Actually Color Blindness Isn't Racist | Video Essay

[@peterphillips4340]

I was raised with the "don't see race" thing and I never understood when it suddenly became bad. I legitimately grew up holding it as a value to ignore how someone looked because we were all human and that focusing on race was wrong.

[@benyendle2584]

When certain black intellectuals fell for socialist racial philosophy... It's been done before when German intellectuals did the same thing to jews

[@tokyo_taxi7835]

Because then no one could make a living off of pure race grifting.

[@RedBarronST]

I ask the following to my two young boys (under 8) often. "What is more important: How a person looks, or how a person acts?" They know the latter is more important.

[@SheonEver]

And if everyone internalized that outlook while they were growing up, we'd be done with the very concept of racism in a generation.

[@serpentines6356]

@@RedBarronST I highly recommend watching Ayaan Hirsi Ali's, "The Market for Victimhood" on KZbin. I think this would be good to watch with young teens, and talk with them about it after.

[@sullyjag]

The most disappointing aspect of Coleman's channel is that he still only has 119K subscribers. He should have millions at this point. Spread the word.

[@brianmeen2158]

It’s because he is straight forward and honest. If he was to “turn it up” in terms of attitude and personality he’d triple his sub count. A vibrant personality is very important for popularity on KZbin

[@skepto-o-punk8286]

He voted for Biden. Why SHOULD we listened to him. Being right on a very narrow topic doesn’t make him worth following.

[@wonkeydonkey2407]

@@skepto-o-punk8286 Race isn't a narrow topic, it is widely accepted to be important to the world we live in and the type of society we want that to be. Who he voted for has no bearing on the quality of his views or whether they are worth debating, which in IMO are measured and well thought out.

[@Ridingrules10000]

I have subscribed to his channel 3 times now. For some reason, I keep getting unsubbed.

[@Bargarz]

indeed. Subscribed.

[@jshays007]

I've always viewed Colour Blindness as the end goal ... The target at the end of the range where we reach a state where race simply no longer matters in society ... When race becomes so insignificant in our day to day relations that it simply disappears. ... It doesn't always mean that people are ignoring or dismissing racial issues. Coleman Hughes is a valuable source of information for me theses days. If I ever need a sober second thought on a hot topic, I google Coleman Hughes.

[@donk8961]

It's only evil or racist when it's twisted to mean something it never did.

[@mylesleggette7520]

Race will never disappear as a consideration, because humans inherently form themselves into social groups and create hierarchies between those groups. Can you name even one single way of grouping ourselves that we've created and then abandoned to the point where it is "so insignificant in our day to day relations that it simply disappears"? I doubt it. We create intense tribal bonds to things as absurdly irrelevant as what one's favorite tv program is, there is absolutely no way something as blatant as skin color or facial structure will ever become irrelevant. The most we could hope for is that race reaches a point where it does not confer tremendous political power on certain groups in the form of government policies, but, considering how many groups have vested monetary interests in maintaining race-based influence, I doubt that is even on the horizon, let alone something we can expect to arrive at. Colorblindness as you describe certainly is a laudable moral goal, but much like, say, the Ten Commandments, I think it will always be more prescriptive than descriptive.

[@richardtaylor6341]

@@mylesleggette7520 I think this whole statement is ignorant. Europe destroyer itself between 1618 and 1648, but Europeans were able to come here and forget the hate they left on the other side of the pond. What is ironic is that multi race marriages in the American South are almost as common as single race marriages there... .so it seems to me that at the point in time where it is coming close to not mattering in pop culture that dividers like you come out of the woodworks to make sure we stay thst way..... Yes, race can be overcome, just not by someone as simple minded as you.

[@merrylderrickson3147]

you were right to think that. because that is aboslutely true. they needed to invent as many pejoratives as they possibly could. And they way to do that is to create and divide suffering by categories "sex, gender, race, sexuality, fck hole preference, etc"; of which have their own categories The more "oppressed groups" can be created, the more boogey men there are to fearmonger and lie about

[@hugovandyk9918]

I'm currently in a humanities course. Studying to be a teacher. It is hell. Colour blindness comes up from time to time. Generally to be hand waved, straw-manned or mocked. ( i.e. an example of colour blindness used in one textbook was something as follows: a student in the class asks a teacher a question about why an exchange student from another country who just joined the class looks and talks differently from everyone else. The teacher sushes the questioning student and tells him that it is rude to ask such a question, emphasising that one should not talk about it.' ).

