Are you telling me that you'd rather I include race in my decisionmaking process? Examples of places where I don't consider it now include whom to hire or promote, whether to be concerned when seeing two people walking down the street toward me, or who should receive honors I distribute at my synagogue. Am I wrong for not using race as a factor?
No, I'm answering the question you originally asked, which was not "Should I hire and fire based on race?" but instead, "Why should anyone care *at all* about race?"
Hypothetical situation: someone comes up to me and tells me about some unpleasant patterns of behavior he's been experiencing-- people cross the street to avoid him, taxis don't stop for him, and he's constantly followed around by security guards in stores. I am puzzled by this, since it's never happened to *me*-- certainly not as a constant, regular pattern. I ask a few of my friends about this and they say it's never happened to them, either. I therefore conclude that the person who's describing his anomalous experiences must be (1) a liar (2) paranoid (3) someone who enjoys whining and complaining or (4) perhaps somehow deserving of the treatment he's receiving.
Now, that is a really obvious, stupid analogy, and a person would have to be an idiot not to think to themselves, "Wait, my friend with the problem is a black man, and I'm a white woman, and hey! So are my friends that I happened to ask about this situation. Maybe race (and gender) have something to do with our different perspectives? Could that be true? My goodness! Perhaps it could!"
But I unfortunately see exactly this lack of thought, in slightly subtler forms, play out *all the time*, both on the internet and in real life-- because that's what happens when people "don't care about race" and "never take race into account."
"Well, you're just (lying) (paranoid) (too sensitive) (you did it to yourself)."
There is no possible way for a person like me to understand that other people's experiences can be *legitimately* and significantly different than mine, because of their race, unless I acknowledge that race and racism in modern society are forces that still drastically affect people's lives. When you ask "why should I care," I wonder: why *should* I care about something that is desperately wrong with the country I live in? Why should I care about something that affects so many people that I love? How can I *not* care?
How can I even begin to address racism if I'm trying to pretend racism is over? How can I be more informed about race if I don't care enough to listen when people talk about it? How can I listen if my starting position is "Oh, yeah? Well, why should I care? Why should anyone care?"
If I don't care about race, will I even be able to percieve it as a factor that affects modern-day inequalities and injustices? If I can't even percieve it, how can I possibly do anything about it? If I'm ignorant of the mistakes made in the past, and the mistakes still currently being made, how can I avoid repeating them?
Why should you care? Because if you don't care-- if you don't even care one tiny, little bit-- then you're not listening, you're not learning, and you're not helping.
That's what I meant when I said it's the least a decent person can do. Care enough to listen. Care enough to be informed. Seriously, it's the least you can do.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 08:38 am (UTC)No, I'm answering the question you originally asked, which was not "Should I hire and fire based on race?" but instead, "Why should anyone care *at all* about race?"
Hypothetical situation: someone comes up to me and tells me about some unpleasant patterns of behavior he's been experiencing-- people cross the street to avoid him, taxis don't stop for him, and he's constantly followed around by security guards in stores. I am puzzled by this, since it's never happened to *me*-- certainly not as a constant, regular pattern. I ask a few of my friends about this and they say it's never happened to them, either. I therefore conclude that the person who's describing his anomalous experiences must be (1) a liar (2) paranoid (3) someone who enjoys whining and complaining or (4) perhaps somehow deserving of the treatment he's receiving.
Now, that is a really obvious, stupid analogy, and a person would have to be an idiot not to think to themselves, "Wait, my friend with the problem is a black man, and I'm a white woman, and hey! So are my friends that I happened to ask about this situation. Maybe race (and gender) have something to do with our different perspectives? Could that be true? My goodness! Perhaps it could!"
But I unfortunately see exactly this lack of thought, in slightly subtler forms, play out *all the time*, both on the internet and in real life-- because that's what happens when people "don't care about race" and "never take race into account."
"Well, you're just (lying) (paranoid) (too sensitive) (you did it to yourself)."
There is no possible way for a person like me to understand that other people's experiences can be *legitimately* and significantly different than mine, because of their race, unless I acknowledge that race and racism in modern society are forces that still drastically affect people's lives. When you ask "why should I care," I wonder: why *should* I care about something that is desperately wrong with the country I live in? Why should I care about something that affects so many people that I love? How can I *not* care?
How can I even begin to address racism if I'm trying to pretend racism is over? How can I be more informed about race if I don't care enough to listen when people talk about it? How can I listen if my starting position is "Oh, yeah? Well, why should I care? Why should anyone care?"
If I don't care about race, will I even be able to percieve it as a factor that affects modern-day inequalities and injustices? If I can't even percieve it, how can I possibly do anything about it? If I'm ignorant of the mistakes made in the past, and the mistakes still currently being made, how can I avoid repeating them?
Why should you care? Because if you don't care-- if you don't even care one tiny, little bit-- then you're not listening, you're not learning, and you're not helping.
That's what I meant when I said it's the least a decent person can do. Care enough to listen. Care enough to be informed. Seriously, it's the least you can do.