We all have our blindspots – and by definition it’s nearly impossible to become aware of them without help.
In the video below, Raymond Rodriguez, LCSW-R will get into why it’s important for therapists to work on their own blindspots and racial biases.
Beyond that, he’ll talk about the problem with saying “I don’t see color” and share the approach he uses when a client expresses this line of thinking in a session.
Click here for full transcript
What are your biggest takeaways from the video with Raymond? Please let us know by leaving a comment below.
If you found this helpful, here are a few more resources you might be interested in:
Working with the Trauma of Racism
When Racism Triggers Emotional Reactivity
Moving from Cultural Competence to Antiracism
Furthermore Merriam-Webster.com shows 30+ uses and meanings of “see” as a verb. Which one is being used here?
Thank you – how beautifully put! I agree that we have to be aware that “I don’t see color” is a self-protective segment of white supremacist ideology. It’s not “I treat all people the same I want to be treated” – this is what white people often claim meaning by “I don’t see color”. It rather translates into “I am not affected by the system that my kind of people imposed on you, and I don’t care to understand what the fuss is about.” And this needs to be challenged softly and clearly in therapy, coaching, teaching, working and wherever – day-in and day-out.
This is so beautiful and validating. Thank you Raymond Rodriguez for capturing this so poignantly.
I never realised how invalidating it was to say “I don’t see color.” This was enlightening and thought provoking. Once again we see how insidious racism can be.
As a white woman in my 60’s who was a child in the 1960s when the phrase “I don’t see color” first began to be used it had and still has, for me, a different and better meaning than what I’m seeing expressed here. For us, we realized there was terrible discrimination going on based on people’s skin color. Our elders thought that was bad and were trying to teach us to live the Golden Rule; to treat others as we would want to be treated – with respect. That, while it’s obvious that there are literal differences between us, we don’t see you as anything other than another human being deserving of everything we have. That includes our cultures, our hair, our preferences…Everything. “I don’t see color” was a metaphor for “I don’t see you as less-than anyone else.” Perhaps others aren’t using it that way but many of us are trying to say that you have the same rights and dignity that I in my white privilege have. Please hear that. Please hear the caring attempt to be the kind of white person you can respect. As a member of the white privileged class who’s trying to keep track of the changing preferred terminology of each group, sometimes we lose track and don’t get it right but it’s not for a lack of caring. Thank you for listening.
Joanna, I agree. What you say also needs to be listened to and it should be recognised in context.
In Europe there are many people who are not noticed because they are white but they too are suffering racial abuse and discrimination. There is a lot of anti-“Eastern European” abuse but these people are not noticed because they are white.
I worked for many years in the prison system and it was interesting to see how on the wings guys teamed up with others of their culture but when put in classes with guys of other ethnicities they discovered so much about each other. Respect and understanding developed on the basis of learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories.
Of course there has been suffering but it is not confined to one colour, one race, one country.
But you say, the includes OUR culture, OUR hair, OUR preferences…. individuals of color have THEIR OWN culture, THEIR OWN hair, and THEIR OWN preferences — be accepting and acknowledging of those differences is important and not trying to push the “white cultures, etc” onto everyone is what is happening with this statement of “I don’t see color”. We aren’t all the same, our experiences aren’t the same, our cultures aren’t the same. Acknowledging and accepting those differences rather than brushing them aside is important.
A white client of mine commented somewhat dismissively about a local BLM protest, “I guess I don’t have anything I’m that angry about.” I replied, “That is what white privilege is.” It is the absence of discriminatory experiences. It is what allows people of privilege to “not see color.” People of privilege have the choice to see or not, listen or not; people who are discriminated against do not have that choice.
“I don’t see color” ignores this fact. It shuts down any further listening and understanding; there is no opening for healing through acknowledgement, and consequently no opening for change.
Additionally, “I don’t see color” seems to ignore the beauty of different colors, and cultures, as if implying it would be bad to notice skin of color. How about, “I see color, and I see it is beautiful”?
I am grateful for these conversations because we must be awoken to the difference between intention and impact. I believe that in the past, when certain persons say, “I don’t see color,” the intention was to suggest that all human beings were being recognized equally thus implying non-discrimination. The impact, however, is one that silences, disregards, and is felt as a microaggression.
