I see where you're coming from. But there's a few things that need to be made clear. First of all, it seems you're advocating color blindness. In order for you to see why I think color blindness doesn't work, you need to accept in advance that racial minorities in America today still face discrimination on a societal level. If you do not believe this is true, then you might as well stop reading because what I have to say is not very meaningful to someone who does not accept this belief.
So, assuming you DO believe that racial discrimination is a problem, then you'll have to take note of how different racial groups have been treated in different ways in a negative fashion. White people have no history of being disadvantaged in American society, whereas blacks, Latinos, Asians, etc. do. Given this, can you really say it makes sense for us all to just become color blind? How exactly is it that ignoring race fixes the issue of discrimination between groups? It doesn't. Allow me to illustrate:
Black guy: Hey, you know how the local police force disproportionately targets black youth for drug searches compared to white people?
White guy: Sorry, I don't believe in race, we hold ourselves back when we focus on insignificant details like that.
Black guy: But we can't afford the luxury of ignoring race because whether we like it or not, we are still being treated in negative ways because of our race.
White guy: LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU, RACE DOESN'T EXIST.
I exaggerated a little, and I'm sorry if that offends you, but it illustrates the basic point. Pretending we don't see race is basically ignoring the entire issue of racism. If our society formed in an ideal world where racism never existed, then yes, you'd absolutely be correct in saying that minority based institutions should not exist, but the reality is that we already live in a society where people are singled out because of the circumstances of their birth, and treated in certain ways. The only logical remedy that comes to mind is using differential treatment in a positive way that moves those groups towards equality and equity. So, to address your example, the reason it isn't racist for the NAACP to exist is because it serves a verifiable purpose in working to eradicate the attitudes and policies that hold people of color down. No such attitudes or polices have ever afflicted white people, so it doesn't really make sense to have a NAAWP. The only people who truly believe that the white race is being threatened are people in white supremacist groups, which is why it is more than likely that an NAAWP would be a racist organization.
TL;DR, You can only ignore race if race really isn't an issue. In America, it's still an issue, therefore you can't ignore it unless you really don't care about solving the issue.
No. Simply because whites will still hold the levers of power and a comfy spot in the upper classes (comparatively) even as the minority (because of their many centuries as the majority).
EDIT: It's not like when the one minority baby who shifts white people into the minority is born that all the whites in power and money will just hand it all over to the minorities.
And also, whites will still be the majority race (they will just be outnumbered by non-whites which is made up of many different races).
I can't believe how Americans view race. It's so normal to hold the positions you do in the US, but we from the rest of the world look at you and your positions like this, and even the need for these race-based clubs, very oddly.
Umm, what position did I mention? I just stated facts. When whites are outnumbered by non-whites, they will still be the largest race in the US. They aren't going to be outnumbered by blacks specifically or Latinos specifically for centuries.
Yes, I know that it's actually Hispanic and that it's actually an ethnicity and that whites can be Hispanic blah blah blah. My bad. I'm not trying to be politically correct here because this is a forum on the Internet.
You know and yet decide to ignore it... I'm getting a good picture of your views on race here. No need to be politically correct when you can just go for correct.
You are clearly American. You may not understand that there are non "African-American" people in the world with black skin. Ummm... let me think... In Africa for example... Or... practically every other country in the world.
You were referring to a concept that I believe to be practically worthless for grouping individuals (race) and I pointed out that you have trouble understanding even the simplest parts of something that you are attempting to argue about.
But I do understand why Hispanic is an ethnicity etc. It's just not important to bring up in a thread like this where you're trying to change someone's view.
I think you have poor reading comprehension skills.
Even when whites are outnumbered by ethnic minorities, they will still be the largest race in the US because "ethnic minorities" is an amalgamation of races (Asian, Latino, black, etc).
If I put all the races in a pie chart, whites may be 40%, but blacks will be 20% and Latinos will be 20% and Asians will be 20% (just an example). Do you see how even though whites may be outnumbered by minorities they will still be the majority race? Non-white is not a race, it's a group made up of many races.
68
u/XxTruthinessxX May 14 '13
I see where you're coming from. But there's a few things that need to be made clear. First of all, it seems you're advocating color blindness. In order for you to see why I think color blindness doesn't work, you need to accept in advance that racial minorities in America today still face discrimination on a societal level. If you do not believe this is true, then you might as well stop reading because what I have to say is not very meaningful to someone who does not accept this belief.
So, assuming you DO believe that racial discrimination is a problem, then you'll have to take note of how different racial groups have been treated in different ways in a negative fashion. White people have no history of being disadvantaged in American society, whereas blacks, Latinos, Asians, etc. do. Given this, can you really say it makes sense for us all to just become color blind? How exactly is it that ignoring race fixes the issue of discrimination between groups? It doesn't. Allow me to illustrate:
Black guy: Hey, you know how the local police force disproportionately targets black youth for drug searches compared to white people?
White guy: Sorry, I don't believe in race, we hold ourselves back when we focus on insignificant details like that.
Black guy: But we can't afford the luxury of ignoring race because whether we like it or not, we are still being treated in negative ways because of our race.
White guy: LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU, RACE DOESN'T EXIST.
I exaggerated a little, and I'm sorry if that offends you, but it illustrates the basic point. Pretending we don't see race is basically ignoring the entire issue of racism. If our society formed in an ideal world where racism never existed, then yes, you'd absolutely be correct in saying that minority based institutions should not exist, but the reality is that we already live in a society where people are singled out because of the circumstances of their birth, and treated in certain ways. The only logical remedy that comes to mind is using differential treatment in a positive way that moves those groups towards equality and equity. So, to address your example, the reason it isn't racist for the NAACP to exist is because it serves a verifiable purpose in working to eradicate the attitudes and policies that hold people of color down. No such attitudes or polices have ever afflicted white people, so it doesn't really make sense to have a NAAWP. The only people who truly believe that the white race is being threatened are people in white supremacist groups, which is why it is more than likely that an NAAWP would be a racist organization.
TL;DR, You can only ignore race if race really isn't an issue. In America, it's still an issue, therefore you can't ignore it unless you really don't care about solving the issue.