Saturday, October 6, 2012

Color Blind Racism in America

In such a politically correct nation like the United States, it is hard to justify if you are being racist whether you mean it or not. Color blind racism is something people do not overlook, even though it is still a type of racism. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva described color blind racism as being "racism lite". What he means is that people have worded a sentence to not sound racist but it still targets certain groups or people. A parent could tell there children to be open to different ethnic groups at school, but may not "approve" of certain "parents/students" due to the color of ones skin or the beliefs one may have. In a video titled "Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls" a black female imitates what a white girl would be saying to a black girl and it may seem racist but there is a bigger picture behind what some may find ignorant. In the video it indicates how whites sometimes use color blind racism to try and connect with  different racial or ethnic groups. The white girl would always say "not to sound racist" to try and cover up a racist statement or fact, thinking that it would eliminate the idea of the statement being racist when in fact it still discriminating to one race/ethnicity.
 There are multiple ways for different people to stand and gain from color blind racism. For instance, if someone is trying to gain public favor for an election, one might use racially neutral tactics to make a racially unequal fact seem equal. Although color blind racism can be used in a way to gain, many people would not admit to using CBR. People may rebuttle and say they are only being "politically correct" or "respectful". No matter how they put it they are still being slightly racist, but in such a diverse country it would be almost impossible not to be considered racist. Color blind racism causes tension since CBR is borderline racism.
A scenario in which a modeling campaign advertises the phrase, "Seek the Exotic" over an African-American woman is obviously showing signs of color blind racism. Labeling the African-America model as "exotic" would infer to most people that the clothing is from a distant country but to some it may be stating that African-Americans are different than what society has labeled as normal, thus creating tension. As I get deeper and deeper into the meaning of racism and all the types of racism there are it becomes very overwhelming. It is almost as if people have taken the meaning of race and ethnicity and used it as leverage points throughout history and has become misinterpreted to this day. As the topics continue to become more challenging, my interest becomes more complex.

Word Count: 462/462

1 comment:

  1. Hi Joseph,
    I didn't see this blog posting last week, but it is timed stamped correctly- weird. I will give you the benefit of the doubt on this one, however, next time if I don't see the blog when I grade them, it won't count.

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