I understand what Raymond is saying however, I see a persons heart, spirit and soul First so does that mean to say it is still totally wrong for me to say “ I Don’t See Color “?
Yes unfortunately. If we don’t see color we can disregard the inherent burden of it within our pervasive white supremacist structures and assumptions. It is entirely different to say I accept all people of all kinds, though why that would need to be said begs the question. Example: your gynecologist happens to be a black woman. If you don’t acknowledge in yourself that she is probably smarter and a harder worker than the majority of her graduating class you are ignorant of her barriers in life.
Not seeing color is an unintended microinjury parallel to my experience as a totally blind therapist when I’m told about my good fortune, protected from the ugliness of the world. Curiosity and an openness lifts the mists and makes exploring these issues more productive and safer.
Very helpful – clarifying, compassionate communication. Thankyou Raymond and Nicabm.
Thank you. A powerful message especially about the importance of “seeing” color and understanding people’s unique experiences. It reminds me of the responsibility we hold as therapists to examine ourselves closely and I particularly liked the message about doing things in community and holding each other accountable.
I listened to the video this morning and then this afternoon had two friends over for a visit (we spent three years together in a Buddhist retreat thirty years ago). One had just come in from Paris for a week’s vacation in Brittany and had been met at the train station by the other friend. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time. The first (who is from Reunion Island) said there was no way the other could have missed her because she was the only dark-skinned women in the station and the other replied that she ‘didn’t see color’ and that she only saw her friend. Because of the video, I realized that what the first friend was really implying was an implicite request for acknowledgement of her color. Very mind-opening. Thank you.
Very helpful. Thank you.
I liked the way he used open ended questions to encourage conversation about racial bias.
This is a really interesting subject and reminds me of something that happened to me decades ago. I was brought up in a very open family where people were just people. My parents were educated and at that time we lived in a small town where there were a lot of different races of people including indigenous. My father had been posted there for work for a number of years. I had friends everywhere – my friends were just my friends. I remember this one incident so clearly – It was my 10th birthday and my mother had organised a birthday party. A couple of the other mothers came over for a cup of tea and to help my mother. We were all playing joyously and noisily outside and eating too much when I came inside to get something – I had my best friend with me. This woman looked at me and said – ‘and what would your little dark friend like?’ I didn’t understand what she was saying at first – as I had never thought of my friend as being ‘dark’ and I didn’t really understand the question. Everything seemed to go really quiet and for some reason everything seemed to slow down – I looked at my mother. I could see she was really upset and angry – she stepped in and said to the lady between tight lips and in an overly polite tone – ‘why don’t you ask her?’
I turned and looked at my friend for the first time – really looked at her – and realised that she had very dark skin. I mean I knew I suppose but it had never occurred to me that it mattered so I didn’t sort of notice it. I know that sounds crazy but it was like someone had blonde hair or black hair – it just was. I believe I didn’t recognise this colour difference as a child consciously. But after that day I was different and I began to notice everyone’s skin colour. This one small incident changed me. Skin colour does not define my relationships with others but still – this small incident changed me deeply – I am not sure how or why – I guess it blew my innocence away. When I heard Raymond speaking about how offensive saying you don’t see colour is – I am wondering how such innocence in a child could be offensive and if I had grown up without that incident – would I have been different inside? Any future events would have been layered over the top of some life experience rather than burning the first layer of innocence away in such a harsh way.
The innocence of children is beautiful and there is nothing wrong with not seeing differences in people. But if you had kept that innocence, would you have any clue that your suffered from the racist attitudes of others? I am sure she was aware of being different long before you were aware of it.
That being said, I wonder if parents who celebrate and educate about different cultures, as well as racism, could cut down on some of that shock that children experience when they realize their friends of color are treated differently. I remember undergoing similar shifts at several points in my childhood. I don’t know, but it seems important for parents to be open and honest about this sort of stuff.
I think that it can be an opportunity to strength challenge – you don’t want there to be any racism, while then acknowledging that we all have implicit biases – as demonstrated in the word perception research, and then gently talking about the impact that these biases can have on people, denying us all the opportunity to fully experience diversity and see the totality of others.
