Uncolor Your Words - Stop Practicing "Race"
I'm not even sure that "uncolor" is proper grammar. It probably isn't. Nevetheless, that's what we need to do in this country. Another of the seemingly indelible stains of "race" is that just as we inappropriately use color to identify people, we have created an entire vocabulary to support the practice of "race." That's the first time I've ever said that, "the practice of 'race'" and that's a good way to refer to it. People who believe that people should be categorized based on their skin color, practice "race." Do you practice "race?" Ok, I'm off subject.
So if you do practice "race," then you've probably created a vocabulary that supports your practice. So instead of privilege, you use terms like "white privilege" and instead of attending church you may attend a "black" church or a "white" church. Even when we look at our citizenship we are not simply Americans. No we have "black" or "white" Americans. Then when you break that down we are not sure if some are "black, people of color, African American or whatever the term du jour is for this time in our history. We color our language to match our beliefs. So what if we are not "practicing race." How should our language sound?
Lets take the term privilege. The dictionary says that privilege is an advantage offered to a person or group that is not available to others. So some people have advantages that that are not available to others. If my friend at the store is working the cash register and they let me walk out of the store without paying for my items, privilege has been exercised. The term works for any situation and every situation that you can think of including any situation that you might call "white" privilege. Were you to remove the word "white," the situation is the same and privilege applies. So why do we use the term "white?" I would contend it is because we are "practicing race."
NO MORE BLACK AND WHITE PEOPLE
Why we practice "race" in this day and age is beyond me but my goal is to halt the practice of such. We know that it's been hundreds of years since we got here, but that is not a reason for us to stay here. We should remove the color from our language and perhaps our minds will follow. We are all varying skin tones and we clearly see that, but that shouldn't be the basis for any other decisions we are making concerning our interactions with people. If it is then we are seriously "practicing race."
