Quote:
Originally Posted by Soliloquy
How is raising a child to be "color blind..reinscrib[ing] whiteness as the basic social value?"
Teaching children the values associated with color-blindness is a very commendable thing. It's the same thing as teaching children to not value someone based on their appearence! There is absolutely no way that is furthering a bias for whites. Hell, I am half German and half Pakistani! My parents taught me those values and as I have already said in this thread, I'm friends will all sorts of people. I don't care if your black, asian, european, spanish etc- if you're cool, we're friends! I had the same mentality when I was actively dating, and dated all sorts of guys. One of my best memories was dating this incredible guy from West Africa, he was a total romantic.
How have I furthered the white dominance by adhearing to colorblindness? Quite obviously, I haven't.
Also, if you pressure a child to value your particular race over another, you are creating prejudice and furthering racist views. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being proud of your ancestory, but I think it would be a terrible thing to groom children to believe they carry a supremacy because of their skin color. Thats the exact mentality that gave roots to the deep racism that runs rampant in the world.
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Obviously, you didn't understand what I was saying. If you read closely I said this is not an issue of racial prejudice or a particular praxis associated with with this mindset. It's about the general tenor and environment of the society which is grounded in a particular value system which is the problem that has to be faced head on. Let me use another analogy to help you understand. Many Gays and Lesbians use the term "heterosexist" to describe the society, to help heterosexuals understand why they actively push their agenda in many ways. It's not simply about anti-gay acts of violence, prejudice or homophobia; it's about how society is geared to heterosexuals--institutionally,attitudinally/ideologically,economically, legally, etc.The system is stacked. This transcends how people interact interpersonally. It's like the broth which flavors all the meats and vegetables in a soup. Thus,in a crude way,to assert "colorblindness" as a social philosophy in a white supremicist context is to devalue "blackness" and other non-European construals of personhood. This has to do with history and the social values and arrangements which arose from them,not some pedantic interest.
In fact, the way you talk about it is a typically "white."(I say this non-pejoratively.) It has nothing to do with one's race/ethnicity. It's a worldview/value system. Because of my religious/theological commitments, social philosophy, and my experiences, I agree with what you're saying about how we should interact. That's how I actually live my life. I'm also a person of color in this society and understand the psychological complexity of navigating one's way in a healthy manner in a society based on white supremecist values. And it's not just an African American/ biracial issue. I've talked with Asian Americans who deal with similar issues, and I've also heard the term "white washed" used by South Asians. I could literally write a tome about this but I'll stop now. Thank you.