Really interesting. My skin is white and this video reached me. As I was watching and listening it occurred to me that to not see colour is actually like saying “I don’t see gender”. BOOSH! That hit me. We need to be seen don’t we? Our colour, our gender our specific experience in life…
Thank you. I am updated.
Succinctly put. “I don’t see color” or “I see everyone the same way” is denying that implicit bias exists , and that’s within reach one of us. Although historically black and brown people have experienced trauma, and as Rev. Rodriguez stated, still experience the trauma of rasicm, disenfranchisement and injustice, we should also address the implicit bias between black and brown (Latino, Asian, African, etc.) people born out of complicity, and the egoistic need to feel superior ‘at least’ to a darker or poorer people. I see racist attitudes all day long within people of all color and shades, and that is not just ignorant, it is saddening. This is a human affliction.
I concur- confronting our own biases in a safe space is a compassionate way of healing ourselves and others.
Thank you for your thoughts, Rev Rodriguez.
I agree with you on implicit bias that exists between not just White and Black, but also between IBPOC, too.
Please quit looking for problems from everyone in America where none exist.
The majority of people in this country are not racist.
The word racist is attached to anything that someone disagrees
with. You can say people are bigoted sure because everyone has their bias’s but to say everyone is racist is just plain ignorant so please just STOP it.
This has been a public service message from the American people.
It’s clear that you’re distressed by what Mr. Rodriquez has put forth here. Have you reflected deeply on WHY you’re so distressed? So distressed that you felt the need to invoke the rest of America to stand by your side in protest? Is it because you feel that the definition of a racist is someone who is mean/hateful/bad, and that is NOT YOU (or those that you know and/or see)? I can understand that. I used to think that, too. But now I have a broader understanding of what racism actually is, and I know that I AM racist (even though I don’t like it!) Racism is not just about individual overt acts of hate (which are indeed heinous, and fortunately are less common) but is a SYSTEM that privileges and empowers whiteness, at the expense of those not considered white (which has actually changed over the years!) We are ALL a part of racism in this country, whether we like it or not. But the more we understand this, the more we can actually make things better for every one of us. I invite you to read Peggy McIntosh’s article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” and/or Ta-Nehisi Coate’s article “The Case for Reparations”. I think they might create some helpful context about what Mr. Rodriquez is speaking to. Good luck in your journey!
Altho your comments are not directed towards me, I’d like to suggest, if you haven’t already, read some of the works by Shelby Steele and Bob Woodson.
Cite.
i’m not sure why you assume that is not being talked about. i hear it all the time by people who believe in God.
Nobody could ever know anyone else’s experience and it would be detrimental to be dismissive or to prematurely say that they do without attentively listening and understanding emphatically. Attentive listening and not filtered listening.
I thought at first this was about colour blindness, quickly realising it is about racism. I am an anglosaxon woman, who I suppose would be called white. There isn’t one white cell on my skin surface, why do I have to be called white? I am coloured too, can’t anyone see that?
i agree. white is also a color and it may be that you think you should be called another color.
Excellent and insightful approach.
“I don’t see colour” is not necessarily a micro-aggressive attitude. It could mean that a very loving, and open-hearted person actually does treat everyone with the same kindness and respect irrespective of race. But trauma can run transgenerationally. So for black people or people of colour, just seeing white people all around can be a traumatic experience. They may feel prejudice, bias and white supremacy coming from all the white people and the white-based institutions all around them even if there may, in fact, be none, or none intended. And there can be plenty. So “I don’t see colour” is not what they need to hear, even if it is true, and based in a genuine respect and love for all. Because that statement is about the person speaking, not about the experience of the person feeling the prejudice, the bias, the racial intolerance. Even if it is true that, in the best possible way, I as a white man “don’t see colour”, I need to open my heart and mind and learn to feel and understand what it is like for those people who do see and feel their colour, their racial type on a daily basis even though they don’t want to, because that is the legacy of trauma they have inherited. They may well see me as a white supremacist even though I am not. But I cannot blame them for that. I stand in the place of those before me who were. It is my responsibility to do what I can to make it better.
Some very valid points. Personally, I would not “stand in the place of those before me who were”. I am only responsible for MY thoughts and beliefs.