[@davidleicht6302]

It’s genuinely unbelievable that his position on these issues is now controversial.

[@brianmeen2158]

I know and it feels like we’ve went backwards the past 5-6 years

[@zmo1ndone502]

Same

[@Edgar-Friendly]

Not at all. Liberals got lazy and the masses got distracted. Identitarian Communists filled the void with their new bigotry based on race rather than economics.

[@alanmark12345]

Its contextual. While a worthy goal, prejudice may still inform outcomes but masked behind colour blindness. When used to say oh well we would have treated anyone that way, maybe, maybe not. Its hard to say. Thats what makes it a tough issue, there are hidden prejudices, and can be masked behind an idea of fairness that some are not experiencing.

[@Tethloach1]

I guess if everyone had 200 IQ and were blond haired blue eyes, conflict would be impossible.

[@S.J.L]

It's weird that we now need essays from intellectuals to reenforce common sense & common logic.

[@danicrazyfingers]

That's exactly how I feel on this topic.

[@Swiftzly]

*reinforce Looks like we need more than essays.

[@Colonel_Mustsard]

@@Swiftzly your ability to point out a typo means you’re better

[@SeraphsWitness]

@@soarstar It's good and bad. I like the informational access, but most people don't know how to parse information properly. Specifically scientific studies, or even basic statistics. As a result we have more information but less confidence in that information than ever before.

[@SeraphsWitness]

Common sense is highly marketable right now. Supposedly "smart" people make really foolish mistakes in thinking.

[@pattonmaclean4777]

A rational perspective on racism for MLK Day. Thanks.

[@Fildoggy]

Thats funny cuz MLK would hate this video

[@pattonmaclean4777]

@@Fildoggy You're speaking for him? lol.

[@Fildoggy]

@@pattonmaclean4777 No I'm just stating the obvious. He was pretty explicitly for things like affirmative action

[@pattonmaclean4777]

@@Fildoggy He advocated for colour -blindness where people "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character-" which is diametrically opposed to the modern- so called "anti-racism" movement and critical race theory. But thanks,

[@Fildoggy]

@@pattonmaclean4777 "The Negro should be granted equality, they agree; but he should ask nothing more. On the surface, this appears reasonable, but it is not realistic." -Martin Luther King "A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for the Negro." -Martin Luther King "For it is obvious that if a man is entered at the starting line of a race three hundred years after another man, the first would have to perform some impossible feat in order to catch up with his fellow runner." -Martin Luther King But I'll defer to your opinion, clearly your nuanced view of racism=bad and knowledge of the first 4 lines of I Have a Dream make you an expert on this topic

[@DrProgNerd]

I'm 53. I've seen instances of overt racism - and veiled racism - in my life. But, I've also seen a dramatic shift in attitudes about race across out culture. It's ironic and sad that - in a time when we are the most accepting of different races - that there are those who seek to breathe life back into race-division. These are people who profit from the chaos they create.

[@serpentines6356]

Yes, unfortunately very true.

[@GentleBreeze-ib9dz]

That’s because it never ended in the first place.

[@blacksocrates1]

There are those who profit from the division

[@SuperKillJoy15]

​@@GentleBreeze-ib9dz no, but it had gotten much better before it got worse in the last 10 years

[@GentleBreeze-ib9dz]

@@SuperKillJoy15 how did it get better?

[@tskitishvili3]

Great job unpacking the concept. When I bucked against the idea of it (as I believe we all have tribalistic bias and prejudice), you show here that I was taking the concept too literally. This explanation resonates with me.

[@michaeltorrisi7289]

Tribalism and nationalism are inherently human attributes, yes. Someone pointed something out to me a while back that has really stuck with me though, and that is that hair and eye color are very obvious differences between people and yet there aren't any serious stereotypes associated with them. Dumb blond jokes, sure, but no one *actually* thinks that hair color impacts intelligence. And we're centuries removed from any serious belief that redheads are witches. So why is it so hard for people to believe that skin color could be relegated to the same category as hair or eye color?

