Black people and white people are different

[The Straight Story]

The latest This Week in Blackness is titled “Black People and White People Are Different.” It’s based on the popular style of jokes that permeated the ’90s in comedy clubs across the country. You’ve probably heard some form of joke like, “White people talk like this, black people talk like that.” The interesting thing about the video title is that some people will become enraged and yell, “Ugh, you’re highlighting and promoting differences between races and this will do nothing more than to continue to heighten the tensions that already exist!” Others will respond with an emotionally flat, “Duh.” A weird byproduct of the post-racialization of America is the desire that some have to stomp out anything that sticks out as “other” between the races. When one points out differences in treatment or experiences (like I do, regularly) they’re immediately attacked and called a bigot or racist (like, well, here on this site, for example).

As people try to erase the differences between different races they end up saying really silly things. A great example of this is the “I don’t see color” meme. The point of this inane statement is to say that when they look at a person they see the content of their character not the color of their skin.

....

The “I don’t see color” line is one of the most insulting and ridiculous things I hear from the mouths of both liberals and conservatives. You can’t see my “content” unless Google came out with yet another product that I’m not aware of (Content of Character Instant™). Personally, I want you to see my color. I’m black. In modern day America my “color” has shaped my experiences for better or worse. Most people of color don’t need you to look past said color and differences; we need you to not judge us based on those things.

The title “Black People and White People Are Different” might be misunderstood by some. They take it as “Blacks and whites are different and everyone else is the same” and that’s not what’s meant by it. Someone could write the headline “straight people and gay people are different” or “scientists and entertainers are different” and it would be equally as true. Our experiences create our perspectives and we live our lives based on our perspectives. The key is simply acknowledging that, as opposed to trying to say we’re the same. Two people in what some would call the exact same situation can have very different experiences based on their race, gender, sexuality or cultural background.

http://www.salon.com/2010/09/16/this_week_blackness_white_people/

[M0rpheus]

1. This!!! Damnit! THIS!!!

The “I don’t see color” line is one of the most insulting and ridiculous things I hear from the mouths of both liberals and conservatives. You can’t see my “content” unless Google came out with yet another product that I’m not aware of (Content of Character Instant™). Personally, I want you to see my color. I’m black. In modern day America my “color” has shaped my experiences for better or worse. Most people of color don’t need you to look past said color and differences; we need you to not judge us based on those things.

I wanted to post something exactly like this on one of these threads. *goes off to read the rest of the article*

[FarCenter]

2. I thought that "I don't see color" was a Stephen Colbert satirical line?

[M0rpheus]

3. I can assure you, it is not.

just a Colbert satirical line.

I do understand the intent of the saying, but it doesn't help in the least when race/color/racism is the issue.

[Number23]

4. I have heard so many self-congratulating white people toss that line at me

and EVERY SINGLE TIME I deflate it. I tell them the same thing the author says, that my color is a huge part of who I am. That being black has shaped so many of my experiences and my life. So when you chirp "I don't see color," you are basically saying "I don't see a huge part of who you are as a person."

Just like the author said, I WANT you to see my color. See it and me as a whole. But don't judge me or feel like you know me because of it.

[Solly Mack]

5. +1

[pampango]

6. Great article. That same "difference" applies to any birth trait - gender, race, nationality, etc.

The title “Black People and White People Are Different” might be misunderstood by some. They take it as “Blacks and whites are different and everyone else is the same” and that’s not what’s meant by it. Someone could write the headline “straight people and gay people are different” or “scientists and entertainers are different” and it would be equally as true. Our experiences create our perspectives and we live our lives based on our perspectives. The key is simply acknowledging that, as opposed to trying to say we’re the same. Two people in what some would call the exact same situation can have very different experiences based on their race, gender, sexuality or cultural background.

The point is not to deny the "difference" but to affirm the essential equality of all races, genders, nationalities, sexual orientations, etc. I learned teaching in an urban school district that you do not have to treat all students "the same" since they all come from "different places" (with "very different experiences based on their race, gender, sexuality or cultural background&quot . You do need to treat them all fairly and equitably.

[Skidmore]

7. People need to extend the same

respect to others the demand for themselves and learn to empathize. Tribalism needs to be retired as the system by which we order the peoples of our nation.

[Le Taz Hot]

8. ALL people are different.

It's what makes up the glorious variety we call the human race. Personally, I gravitate toward the quirky but that's probably from hangin' with musicians most of my life.

We can celebrate the differences and we can celebrate the commonalities simultaneously.

[ancianita]

9. "Seeing for difference" is paying attention with implied judgment. "Living with difference"

is the effort of democracy. Living with difference means shifting judgment away from the "difference = deficit" presumptions of a privileged or protected class. That right there is the problem for the "seeing for difference" crowd.

"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race" should be mandatory reading for white people -- who have the capacity to read and think -- or any book by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D. Her explanations about black people are fact-based, study-based and helpful.

[marshall]

10. We went through the same cycle about men and women

I remember in the 80s, when I was first introduced to feminism, the focus was on how differences between men and women are socially constructed, and even many of the apparent physiological differences were a result of generations of culturally influenced choices in procreation.

Fast forward to today, and we seem to view gender differences in a much different light.

[OneGrassRoot]

11. YES. K&R n/t

[cali]

12. We all have more in common than that which separates us, though

that which separates us can seem vast indeed.

I try to remember the first part of that while not ignoring the second.

[Enrique]

13. they are different or they seem different?

I don't think racial stereotyping is necessarily racist, and I love humor based on stereotypes. But when it comes to accepting them as true, that's where I might disagree with this article, depending on whether I understand him completely. I think if someone has some idea in their head about how black people and white people are different, they should always ask themselves is that really true or is that just what it looks like to me? Very different things. I think a lot of people get tired of challenging those stereotypes and just want to go with them.

[felix_numinous]

14. K&R!

[MrScorpio]

15. This whole "colorblindness" thing... It's just simple blindness

I mean, who says that shit?