To me, it just sounds really strange when people say, “i don’t see color” because i assume, unless you are color blind, that you see my skin color. i do appreciate what the person is trying to express (they don’t judge people based on the color of their skin). but it does always strike me as a strange way of expressing this sentiment. i suppose to me it sounds the same as if someone said to me, “i don’t see that you are a woman.” i would think it rather odd. i don’t know that i want people to not be able to see that i am a woman. i want them to respect me and see me as a full human even as they see me that i am a woman. But, again, i don’t make a stink out of it when people say it because i am aware that they mean well.
Thank you Bill for your comments. This has made me think that maybe it is not my experience but the experience of others that should be considered.
I would love to see a larger piece for how best to work with irate, inflammatory/biased comments that are at times racist, political or paranoid (in the context of treating clients with PTSD)-some of my clients have made these comments in passing, feeling vicitmized by a nameless authority ‘the government, the people, immigrants, refugees, the military, minority groups, the ‘other’.
I disagree with what he says here, that “I don’t see color is from white supremacy” – I think when we don’t see color, we see everyone as a person of value and don’t divide people into groups.
Thank you for this video and for the discussion. This is a complex issue and depending on one’s place in society (white, Black, POC) color is experienced so differently, as well as the many varieties of experience within any single race category. I do not know how anyone really experiences color or race, except myself. To me, to claim sameness of perspective would be to deny to each person their own individuality. I think a person making that statement could be experiencing a variety of beliefs, feelings, etc. I offer my comment realizing I am seeing from my own limited view. For understanding to happen, we each can speak from our limited view and attempt to listen or hear one another in order to gain understanding, to grow in awareness.
What I might say to a client who spoke that way would be to offer them validation for what I hear as their intention to love a person based on personal merit, and then to suggest that the perspective from someone experiencing racism on a daily basis could be quite different. I might ask them to consider how hearing from a white person, “I don’t see color” may possibly seem as a denial of that person’s reality. etc. I would invite that person to look at society as much as possible, from the perspective of “the other” in order to gain a deeper awareness. Pointing out also that any dominant culture sees from its point, and that dominant culture people are not required to learn to see from any other culture. And how for a person who lives within but not from the dominant culture, they need to learn the rules of dominant culture, as well as understanding their own. I might make for them the analogy of how men and woman experience reality differently, within the dominant culture. I would validate their intention not to be prejudiced inside themselves…and try to offer in contrast society’s not sharing in their personal view. I would offer a view of systemic racism, and the lived experience for persons of color.
For a white person to say they don’t see color, can make sense, because they have not had to experience their own color in a negative way. And so when a white person is the kind of person who truly does love their brothers and sisters, of any color, they see with a different part of their being, their soul or heart. That vantage point allows each of us to experience the light in the other, first! I can totally relate to this. As a member of the Baha’i Faith and being in Baha’i community (which is incredibly diverse in some parts of the country) I have had the experience of love coming toward me from all races, and have basked in the experience of unity; of the oneness of mankind.
In that state one transcends the physical reality…and for dominant culture, I think it accurate to assert that we are not aware of race. However, even in this loving environment, I believe that people not from the dominant culture STILL are keenly aware of color and race. I did not recognize this before.
Our world has made for a Person of Color, race as the number one and most important aspect about them. I believe that the “oneness of mankind” is a spiritual reality. I believe recognition of this truth is what will ultimately provide healing for all of us. If we all could embrace that, and see with the eyes of appreciation for the diversity of the human family, as a garden of beautiful flowers and plants, what a liberating, loving experience for all. Still, even if we all instantly recognized that as truth, we would have so much healing and repairing to do. As a white person it is true that I do not connect to the world through the color lens. HOWEVER, I have come to realize that for POC it is through that lens that they MUST experience the world…life and safety requires this! The day to day experience for any Person of Color, of work, education, shopping, driving, etc. etc. etc. demands awareness of one’s own and the other’s race in order to know what may be required at any moment for survival.
Now it is time for white people to put themselves, not in their own possibly evolved mind or heart, but into the all to real experience of Black persons in an unjust and dangerous society who experience systemic racism on a moment to moment basis. This requires a white person to stop defending themselves. For a POC it would be reckless and unwise to forget about color, because it could cost them their very life!
