Recently, amid the plethora of racial tensions in this country, a lot of people have taken the predictable standpoint of "but what about me?" When the #blacklivesmatter hashtag started trending, people started arguing that it was racist in of itself to discriminate, and instead pushed forward the #alllivesmatter hashtag.
It hasn't escaped my notice that most of these people are white.
Don't get me wrong, I'm also white. I have never been threatened or discriminated against for my race (though my gender and Judaism is another story). That's why I feel perfectly justified in addressing this to the fellow members of my "race".
Being "colorblind" is just another word for not caring.
The entire point of the BLM movement is to bring attention to the fact that black people are being targeted by police officers solely because they are black. They are not saying that white people are not killed by police officers. They are saying that white people are not killed for being something they cannot help being.
In response to this, I've seen a depressing number of articles, including many on this website, saying that "race doesn't matter" and "we should all live together without caring about our differences". And you know what? In an ideal world, that would be great.
It's not an ideal world. People of color are reminded every day of their race, and it's almost always by someone who believes that the color of their skin makes them inferior as human beings. That's why pride is important, to help people express their culture without feeling ashamed, to help those who have internalized racism to feel proud of who they are. White people are privileged (and I know you hate that word, but there it is) in that they are not told every single day that their race is something to hide or be ashamed of. Even if you happen to know someone who does do that, it isn't politicians or the government or the whole of society doing that to you. You can avoid just one person. You can't avoid an entire society of people who believe that they're better than you because of the amount of melanin in their skin.
When you say you're "colorblind", you're saying that you don't care about the plights of those who are suffering because of their race. When you say you're "colorblind", you're parading your privilege as someone who doesn't have to notice their race every single day. When you say you're "colorblind", even if you aren't outwardly oppressing anyone, you are standing by and enabling oppression.
Please don't be a bystander. Don't pretend to be an ally by saying you don't notice skin tone. For one thing it's definitely a lie, and for another you aren't helping anyone by trumpeting how not racist you are. You don't get a medal for not being an asshole.
If you really want to help, listen to people who are suffering. Educate yourself. Attend rallys and protests and use your privilege for the sake of ending it. Use your voice to amplify the voices of those who need to be heard. Don't make this about you, because at the end of the day, you wouldn't want it to be.