[@silverskid]

@@michaeltorrisi7289 Because the ongoing legacy of violent oppression of blacks finds no parallels in cases of blondes, blue-eyed people or red-heads. There are, though, some red-heads who say they were ruthlessly bullied at school in contemporary society. Almost any intrinsically meaningless visible phenotype can get weaponized. But in point of fact, not all of them are weaponized. I think the metaphor of color blindness is a good *ideal* but I also believe that race matters. That is, we should literally see and acknowledge the many instances in which a black person is mistreated because of their race. I think we strive to make such mistreatment more and more rare. The means by which this done are hotly debated. But I think that in the 70s, for example, many blacks who might have been left out, were able to get into academia and flourish, as in the case of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates-- a recipient, along with many other scholars, of early affirmative action programs that Coleman is talking about here. I think sometimes a pragmatic approach to these things means you can't do things by rigidly adhering to abstract principles, because real life and history are too messy. Generations of slavery followed by Jim Crow really put blacks in America at a disadvantage that an ideal like color-blindness alone might not be sufficient to redress. That was the progressive reaction that I can endorse to some extent. Now the newer "anti-racists" take it way too far for me. They say "whiteness" is a problem, ignore the responsibility poor and marginalized people have to help themselves (whether poor apalachian whites, or inner city impoverished blacks or whatever else). They have stopped discussing class, so that the affirmative action policies do not distinguish between middle class blacks who got a good education in high school from poor blacks who MIGHT actually need social programs to catch up and make the grade for colleges. I know because I worked in education in NYC in a then-gov't sponsored program tutoring new york city blacks who had gotten HS diplomas but in reality had been ripped off-- i.e. they couldn't read well or write gramatically. Overcrowded and underfunded neighborhood schools had just neglected them and engaged in "social promotion"-- giving them diplomas even though they were really not prepared. So, I'm for finding a balance between the golden ideal of color-blind justice, and the sometimes pragmatic compromises with absolute principles that is required when a population is disproportionately poor, and lacking in life chances. But these communities must also stop denying their own problems (like in NY and other cities the tragically high rates of black on black homicide or gangs). I agree with Coleman on many things, but I also see a place here and there for race based social programs. They must, though, be combined with class and income considerations. Rich blacks don't need affirmative action, etc. So it's not-- forgive the pun-- a black and white issue.

[@tskitishvili3]

@@michaeltorrisi7289 i can personally say that I think folks with different hair and eye colors have inherent differences based on experiences I've had and things I've heard. However, we're talking about white people for the most part when making those distinctions. Racial differences are more pronounced. Also, and perhaps the big reason, is that CULTURE is not built around skin and eye color. It's built around race. That said, I think your dream is wonderful, and hopefully something to aspire to generations after we're gone. We won't get anywhere close to that in our lifetimes.

[@MelissaKnoxwriter]

I breath a sigh of relief when I see common sense still exists--and is so beautifully articulated--by the wise Coleman Hughes.

[@nintendsoad]

Coleman, you are an absolute treasure. Thank you for all you do!

[@Muskar2]

To me, your description of color blindness makes sense in an extremely obvious way: It makes me think of "double blinded" studies in science, which is the primary method for removing bias, whenever it's possible - EXACTLY in the same way as your proposal. Good luck with the public debates, you're doing a good job spelling it out.

[@ForeverYoungKickboxer]

They are trying to erase the Lived Experience of Gen X. Tens of millions of us remember what it was like. We had racism on the ropes. We were taught by teachers right after Civil Rights movement. We laughed at racist jokes about others and ourselves but regarded racist people as fools stuck in the horrible past we were lucky to be born after. In the 90s if you were against racism it just meant you were a regular person. Anthrax and Public Enemy onstage together is a great example of the vibe. The dude making the hardcore racist jokes usually got the hint nobody was laughing with him and occasionally he got knocked out. We had tough conversations without worrying about pissing each other. Too much togetherness isn't good for those at the top sticking it to us so Division became the game once again. Politicians been playing that game since forever but Telecommunications Act in 96 made it much easier to control the info. Don't let the TV, tablet, phone, or Teacher make you hate your neighbor. Keep talking and keep thinking, people!!. Chris Forever Young

[@SeraphsWitness]

I agree, the late 90s was probably the peak of race relations in that regard. We generally agreed racism was bad, but we also talked about race openly and race-based jokes were commonplace. They acted as a uniting feature of culture, not a dividing one. Chris Rock became huge off the back of this phenomenon.