This is incredibly humbling for white people who feel they love mankind. Yet ALL OF US have seen the injustice daily on the news for…forever! And if we really do love all with the heart that sees the spirit, then we need to get out there and dismantle this thick and tangled web of injustice we have been going along with…possibly because of not seeing it, (because the dominant culture is the most blind to the whole); or possibly because we too felt powerless in the face of racist institutions. None of us can risk being powerless anymore. Waiting for change to happen will not create it. Wishing for justice will not create it. The path to justice; to unity; to positive change, will not be easy; is multi-layered and incredibly complex! I am white. Much of what I love and cherish about this Country has been the contribution of African American people and African American culture, and, yes, African American work, both paid and unpaid (slavery fueled American economic success).
Life is calling white people to step up with our voices and our actions. Life is calling white people to step up and become accountable. Life is calling for white people to step up and speak out, and step back from receiving most, if not all, of the benefits.
Personally I believe it is also time for white people to bow down and apologize…for our ancestors, and for allowing injustice to continue, even if we believe we did not originally create it. No one benefits from the injustice of racism ultimately…racism deprives everyone of life, humanity, peace and liberty…of our God given human dignity.
Thanks Professor for your teachings and your kindness
Ok, so many perspectives and such widely diverse opinions. That only serves to reinforce for me that what Raymond Rodriguez is saying is spot on. We are wise to give our clients explicit permission to discuss their racial/ethnic backgrounds with us and to invite them to share what meaning it has for them in both their day to day lives and within the context of our client/therapist relationship. Issues of power are inherent in the client/therapist relationship, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, and to put it out there allows the client to own (and if interested) to explore their feelings about it within the relative safety of the client/therapist confidential dialogue. To ignore and be blind to our differences is to give our clients the unspoken message that it may not not be “safe” to explore what their experience of their blackness or brownness is. After all, it’s not about how we feel, it’s all about how our clients feel. If you believe you don’t see race or color, don’t assume your clients don’t. It could be the most salient issue in the room and it will only take on increasing toxicity if It goes unsaid or the conversation is stifled by the therapist’s limitations.
To the folks in the comments on here with such strong resistance to this video, and this idea specifically, please read “White Fragility” as soon as possible as a way to begin inspecting your defenses and causing any further harm in your work. Your own discomfort with this is the very first sign that you yourself have yet to do an inventory of your beliefs on race.
Well put. Thank you!
Connie,
Thank you for saying what the majority of Americans are feeling on this issue but are afraid or perhaps shamed into not speaking up. If you happen to pose an opposing opinion you are ostracized to great extends for doing so. So it can be understandable for some to the degree they may even lose their livelihood.
I mention similar thoughts without going into great detail above.
God bless you and your family.
Wow, lots of anger in many of these comments. While it is true that throughout history many different people have been persecuted and have suffered, this is not about comparative suffering, but about trying to eliminate the persecution. We cannot change anything if we are not willing to openly talk about what is occurring now, and how it is linked to the past. When Raymond Rodriguez says the he “cringes” at the “I don’t see color” comment, I see it as him stating how he feels and not as a way of blaming the person who makes that statement. He seems to be a compassionate person who is sharing how he perceives the world. I do not think that he is in any way implying that a person who says “I don’t see color” is a terrible person.
As a Black Woman, I would like to respond by saying color is what we see first, if we don’t, we are struggling with our own biases. I remembered once I was speaking with a parent in my office and her child probably 4 or 5 years old, ran her fingers over the back of my hand, hoping I would not noticed; she then checked her fingers to see if her fingers were dirty; she did that twice her, her mom noticed what was happening and apologized profusely for her child’s behavior saying she did not taught her to do what she did. I explained to the mother, it was OK she is a child and was curious and it was our job to educate her about the different people and skin color. I explained to the child not to get upset, I understand, I used the opportunity to explain to her that I wasn’t dirty and we did a test run with Kleenex on both of our arms. She left my office smiling and gave me a hug. People its about ignorance; start with your children, they are not born racist, they were taught somehow that white color is the norm; supremacist thinking.
So how do we address the racial biases and the blindspots we see in therapy. (1) Take a personal inventory) (2) take responsibility and be honest with yourself (3) Do not pretend in others cannot see though your biases. (4) Say no, if you are uncomfortable. (5) Never underestimate the depth of racial, pain, systemic discrimination and trauma are real and prevalent in our society.
