I appreciate the humor and interest in University history exhibited in Philip Ossie Bladine’s column (“Screw Donald, bring back Mallard” ODE May 3, 2007), but I must comment on a single line in his commentary. Bladine stated that, “I, like Stephen Colbert, do not see color.” This comment is clearly made in sarcastic jest, but it does introduce an important issue.
The belief that multicultural and racial awareness implies that one is color blind is prevalent and ridiculous. I am astonished at how frequently this phrase is used in daily life as well as in the media. If one truly believes to be color blind, he or she has not been in a situation where race and color were of personal significance. Given the relative lack of racial diversity in Oregon, a state that has a dark history of racial exclusion, many white Oregonians feel comfortable and justified in claiming color blindness. “If I am not personally affected by race, I can ignore or allege to transcend the issue.”
While in no way can I consider myself as culturally experienced as I need and would like to be, after living a year in Southside Chicago and rural southern Mexico, I must admit that I am anything but color blind. When I walked onto a bus as the only white person in Washington Park in south Chicago, I noticed. When my girl friends were whistled at while walking through the rural sections of Oaxaca, Mexico, they noticed. My intent is not to compare my experiences as a situational minority to the experiences of this country’s minorities, but to merely suggest that color blindness is a falsehood; color blindness connotes a lack of culturally diverse experience.
That being said, I hope this letter will facilitate in bringing racial awareness issues to the forefront on this campus. I understand and appreciate the intentions of those who claim to be color blind, but instead, let us seek racially diverse experiences and develop a color/racial consciousness. Although cliché, there is great value in recognizing and appreciating each other’s cultural differences, and as a society, we have yet to see the light at the end of this tunnel.
Read McFaddin
Graduate student
‘I do not see color’ ignores the real-world reality
Daily Emerald
May 9, 2007
0
More to Discover