P
Polak
Guest
So the idea is that eventually, one day, people will be colorblind and not see people’s race, or to paraphrase Martin Luther King, they will judge others by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, and on the other, race is constantly such a focus in society.
On the one hand I understand it. In certain places, let’s take the USA as an example, there was so much discrimination against black people for so long, that’s it difficult to sweep that under the carpet and pretend it didn’t happen, or that it has had no impact on the society today. I can see why race is discussed and I can see why when you have say, the first black person in a certain profession or field, or receiving a certain prize or recognition, it’s significant, and the reason people point out that they are the first black person to do this (win an Oscar for example) is because for a long time this simply wouldn’t have been possible, because of the color of their skin.
On the other hand, I do sometimes feel like it’s difficult to think of people as people and not as people with certain color skin, when we keep being reminded of the color of their skin. If a black actor is the first black actor to win a certain award, initially I won’t even think of the color of their skin, I will just think they are a good actor and deserved this award. When I’m reminded they are the ‘first black actor to get such and such a trophy’ it’s like ‘oh right, they are black, and I’m white, and we’re different’. I go from seeing them as a human being to seeing them as a black person who is a different color to me.
Then there’s the business of these quotas of having to have a certain amount of black people or people of color, in certain companies. In the UK the BBC has a quota of BAME (Black and Minority ethnic) people they need to have in the company by a certain date. They also advertise some jobs only to BAME people. White people are literally not allowed to apply. These aren’t roles specific to non white people either, like you might need a black actor to play the part of an african king in a TV program for example. This seems like racism to me. It’s like at one point the pendulum swung one way, and now it seems to be going to other way. It never seems to stop in the middle, where it should be. Nobody cares that in the NBA for example, only about 1/3 of the players are white. Nobody says ‘oh no, we must create a quota system where we have more white people in the NBA’. People just assume that either black people are generally more interested in basketball than white people or perhaps they are just better at it. In the BBC though, and other companies, they get so concerned that there are not enough black people employed there. What if black people aren’t as interested in working for the BBB or in the media? Have they ever considered that?
If you want to defeat racism you should be allowing anybody of any race to apply for jobs in a company and decide who to hire based on their skills. If in one company that means you happen to have more white people and in another you have more black people, so be it. You shouldn’t be looking to hire people of certain races. That’s my view.
On the one hand I understand it. In certain places, let’s take the USA as an example, there was so much discrimination against black people for so long, that’s it difficult to sweep that under the carpet and pretend it didn’t happen, or that it has had no impact on the society today. I can see why race is discussed and I can see why when you have say, the first black person in a certain profession or field, or receiving a certain prize or recognition, it’s significant, and the reason people point out that they are the first black person to do this (win an Oscar for example) is because for a long time this simply wouldn’t have been possible, because of the color of their skin.
On the other hand, I do sometimes feel like it’s difficult to think of people as people and not as people with certain color skin, when we keep being reminded of the color of their skin. If a black actor is the first black actor to win a certain award, initially I won’t even think of the color of their skin, I will just think they are a good actor and deserved this award. When I’m reminded they are the ‘first black actor to get such and such a trophy’ it’s like ‘oh right, they are black, and I’m white, and we’re different’. I go from seeing them as a human being to seeing them as a black person who is a different color to me.
Then there’s the business of these quotas of having to have a certain amount of black people or people of color, in certain companies. In the UK the BBC has a quota of BAME (Black and Minority ethnic) people they need to have in the company by a certain date. They also advertise some jobs only to BAME people. White people are literally not allowed to apply. These aren’t roles specific to non white people either, like you might need a black actor to play the part of an african king in a TV program for example. This seems like racism to me. It’s like at one point the pendulum swung one way, and now it seems to be going to other way. It never seems to stop in the middle, where it should be. Nobody cares that in the NBA for example, only about 1/3 of the players are white. Nobody says ‘oh no, we must create a quota system where we have more white people in the NBA’. People just assume that either black people are generally more interested in basketball than white people or perhaps they are just better at it. In the BBC though, and other companies, they get so concerned that there are not enough black people employed there. What if black people aren’t as interested in working for the BBB or in the media? Have they ever considered that?
If you want to defeat racism you should be allowing anybody of any race to apply for jobs in a company and decide who to hire based on their skills. If in one company that means you happen to have more white people and in another you have more black people, so be it. You shouldn’t be looking to hire people of certain races. That’s my view.