Agreed! We are visual beings. Yes, I see blackness, whiteness, attractiveness, tallness, shortness, thinness, physical fitness, etc. Ofcourse! However, I do not then make the conclusion that the other individual is worth more, more valued, etc. purely based on the physical traits. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” I have come across many many individuals that wear ragged worn out clothing only to find out once I hear their story, once I actually get to know them…that they have millions of dollars in the bank. We need to actually hear peoples stories…know their lives, their actions, their morals, their kindness or unkindness…It’s not helpful to force us to believe that bc we automatically see “color” we make instant judgements of others worth, value..do you?
We do make choices every minute when we see individuals. Our minds are geared to making cognitive choices based on our experience and the experience of others, even TV. We see people as threats or allies, we see thin people as more desirable, we see younger people as more productive workers, we judge by gender whether they are attractive, useful, a threat, like that. And we do see color and have our own cognitive associations. These processes are often not conscious, as the mind was designed to make quick, subconscious judgments so that when we see a tiger we will run, or when we see a rabbit, we will hunt without fear. So, of course, humans do make automatic decisions of worth or value. In fact, you said that some individuals wear ragged worn-out clothing, and after hearing their stories they had millions of dollars in the bank…as if that makes them ok after all. But you didn’t hear your implicit bias in that statement. I have thought about this for many years, so please don’t feel that I am judging you. I want you to think about where your biases do exist and bring them to light. I can tell you, it is a long never-ending process!
I think it was Jung who said we need to make the subconscious, conscious, or we are doomed to act out of our subconscious. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I hope you also appreciate that I too am sharing your thoughts. This is the way we learn.
I appreciate this video. It is a difficult journey. I am tempted to hit the Facebook app and share it publicly. However, just looking at the varied responses here by professional people, makes me aware that this is an extremely difficult issue. So, I wonder how many people who don’t have enough background on these issues would respond appropriately. That I am even thinking this way, bothers me. For now, I will share with specific groups and friends that I think can hear this excellent presentation on this difficult issue.
I am reminded here to consider “historic trauma,” which, as an anglo white woman in the USA, does not include persecution.
Having these conversations with clients is difficult, as people often are not interested in changing their perspectives. Good to plant seeds of thought anyway.
Respectfully, do you recall our history & persecution to win our right to vote??? Need I remind you that not too long ago women were considered property, forcibly institutionalized, raped, our children taken from us & under the control of their fathers…then their husbands. I’d think this goes under the category of persecution.
Thanks for your reply, because I put on the mental brake with the words “does not include persecution.” White women and children are continuing to be raped and kidnapped for sex-trafficking. Women continue to be paid less than men in comparable jobs. It goes on and on……
I’ve learned that people are people and that there can be and are prejudices across the board.
Agreed!!
Please people – identify politics & this agenda to force people to admit they are racist, & if you don’t admit it then you will be cancelled….or worse…is dividing our country. We all have our own sufferings, we all have our own story…need I remind you of Jews, Asians, The Irish, the whites in Appalacia etc…In the words of judge people by their merits NOT BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN. We are more alike than different.
Amen.
Thank you, Latonya, for being one of the few people to be brave enough to name this for what it is.
My in-laws were escapees from communist China, forced to leave everything behind to escape (even my MILs wedding rings), including their parents who they believe were tortured and became ill and died soon after. They had intended to bring them out with them, but shortly after they fled that became impossible. What we are seeing today, demanding everyone talk about colour and publicly take a knee, are good old fashioned ‘struggle sessions’. For anyone unfamiliar, I’d suggest looking that up. While you’re at it, look up “the four olds” (the motto given to the Red Guards of the communist revolution) and you’ll instantly recognize what is going on now.
My husband and I “don’t see colour” and thus are happy in our ‘mixed race’ marriage. Of note: we don’t see ourselves as being in a mixed-race marriage. It seems to be only those espousing new-age ‘progressive values’, or those who are outright racists, who see us that way. I’m starting to wonder to what extent those two groups are one and the same.
Love your response Jan!
Thank you Jan! Absolutely! No group has a monopoly of persecution, extreme ordeals of plight – you family’s story being one of them!
As a black female I have never felt there were any obstacles in my path that were/are directly connected to my race. As my mom used to tell me growing up, “You are no better than anyone else, & no one is any better that you.”