[@dancarvin2443]

That was also when En Vogue released the song "Free Your Mind" urging listeners to "Be Colorblind."

[@ForeverYoungKickboxer]

@@dancarvin2443 sad to think they would be called racists now for that kind of thinking. Not by anyone who can think their way out of a wet paper bag, but by the voices pushing division through our screens.

[@scottsherman5262]

I'm 47 myself, so I get what you're saying...but I've reported you to the authorities for ending your KZbins comment with "Chris Forever Young". Which authorities, you may like to know? I'm not sure, I made that part up, so it could be anyone, really.

[@serpentines6356]

Cool post Chris.

[@Lordofthewhyz]

Thanks, Coleman. I’d love to hear your take on ‘equity’ at some point

[@MrTee12]

Equity is simply breaking down barriers to make “things” more accessible for all. Equity policies wouldn’t exist at all if the original laws/policies/status quo weren’t so divisive to begin with.

[@jshays007]

@@MrTee12 Equity is a forced outcome ... Not to be confused with Equality ... Equality is a much better Metric to measure society by.

[@MrTee12]

@@jshays007 Equality is impossible because we don’t need all the same things to the same degree. Case in point. People with disabilities all need a “specific” resource in order to have a better quality of life, the same would true for a special education student, or a person with severe health issues. Every person needs to be given want they “need” to be successful and/or have a proficient quality of life. That’s the main difference between Equality and Equity.

[@11peterson1]

@@MrTee12in practice, today, that is not the main difference. Look. Wherever you see the word “equity” appear, it’s in conjunction with advocation for forced equality of metrics/outcomes.

[@brianmeen2158]

@@MrTee12you’ll never reach your “equitable” destination either though. It’s impossible

[@flamesarisen9446]

Laying it out in a digestible way. Very well worded and happy MLK day

[@meisherenow]

Coleman is my favorite kind of intellectual: no fancy jargon, no bullshit, just clear thinking.

[@skreeeboy]

Not sure where we'd be right now if it weren't for Coleman, John McWhorter, Glenn Loury, Kmele Foster, Thomas Chatterton Williams, et al. Of course, they're not saying anything anyone else couldn't say who's as intelligent and who has spent as much time thinking carefully and deeply about these things as they have, but because of their "melanin force field" (as coined by Kmele Foster) they can't be dismissed out of hand.

[@epone3488]

I really enjoyed both your line of thinking and the stucture of your work. Thank you.

[@Damian-rq3dj]

I live in the country where there are very few black people but this issue was always interesting to me. Its not just about the race but what principles we follow to discuss problems. Coleman is a huge inspiration. Thanks and greetings from Poland !

[@mylesleggette7520]

Shoot, maybe I should move to Poland...

[@adriannavarro6417]

@@mylesleggette7520 why?

[@ouruhuru]

Great to meet you in Cambridge recently Coleman, keep doing what you're doing. We never even spoke about Jazz!

[@donk8961]

Cool, collected, and fully realized perspective. Thanks Coleman

[@DeBoerAlchemy]

Very clear, evidence based commentary Coleman. You are doing good work.

[@davidmeridian1288]

Extremely well verbalized; excellent points throughout, punctuated at the very end.

[@o2kala649]

My 8yr old daughter plays with kids in her class of all races. I genuinely believe that she and her friends don’t see the differences that are more than the superficial ones. Their colourblindness is the normal. They still see the superficial differences - eye colour, skin colour etc - but they don’t associate these differences with a class difference, upbringing, intelligence, competence, or other differences which adults often associate with races. For example, some adults think that a child from Chinese ancestry will be smart or a child from African ancestry is good at sports etc. These views are racist and are taught they are not intrinsic. I think we should reaffirm the benefits of colourblindness and the concept of sameness rather than focusing on differences.

