of an open mind. The struggle against prejudice never ends, both internally and externally. Keep listening.
"I don't see color, just people" can either lead to "I treat everyone the same" which is good but ignores historical consequences of #racism,
Lately I tend to think that this is exactly what can end racism and all sorts of other "...isms". We should concentrate on the present and not the past. It doesn't dismiss history but rather calls for objective decisions based on current situation rather than trying to compensate for history.

Yes, I know it is seen as red flag by many.
Again, I'm not sure if I'll be able to convince you to change your opinion, but please don't mention it publicly anymore as it is deeply upsetting on its own, and probably even after an explanation that could only come after the conversation already soured.

To keep on the ran-down neighborhood example, they aren't neglected because they are populated by humans, but specifically because they are populated by black people. So you can't just erase the source of the discrimination to fight and solve it. You have to acknowledge blackness as a specific reason for discrimination and you just can't do it without seeing colors, no matter how good your intentions are.

Among the other already mentioned problems, I believe that "I don't see color" is misled magical thinking and while it's perfectly fine for you to believe given the provided context, it is among the well-meaning but ultimately offensive things that you should probably never say to anyone else, like your dating preferences for example.
We see this differently I suppose. The neighborhoods get neglected first and foremost because it is possible for them to get neglected. It shouldn't be possible for populated areas at all. However since it is possible, it can be involved into discrimination.

I think I should stop here. I should just add I had different views, similar to yours (I suppose, maybe somewhat different ones) and eventually I arrived to this. Maybe it can be called misled magical thinking.
Okay, you can’t not see color. Everybody sees it. It’s there.
But of course you should always endeavor to judge people “not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
You can tell me you don’t judge a book by it’s cover. But if you tell me “I don’t see covers, only books”, I won’t believe you.
⇧