In a recent interview with Trevor Noah, the infamous Tomi Lahren mentioned that she doesn't see color. Lahren brought up her " color blindness" as a way to defend herself after criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement.
In her comment, she mentioned that she can't be "anti-black" or racist because she doesn't see color. Lahren, and others like her, fail to realize that this elusive "color blindness" only makes it more difficult for us to discuss race and culture in the United States. Instead of having an open dialogue about our racial differences, we hide them away in a closet and pretend they simply don't exist. Race in the United States is a difficult topic, and it is often easier to pretend that we all share the same values and culture. We have to remember that while we all live in the same country, we differ in our individual cultures and identities. When we say "I don't see color" we are erasing that person's culture and identity. See color is not bad, is how we treat color that can be problematic.
Race has been an issue for the United States for quite a while. From the beginning, we have had issues recognizing and respecting people who are racially different from us. From our past with the enslavement of Africans, the Trail of Tears with the Native Americans, internment camps for Japanese Americans during WWII, the Civil Rights movement, and even our perception of Muslim Americans after the September 11th attacks, we have a quite a long history with race in the United States. It is easy to see why people feel uncomfortable speaking about race. No one really wants to admit the faults and flaws of their own country, but we need to acknowledge the faults to move forward. Pretending to be "colorblind" only holds us back from understanding the people sitting across the table.
The most dangerous part of this ideology is the ignorance that it appears to promote. When you don't see color, you don't see language, you don't see tradition, you don't see religion. You are unable to acknowledge and respect any aspect of culture that is different from your own. In order to fix a problem, you have to first see that a problem exists. If you are unwilling to recognize that there is an issue, wouldn't that make you part of the problem?