[@biggnesss7192]

I'm going to leave this comment here to help promote this video in the algorithm.

[@troldhaugen]

Coleman should do a bunch of videos on urban planning and related topics such as: the history of 1950s urban renewal, the role of the auto industry in promoting it, its consequences regarding transportation, traffic safety, walkability, divesting, school funding, access to healthy food, white flight, redlining, etc. Also the difficulties and problems caused by trying to fix those past mistakes with gentrification and addition of buses and trains to infrastructure not designed for them. And the effects of current zoning laws on transportation, education, housing costs, poverty and homelessness. Maybe he can interview the guys from Not Just Bikes, Strong Towns, and Climate Town, and their critics.

[@liberality]

Hi Eric, I'm a town planner in the UK, I'd be happy to help with this research. There's now a theory going around the internet that the proposed '15 minute city' is a conspiracy against freedom of movement, which sounds like misinformation to me.

[@troldhaugen]

@@liberality London is the only city I've visited in the UK, but I've spent a lot of time in Japan and Norway, and I've visited many European and Asian cities . My impression is that the problems I mentioned are far worse in the US than in any other developed country. That's largely because of what happened in the 1950s due to lobbying and propaganda by the US auto industry and due to discrimination against black people. I live in Columbus, Ohio. It is the state capital and has almost one million people, but no passenger train is connected to it. London had lots of subways that ran regularly, so I was able to do sightseeing without a car, which is not possible in Columbus. A decade ago, I was in poverty and trying to support an immigrant wife and a baby without a car in a town in Arkansas. The problems I faced were appalling. I witnessed first-hand the many ways the US system prevents people from getting jobs or accessing food, health care, etc. It's that way by design.

[@liberality]

@@troldhaugen You might like to read The Legend of Henry Ford by Keith Sward (1948) which is available on the Internet Archive. I would agree from my limited experience of the USA that development there doesn't generally happen on a human scale. The exceptions might include older neighbourhoods which are now highly gentrified, like Venice, California or Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. For an introduction to British town planning you might like Garden Cities of To-Morrow by Ebenezer Howard (1902) which is also on the Internet Archive, albeit in low quality.

[@mac3441]

Perfectly stated. Well done as always Coleman.

[@chrisbuss3962]

Thanks!

[@vergedrums]

Thank you for such an informed, intelligent, respectful and articulate argument.

[@chantellegiardina5098]

Thanks

[@SeraphsWitness]

This is a really succinct and linguistically-precise essay. Well-done. I feel like I could watch this instead of a 3-hour Joe Rogan podcast and get the same content. lol

[@smhdpt12]

Your first mistake was listen to Rogan at all.

[@SeraphsWitness]

@@smhdpt12 Nah Rogan's show is great. He has an excellent variety of guests and is a solid interviewer.

[@razzle_dazzle]

​@@SeraphsWitness Yeah, it was amazingly succinct and concise, while still getting all the needed points across and providing relevant examples. I think Coleman mentioned it was published somewhere else - maybe an editor was involved. If not, Coleman is an exceptionally talented writer.

[@GaaikeEuwema]

What a great essai, perfectly structured, in simple language but getting to the heart of the matter.

[@JoeFec]

This video has now become my #1 resource for this entire topic. Thank you so much! I will definitely look into more of your materials. So well said! Maybe there is hope for sanity after all.....

[@brianreid5891]

Such a thorough and perfectly articulated Video essay on such an important topic. This is exactly what should be taught in schools. Just put this video straight in the curriculum. Cant believe all of a sudden that this isn’t the message being pushed today. Thanks Coleman! Great stuff!

[@lonesomelooch5661]

The best source for rational, intelligent, non-tribal information. Looking forward to your book.

[@bindokam7499]

It's heartening to see that some are still able to cut through the morass of right-thought and come to true conclusions on impartiality through reasoned scrutiny.