Jan – I do appreciate you citing the struggle sessions and the four olds. I’ve looked them up as I was not familiar with them. VERY TELLING, thank you.
Congratulations from Australia! The responses to Jan’s words, & her initial words, were the most balance I’ve read so far. I think many in our population feel confused about whether or not to use the words that denote “colour” thinking that they’re disrespectful. My personal opinion is that whatever colour, creed or race anyone is, they should be proud of it. Once people can feel internal pride for their heritage, the door is more open to reconciliation from all. Learning & communication is key.
Not seeing color doesn’t minimise the trauma of a ‘colored person.’ We all dont live in USA where there is a division or we all dont live in South America etc some of us grow up multicultural with many races and we take people as people on face value. When my best friend had a hair cut she was annoyed I didn’t notice. By the way im her female friend not her husband. I said ” you look like Helen to me” that’s why I didn’t notice. So when people say they don’t see color they mean it and it’s positive they don’t. But I can’t speak for others only myself. Some might use it loosely and minimise but I don’t even say this term and you all invented one too. It is that some people like me do not notice if someone is black or white as their values take a human being for a human being and their values are we are all equal thus they don’t notice whrn thry look st a person or interact and it’s not minimising trauma thays got nothing to do with treating every one as equal. If they bring up a trauma on conversation I wouldn’t minimise thrm but it’s not minimising and it’s too general to accuse peoole of doing so of they are trying to say thry do not discriminate as thats whst they mean. In Australia in Melbourne we lead the way on multiculturalism and I can’t tell you the amount of times a tanned looking person from another country grabbed their skin to tell me they are black when I didn’t notice and their blood is red like mime…no kidding but what is apparent when they speak that way is that the country they come from has alot of discrimination and that’s what I’m suddenly aware of but here Melbourne I nor my friends make an issue out of anyone’s race as we all grew up with every nationality and we mingle if our parents who notice like it or not as we grew up mixed and it’s all normal to us. Thays sociology and thays why peoole should mingle and it’s also why the black and white issues should dissipate when people mingle more and come to accept each other as the sake aa just people. Usually that comes easier when the past debate and when systemic racism like disabilty discrimination stops and people don’t have set ideas negatively about another person. I’m dusabeled and imagine how much im.discriminayed against even by police lile that man sho was killed even here on Australia. As there are always minorities and akways stigmas and the movies should not encourage it by belittling a black person or by belittling a person in a wheelchair e.g. a bad charter shoild not always be black or German etc or Muslim and a nerd should not be depicted as disabeled etc. As I am the sake person standing as I am in a wheelchair and as I decline and loose function in still the same person inside and I require patience and time but I’m not suddenly dumb etc…I met a man sho said he was black and it told me how badly the racist division is in the USA. The Malaysians eant to look white etc…imitation of life is a good movie and it’s sad and we should support Megan and Harry aa they are alome in the royal family trying to change racism and it’s hard as the stigma and the discrimination is silent but very damaging and hurtful. I hear yoir pain and I’ve my own bit im trying to say i take people as human beings as my morality was never to discriminate. In Australia people say the aboriginals are this and thst but I’ve ne we known any in Melbourne but I doubt such stigmas are true and if true its got systemic abuse behind it and it’s complicated. There’s o such thing as a particular race being good or bad or a disabled person being dumb or incompetent or less attractive but I get thst and I get the abuse from police etc as im the easy target when thry cant arrest a criminal or have patience that I can’t communicate as clearly so I want it to stop. And I don’t feel happy when a lady stops my male carer to say he us a good man for pushing me in my wheelchair as im not less of a person and it isn’t thst he is good just bevause of that and he could be abusing me but he might not be yet it is belittling to me that someone does it as it shoild be they don’t see my wheelchair too and it shoild be thay any friend eould not mind pushing me in it as of its the end of the world thry do so and it deserves applause if the do. It all annoys me. I don’t belittle the issue a of the racism and how it’s still early days but the best way yo get rid if it is that people mingle from all walks of life all abilities all health problems all generations all cultures as we are a community and we should be one and look after each other. It’s true if we treat vulnerable people which includes a minority group badly it shows we are not working wwll aa a community.
