What's Wrong With Being Color Blind?

There's nothing wrong with real color blindness. A friend in high school, Pat, was color blind. He couldn't distinguish between green and red. I had no objections to Pat's color trouble.

The "color blindness" I take issue with is asserted by people who claim not to "see color," meaning skin color. Some folks may actually go so far as to say, "I don't see color," but I think enough jokes have been made in the media about that particular ludicrous statement that most people wouldn't use it nowadays.

More often, I find people modeling their "color blindness" by avoiding any discussion of race at all. Discussion is actually overstating it, because I'm not referring to deep conversations about racial profiling or negative historical connotations associated with nappy hair. I'm talking about simply using the word black.

I've discovered that a surprising number of people get kind of squimy about saying "black" or acknowledging race. I heard a woman at soccer describing Mirabelle: "Over there, um, she's about a year old... uh, dimples, um, little pink jacket..." (and the only black child in sight). Another time, a friend related a situation where her young niece saw a black person for the first time: "Thank goodness she didn't come out and say he was black in front of him!" (Guess what? I bet he already knows he's black!)

Personally, I think it's OK when describing what an individual looks like to say, "She's black." (Or African American. Or Ethiopian. Or Chinese). Being aware of someone's race doesn't make one a racist.

But going back to the title of this post, what do I think is actually wrong with "color blindness"?

First of all, if the idea behind "color blindness" is to demonstrate a liberal, open-minded acceptance of all people regardless of race, but paradoxically, any acknowledgment of race is taboo, it doesn't seem very open-minded. And frankly, pretending not to "see race," however well-intentioned, is plain dishonest. (Unless of course you're actually blind, like Louis Braille or Stevie Wonder. In that case, I fully accept that you don't "see race").

Like everyone else, kids see skin color, just like they notice gender and other physical characteristics. If as parents we respond to kids' questions about race with vague statements like, "We're all one race: the human race," or send the message that noticing skin color is inherently bad by silencing them if they point out a person whose skin looks different from theirs, I worry that we send the message that being a different race is negative.

What makes a person declare "color blindness" or stifle questions from kids about race? I think unfortunately in some cases, there is a belief, maybe subconsciously, that people of other races are inferior. "We're better, but let's not be rude about it." In other instances, I think people aren't accustomed to talking about race, or are so nervous about political correctness that they're afraid to say anything at all.

For people in the first group - well, I have a few choice thoughts that I won't share here. But for people in the second group, I'd say examine the message you're sending your kids, intended or not, if you can't describe a black person as black.

These are just my thoughts. I'm no expert here. I'm learning too.