[@dorianlollobrigida360]

I went to Berkeley as an undergrad in the '80s and one thing I remember vividly was how affirmative action policies were mismatching minority students with the school. Hispanic students from the Central Valley and black students from Oakland were being admitted in large numbers only to fail out or settle for majors, like sociology, that would at least get them to an eventual BA degree. Because of my family experience I never took what I was seeing as a matter of inferior aptitude but of cultural prepardedness. My father grew up in Brooklyn and was the first person in our Irish-American family to go to college. He attended Brooklyn Tech and then got an engineering degree from Queens College. I hate to say it but my father would have never survived a school like Berkeley---not due to lack of raw intelligence but because the cultural environment was so alien to his life experiences. When I saw other students from inner city Oakland or from Fresno I often felt that they, like my father, would have been better off, at least for their undergrad education, at the California equivalent of Queens college (SF State or Northridge). They would have been among the best students at such schools, gained intellectual confidence and, perhaps, eventually ended up at top ranked grad schools. Instead, at Berkeley, they were just weeded out quickly in large classes filled with students whose parents were professionals and who had many friends and relatives with university credentials. Their confidence broken many of these affirmative admits most likely never got to pursue the professional careers they might have had if they had been placed in more encouraging surroundings. It is for this reason I have always been highly skeptical of affirmative action: it plays racial politics with the dreams and aspirations of young people, jeopardizing their futures in order to fulfill an abstract agenda.

[@lonzo61]

Very interesting perspective. Appreciate your comments. Too often, the comments made for vids that are deserving of more thoughtfulness only receive platitudes or are the kinds of comments that, frankly, are often recycled and tired.

[@commodoor6549]

Why are you bringing up black and hispanic students and judging how well they might do somewhere else? That's not very colorblind. Why is your Irish father important. Doesn't feel very colorblind.

[@dorianlollobrigida360]

@@commodoor6549 My point was that students from poor and working class backgrounds should not be dumped into elite institutions during the first phase of their higher ed experience---undergrad education--- simply in order to fulfill some abstract vision of demographic proportionality. That does not necessarily serve such students well. If no one in your family ever went to college---my white father's situaiton----you are probably going to struggle in an environment where everyone has been groomed since kindergarten for higher ed success. I believe a more colorblind approach to admissions will prevent this sort of mismatch and place the people I am referring to in schools where they can thrive and eventually go to top grad schools. The student who is not admitted to the chemistry major at UCLA may end up with straight As at San Diego State----which would qualify him or her for the Masters program in that same field at UCLA.

[@alanstewart8793]

Well researched and presented. I have subscribed. As as WASP Canadian I have little experience with many of the issues associated with race. I did work in Florida for about 5 years and what stands out is that one of my Black co-workers emphatically warned me that there were certain areas in the city (Tampa) that I needed to stay out of as a White person. That gave me a very small taste of how that makes someone feel. I was raised to strive to be colorblind (I'm 65 now) and I feel I have mostly succeeded (no one is perfect, but I try very hard) - but I was being judged by strangers based on the color of my skin. The worst part is that it FORCED me to do the same - I absolutely HATED and RESENTED that.

[@izannemarais156]

I appreciate your bringing the truth to the forefront, with clear historical data and critical thinking skills. This was very informative. Thank you, and keep up the GOOD WORK.

[@larsglade3304]

Tak!

[@sams8502]

Coleman’s takes give me hope for the future.

[@lau-guerreiro]

The truth will win thanks to people like you! Thank you.

[@Sam-kp7ti]

No doubt!

[@pepisasa5232]

great work as always. Thx Coleman

[@spindragon]

Such a well thought out presentation. It wasn't that long ago Italian and Irish immigrants were routinely discriminated against. The dark side of human nature can't be denied. But over time cultural blindness began to emerge as people naturally began to recognize themselves in people of "different" cultures. Sometimes good intentions end up emphasize the divide ..

[@annieaviles4760]

Coleman, your courage to convey your conviction has already set you a part as someone worth, at the very least, to hear.

[@janereyrules1083]

Of course I’m subscribing. Finally a well educated young man who makes sense and states facts.

[@theneutralgroundpodcast]

Keep up the great work. I appreciate how thoughtful you are with potentially difficult topics to discuss.

[@jcraw6332]

Something that worries me is that if someone keeps being told they are such and such...at some point they may actually change into that. And that is to avoided!

