Mayo Jive

When trying to talk about issues centered around race with white people you’ll often hear them say–more in sorrow than in anger!–that they want to live in a colorblind society. Remember this quote from the “White People of Mizzou?” “That’s just how I was raised by my family, to not see race — except my grandparents; they’re very racist.”  It’s not an uncommon sentiment and it’s usually voiced by people who are privileged in some (or many) ways. But not only is the sentiment stupid on its face,  it’s mayo-jive. I speak mayo-jive. Let me translate it for you. What white folks mean when they say “don’t see race” is “I don’t want to think about race if I have to examine my own actions/attitudes re: race (and possibly find them lacking) for even one second.”

Wanting to be colorblind is dumb. We see color. Our attitudes about race color how we see other people, period. Which is fine. In fact, there’s nothing inherently wrong with noticing that someone has a different skin tone and may navigate the world a little differently than you. What’s wrong is letting preconceived notions about people of color foment racist attitudes. What’s important is knowing that even perfect snowflake liberal you can harbor racist attitudes about people.  What’s important is to recognize that, then challenge yourself to throw those racist attitudes in the garbage.

I’ve probably told this story before but I’m telling it again because it so relevant. When I first began posting on liberal blogs, I was looking for laughs. Well, smart commentary on the issues of the day and some quality snark. And I definitely found it. I also assumed–almost without the fail–that the authors of all that quality snark were straight, white and male. Hey, here’s a fun fact: A LOT OF THEM WEREN’T. But see what I mean? Even a perfect social justice warthog like myself made assumptions about people based on race and gender and sexual orientation.

Sticking your head up your own ass while chanting “I don’t see color! I don’t see color!” won’t make you any less racist. Because while it may be be dark up there , you can still see color. YOU KNOW YOU CAN. And that’s ok.