Okamura makes a point in
Barack Obama as the post racial candidate for a post racial America perspectives from Asian America and Hawaii about how color blindness and the idea people have that color blindness helps create equality among groups is completely misled. I agree with this as "not seeing color" is ignoring the systems oppression of certain groups, it is not making things equal for everyone because things are not inherently equal for everyone. Treating everybody equally requires acknowledging the struggles and hardships of other groups and helping them according to how much they struggle versus treating everybody the same even though some need more help to reach the same goal than others. In his article, Okamura quotes Winant, "Yo ,‘‘color-blind’’people!
It is not
[racial] identity, not
difference, that we
should (or could) dispense with, but continuing hierarchy, oppression,
bondage." This for me highlights the idea that we should acknowledge each other's differences so that we can discontinue oppression and hierarchy. Why was it beneficial for Obama to cater to voters who are "color-blind"?
Citations:
Jonathan Y. Okamura (2011) Barack Obama as the post-racial candidate for a post-racial America: perspectives from Asian America and Hawai‘i, Patterns of Prejudice, 45:1-2, 133-153, DOI: 10.1080/0031322X.2011.563159
Adem, M. (2013). Colorblind ideology; a new form of racism. Retrieved at http://sundial.csun.edu/2013/02/colorblind-ideology-a-new-form-of-racism/
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