I never understood the 'colorblind' comment people tend to make. I'd probably be loopy if I didn't notice the color of someone's skin when I meet them, but that doesn't mean I would ever treat them any differently because of it. To me, it's just like noticing someone's hair color or facial features or whether they wear eyeglasses. It's not something that is going to change anything, but I'm pretty sure I always notice it.
I grew up in West Virginia, and so many people in my family (especially the older generations) liked to pull the fast one where they say, "Oh, he's a really nice guy... for a black guy." I always thought that was such a weird thing to say, and completely offensive to the person you just thought you complemented. I asked my grandfather why he didn't just stop the statement at: "He's a really nice guy." My grandfather gave me a weird look like I'd lost my mind. Living where I do and associating with the people I do, sometimes I forget that there is still such racism in my hometown area. When my mother tells me that my great grandmother wouldn't let my cousin's "mixed babies' into the house, it floors me. I can't imagine thinking like that. It's just a whole different world. And my poor mother gets caught in the middle of it because she loves my cousin's babies, but catches shit from her grandmother because she lets them in her house.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 07:16 am (UTC)I grew up in West Virginia, and so many people in my family (especially the older generations) liked to pull the fast one where they say, "Oh, he's a really nice guy... for a black guy." I always thought that was such a weird thing to say, and completely offensive to the person you just thought you complemented. I asked my grandfather why he didn't just stop the statement at: "He's a really nice guy." My grandfather gave me a weird look like I'd lost my mind. Living where I do and associating with the people I do, sometimes I forget that there is still such racism in my hometown area. When my mother tells me that my great grandmother wouldn't let my cousin's "mixed babies' into the house, it floors me. I can't imagine thinking like that. It's just a whole different world. And my poor mother gets caught in the middle of it because she loves my cousin's babies, but catches shit from her grandmother because she lets them in her house.