Whiteness or Blindness?

How real can it be that race has never played a role in her life? 

When I watched the video of Kathie claiming she has never came across anything that made her aware of her race, I was literally sitting in awe mouth open and all. It's quite impossible to believe that as a white woman she has never realized the advantages or benefits that being a white American entails. She goes on by explaining that she is an American before anything else and that there are no benefits to being someone from a specific race or color. She also comments on her personal achievements through which she believes she has accomplished everything she has because of the person she is and not because of the color of her skin. Finally, she claims to strongly believe that "people are people" and that the world needs to become more colorblind. In other words, she feels that everyone should be able to look at each other and see the individual as a person without taking into account their backgrounds or where they come from. 

I must admit the way she framed her beliefs could appear to be correct and even beneficial to a certain extent as she states that people are people and that we should dismiss other factors. Sure, it even sounds a little sweet. But how realistic is that argument? Truly that would not solve the issues we experience in society in regards to race. Colorblindness presents itself as a major factor in perpetuating the continuous racism America has experienced and experiences till this day. This essentially allows me to understand her viewpoint however due to everything we've discussed in class it is impossible not to argue against it. Allowing colorblindness to serve as the quick solution for ending racism would truly not solve anything and racism would continue to exist. Yet, time and time again people believe that the solution to racism is to become completely oblivious to it and act as though it is not present in our society.

Throughout the course Advanced Race and Ethnicity, we have discussed the importance of race in our society and the way race in the past has shaped our present day. The belief that ignoring race issues would somehow magically make them disappear is unrealistic and far from actuality. America has a very strong past rooted in discrimination, which consequently embedded ideologies throughout many generations. These ideologies simply can’t be eliminated by acting as though they are not present. 

Lastly, Andrea is a young white woman who claims to also experience discrimination for the way she looks. She has tattoos that cover her body and feels as though she is discriminated because of her appearance. Through her testimony, she compares her experiences to that of a black person and claims to be treated the same way they are. She gives the example of walking into a store and being watched simply because of the way she looks. However, there are many arguments that can be made against her statement. Sure, tattoos are viewed differently in society and therefore could give people a reason to "watch" her. Nonetheless, she is STILL a white American woman. So how much discrimination could she truly experience? I do not intend to dismiss any discrimination she may be experiencing though I must say she sure does not experience discrimination at the same level blacks do. Definitely not!