it reinforces the idea that they *are* different categories. Isn't the point to get people to stop doing that?
Well... no, I don't think it is. Because we are different, and I think there are lots of good things about being Black, the same way there are lots of good things about being, say, Jewish (food, humor, the expressiveness of Yiddish, etc.). Saying something is different isn't inherently a value judgment. I mean, tech support people are different from psychologists, but that doesn't mean one is better than the other-- just that they have different good qualities. (grin)
So, no, I don't think there's anything wrong with seeing people of different races and ethnic groups as being different. (Though yeah, it's a mistake to assume that everyone in the group has all the qualities associated with that group (some Jews wouldn't know how to cook a latke if you paid them)). I think the problem is when you see members of that group as not just different, but inherently not as good as you because of the group they belong to. That's when it goes from appreciating diversity (which is fun) to racism (which is not). But until you cross that line, I really don't see what's wrong with it.
I think you raise some tough, middle-ground grey area distinctions there. Does it make sense to try to distinguish between "seeing difference" and "seeing badness," or not so much?
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-09 05:33 am (UTC)Well... no, I don't think it is. Because we are different, and I think there are lots of good things about being Black, the same way there are lots of good things about being, say, Jewish (food, humor, the expressiveness of Yiddish, etc.). Saying something is different isn't inherently a value judgment. I mean, tech support people are different from psychologists, but that doesn't mean one is better than the other-- just that they have different good qualities. (grin)
So, no, I don't think there's anything wrong with seeing people of different races and ethnic groups as being different. (Though yeah, it's a mistake to assume that everyone in the group has all the qualities associated with that group (some Jews wouldn't know how to cook a latke if you paid them)). I think the problem is when you see members of that group as not just different, but inherently not as good as you because of the group they belong to. That's when it goes from appreciating diversity (which is fun) to racism (which is not). But until you cross that line, I really don't see what's wrong with it.
I think you raise some tough, middle-ground grey area distinctions there. Does it make sense to try to distinguish between "seeing difference" and "seeing badness," or not so much?