I think you are missing the point, but I validate everything you opine here. In the US, we have hidden four hundred years of history, which has taken on and developed a “ culture” all of its own creating many unfair differences. POC need to be heard now and will most likely need apologizies and reparations first to heal. Just saying my opinion. I am sorry you are annoyed and wish you well.
This is an important conversation to have as we address racism in this time acknowledging the painful disparity that exists telling us we can do something about it.
Thank you for this video. Even though I am a mixed blood my skin is white. So I have the experience of being a person of color on the inside while looking like something different. Raymond brings up It’s statement I’ve heard often from friends and clients and it has disturbed me but I didn’t know how to address the disturbance. It begs for me to also look at my blind spots. Thank you
Thankyou – useful to challenge myself. We assume that the only racists are nasty people, but we are racist when we ignore the impact that colour and race have had on the lives of others –
We all have differences that affect the trajectory of our lives, obstacles to overcome…whether it’s attractiveness, short stature, poverty, traumatic childhoods.. mentally ill parents, single mother raising children, etc. ALL these things impact our lives. It makes no sense to me for divisiveness to be promoted …I found this video to be simplistic & offensive. How dare the presenter assume I’m a racist bc I”m white…This entire of idea of white priveledge is in itself racist…So bc I was born white that means I”m supposed to believe that I have privilege over someone that was born black??? Wow…I promise you the Obamas, as they enjoy living in the bazillion dollar home on the Cape have a lot more privilege over me as I live in my 1 bedroom apartment & live check to check.
First, I hate the use of the ridiculously binary terms “white” and “black”, with the addition of “coloured” apparently meaning everything-in-between — or including “black”? When black is not a colour (and nor is white). It’s time everyone had lessons in portrait painting, to experience the reality that we are ALL “coloured”.
On first seeing Raymond Rodriguez and knowing what he was going to speak about, involuntarily I classified him as “Spanish-looking” — comfortably within my own European family of races. Then was very surprised that he talked about himself as “coloured”: except that this fitted with his experience of race as being intensely painful — my god, are “whites” so discriminatory that only Anglo-Saxon looks are acceptable? I should have learnt more from Brexit about racism and xenophobia.
I recall with shame the time I said to a “white” woman, who cleaned the stairs in a block of flats where I live, that I was “colour blind” — because it was easier than telling her she was racist. She was saying crazy things (apparently with resentment) about a flat owner upstairs, a Caribbean woman, such as that all “black” people were the same with money… (Mean? extravagant? I don’t remember). I was horrified but didn’t know how to confront her: though I badly wanted to ask how she had she had acquired this prejuduce, eg from her parents? how could she seriously find it possible to infer behaviour about money from skin colour? And did that mean all “white” people were the same about money? (which would be just as ridiculous).
But I understand how insulting and invalidating it must be to a “person of colour” to be told by someone else they are “colour blind” — denying a central and too often painful aspect of that person’s existence. We need to learn how to talk about race — as a social construct, way beyond skin colour; and about all the ways we acquire or are taught prejudice, or over-generalise from limited experiences. Above all we need to listen to people like Raymond Rodriguez whose own experience can be unexpectedly shocking.
I agree – ‘I don’t see color’ is a denial of racial bias. But I don’t know what the remedy is. How can a Native or Black person overcome societal biases?
How can they feel empowered? I wish Dr. Rodriguez would have provided some resources, references for books etc.
Thank you,
Billur Ugursal
Indeed, teaching our children that every person has value is truly something to aspire too. But that doesn’t stop me having white privilege, which I don’t see as a slur, but a fact that is best accepted, and worked with. Being aware of how colour of skin has impacted on the life experience and choices of people, is part of unpicking the deeper roots of systemic racism that can influence the availability of education, housing, employment, justice, and sometimes just being able to breathe. I don’t live in America, but my country too has an imbalance of opportunity, and a history of suppression of its indigenous people. This also is true of migrants who aren’t white. As I, and I believe most of the people posting on this site work in ‘people based’ professions, we will surely work best if we develop curiosity about the experiences of others who have different coloured skin, and how my whiteness grants me an acceptance and safety that many people with darker skin cannot take for granted. Becoming curious about our aversion to accept that there are varying degrees of privilege white skinned people are given, or take, in most cultures is probably the first step on this journey.
respectful curiosity is helpful