At this time, is it possible to not see a color.

A hot topic I have seen as of late is the notion that individuals do not see a color, but a person. This is used occasionally by some individuals with friends and romantic relationships (IR.) Yet many individuals of color feel offended by the notion that they don't see a color, which usually leads to a confrontation. So in this effort of bridging the gap, I will try my best explain both sides equally so we can get to the root of this issue.

On one side, you have the individuals who claim they do not see a color. The majority of times I have seen this statement made by my Caucasian brothers and sisters so it will be tailored more towards them. Unfortunately, a select few of these individuals make this statement in an attempt to hide their "head in the sand" so to speak. What I am referring to is that a few of those who speak this statement, state this to disregard the white privilege that exist within society. So in essence, by denying their color, they are denying that discrimination can exist. However, I believe this is only a small minority. The majority of those who state they don't see a color is trying to look on the inside of a person, not the outside.

In my opinion, those individuals who attempt to look pass a person's color is remarkably brave, because they are attempting to go against the centuries long social construct of race that plagues the USA and the entire world. This construct has lead to the one drop rule that exist, and the rather ignorant statistic that has plagued the USA such as the IQ of blacks are lower than whites. All of these notions are tied towards the idea of Race and Color. So by looking past that, your only seeing an individual who shares the same characteristics of being a human being. So in my opinion, I find this idea extraordinary and truly respect this idea of thinking.

BUT....

The problem lies in situations that are not within the individuals hands. Even though some people wish to disregard the idea of race, unfortunately, many (and maybe more) do not. An excellent example of this is Barack Obama. As we all know, he is a biracial man. Half black, half white. Yet, he is rarely discussed as biracial but black. When his early debut against Hillary, he was constantly regarded as aiming to be the first black president. This line existed in every article msn (a usually suprisely racial friendly news broadcast) published about Barach Obama for around 4 months. Technically, that statement is incorrect. He would be the first biracial male to be president. But many (especially those with power) seems to equalivate any african features with being black. He even stated when he was younger, he was always associated as being black, not biracial, so he saw himself as such. This problem is quite common within our society today.

(An excellent article dedicated towards this struggle can be found by the race relations magazine Rise Up, which is an excellent and free magazine that comes with numerous newspapers. You can also read their articles online. Here is a link to the article. "Walking a Fine Line"

I for example have 3 grandparents that are Native American, so technically I am mixed. But because I appear mostly of african descent, I will always be labeled as black, even though technically I am not. This does not just exist in the caucasian community though, but in America in general. Many times, I have seen black individuals claim their biracial friends as being black even though their friends did not see it that way. It's a society construct that has shape our minds today.

Another negative that happens when you state you don't see a color is you negate the trials and troubles a Person of Color could go through. PoC go through numerous amount of experience. Some go through very little racism in the US (like myself), while others go through a hefty bit. But by removing their color, you disregard the tribulations he/she might go through due to the fact that they are PoC. So just because you are able to look past a person's skin color, does not mean everybody else has.

So perhaps in the far future, we can be a country where skin color does not matter, where everyone is truly treated equal on all fronts and all of our cultures meshes together to make the American culture. But until the day comes, the struggle for PoC will continue. So it's better to have the best of both worlds. To understand how a person skin color might create a different experience than your own, but not let their skin color get in the way of getting to know them as a person.