One Cannot Be Colorblind and Empathetic
by
Abstract
This paper borrows Jose Medina’s discussion on colorblindness and argues colorblind ideologies are inconsistent with empathy. Empathy is a game changer when dealing with highly diverse situations. It allows one to understand, adapt, and integrate more effectively. Colorblindness is when someone claims not to see color despite prejudice and racialization still playing a significant role in the lives of marginalized people in America. Colorblindness is a form of structural white ignorance. Structural white ignorance is a systemic ignorance permeating through societies and deeply entrenching itself into traditions and thought. This form of ignorance is used to push away responsibility for past injustices and responsibility for addressing and correcting those injustices. Colorblindness opens up people to continued violence, racism, prejudice, and testimonial injustice. If one is colorblind, he is unable to fully integrate marginalized peoples' testimony of injustice and, therefore, ends up harming subjects by allowing these injustices to perpetuate. If one is to be empathetic, one must acknowledge someone’s racialized identity as a way to understand their lived experience.
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non–Commercial No Derivatives License which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of the Publisher must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
