I Refuse to Acknowledge Your Racial Identity

Despite it being unpopular, I will stay racially colorblind.

I will not make assumptions or judgements about you based on race. I will not give preferential treatment to any person or group based on race. I will not categorize you and make you into a crude stereotype based on racial identity. I will judge you based on your actions and words, not your racial identity or skin color.

Imagine being opposed to what I just said. And yet, that is what “anti-racism” and DEI is telling us to do. I am disgusted and appalled by the cultural shift we have seen regarding attitudes towards race and identity.

I really don’t care what ‘race’ you believe that you are. Whatever race you identify as really doesn’t matter to me. It is completely irrelevant. Why are you even bringing it up? I don’t even know who you are. I don’t owe you anything.

Here’s the thing: Being white, black, brown or anything else does not mean your life has been easy. It doesn’t mean you have never experienced discrimination and racial profiling. It doesn’t mean you have lots of money and access to the best quality education. It doesn’t mean you get special privileges. It doesn’t mean anything at all. So why are you trying to assign attributes to me that aren’t a true reflection of who I am? What have I ever done to you? Why do I need to be punished for something I never took part in?

I don’t want to live in a society that is hypervigilant about racial awareness. It doesn’t make sense to me. How can you get rid of racism when you are constantly looking at the world through the lens of race? Looking for evidence to support your theory that systemic racism is hiding everywhere seems like an exercise in confirmation bias and willful ignorance of contradicting evidence. It must be a lot of work to constantly ignore the good in everyone.

We need to stop focusing on race if we want racism to go away. We need more diversity of thought and opinion, not more diversity of skin color and race. We need equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes. Diversity and inclusion should be organic and random, not enforced with quotas and threats of retaliation.

I see you as a human.