I've discovered ingrained racist beliefs in myself before, and I'm dealing with them (after being slapped upside by people who I'm extremely grateful are still talking to me).
This is a really good point (although I use the language "prejudice" to refer to that kind of language between people of color). I wasn't thinking about ways in which I've held prejudiced and bigoted beliefs about my friends, but oh god yes. As I've become more aware of racism, prejudice and bigotry, I've become more aware of the ugliness that lies inside me. It's difficult to deal with. And I really do thank god I have friends who go "Sparky. Seriously. That was not OK." AND that I make myself listen to them.
But it does hurt when people won't dialogue because "it's not my problem, I'm colourblind" without realising that being "blind to colour" is one way of ignoring that POC struggle - that at one level, it's pretending that the playing field is level, instead of the POC side being sown with stones.
Yes. And it also ignores an important aspect of my self, my family, my life, my experiences, etc. Have you read this essay on color blind racism (http://www.rachelstavern.com/?p=395)? It's AMAZING.
no subject
This is a really good point (although I use the language "prejudice" to refer to that kind of language between people of color). I wasn't thinking about ways in which I've held prejudiced and bigoted beliefs about my friends, but oh god yes. As I've become more aware of racism, prejudice and bigotry, I've become more aware of the ugliness that lies inside me. It's difficult to deal with. And I really do thank god I have friends who go "Sparky. Seriously. That was not OK." AND that I make myself listen to them.
But it does hurt when people won't dialogue because "it's not my problem, I'm colourblind" without realising that being "blind to colour" is one way of ignoring that POC struggle - that at one level, it's pretending that the playing field is level, instead of the POC side being sown with stones.
Yes. And it also ignores an important aspect of my self, my family, my life, my experiences, etc. Have you read this essay on color blind racism (http://www.rachelstavern.com/?p=395)? It's AMAZING.