[@MattHabermehl]

Beautifully said, my friend. A shame it needs saying, but beautifully said.

[@marcusdevalera1528]

You have no idea how much I have waited for this video.

[@LuckkyCanuck]

Thanks Coleman, this is the most well considered position I've come across on this issue. Any thoughtful and honest person knows you're correct. I appreciate how eloquently you've presented your thoughts.

[@Doutsoldome]

Exactly! Thank you for the very clear and eloquent way of presenting this argument.

[@CaymanDude76]

Thank you for your terrific analysis on this complex issue!

[@moreplatesmoreface]

Wow! This is the most articulate video i can ever remember seeing. Great work.

[@dougdaniels7848]

What a breath of fresh air. Would love to see some of the pseudointellectuals that Coleman calls out try and debate with him.

[@paulfrancisjenkins6483]

Very good my friend Reasoned, clear and beautifully put. Thank you.

[@mattwilliams3427]

Speaking truth!

[@theicyridge]

I think it's important to note that it's understandable so many would be duped by the idea that colorblindness is racist. Much like the neoliberal takeover of feminism, which used the true fact that women had for so long been denied careers to push for more equal exploitation opportunities, the right-wing coopting of colorblindness makes it easy for some to see it as anti-progressive. Coleman does an excellent job of focusing the critique on the elites, and not blaming poor people and twitter trying to get it right.

[@blanchr2]

You have a great ability to communicate in a clear and concise way. Well done!

[@namenloss730]

you and ryan chapman are the mvp of political video esssays

[@Hugh_Seaton]

really appreciated how thoughtfully you made this argument

[@2FRESH-4U]

I was always raised to treat everyone the same. It has been so crazy in the last couple of years, watching the way people are turning racial superiority. Racial supremacy is wrong no matter who is practicing it. We are all gods children.

[@kevinkasp]

It’s all pretty simple. 1.) Human nature is universal without regard to location in time or geography. Your possible feelings, appetites and sensibilities have always existed in all humans. 2.) The fundamental concept underpinning all of justice is the Golden Rule. 3.) The second most important concept in justice is fairness. That’s it. If you support anything that unfairly deprives or limits someone, or is harmful, any of it such that you wouldn’t expect an ordinary person to want it done to themself or a loved one, then you are supporting an injustice and you are in the wrong.

[@johnhaynes9910]

Always good to hear your insightful presentation Coleman. Top man.

[@kevinherman3419]

I've known some ractists in my time they arent afraid to let you know it. They definitely don't hide behind saying I don't see color or I treat everyone the same.

[@lisahunter3366]

Sharing! This is perfection!

[@allanwhite4509]

Just discovered your channel. Refreshingly reasoned and rational. Keep it up

[@Lost-Boy]

I do remember the removal mentioned of affirmative action. What happened was a reduction of POC dropouts in college and increase of them finishing college. Even if they did drop out the cost of student loans was reduced on the POC's as they attended less expensive schools.

[@clintd3476]

The corollary to “warm-hearted” is perfect. Thank you, sir.

[@duncanhewitt6557]

America answer to race is for all the races to live in separate areas

[@CreativeIsolation]

Well said. Commenting for the algorithm. Nothing else to add. :)

[@kmshultz]

What a clear and compelling defense of what should be obvious to every American. Coleman is so articulate and precise, choosing his words very carefully. He is so calming, too, so level-headed. Reminds me a lot of Sam Harris, but I don’t mean that to take away from Coleman’s uniqueness; he will be a powerful voice of reason and common-sense compassion in his (hopefully) long life ahead. We so badly need passionate-but staid!-young voices like Coleman’s.

[@Yoganflogan]

Excellent piece

[@HairyBogTrotter]

Such a relief to hear a higher, enlightened philosophy so articulately argued.

[@northernvibe4870]

Coleman Hughes is a dead set legend. A true intellectual heavyweight.

[@someguy344]

This is great stuff, historically based, rooted in factual information and well reasoned. This must have taken a lot of work and I commend you for it.

[@anonymouscrow5849]

Class based equity, or more accurately income and asset based equity, also helps pinpoint who needs a helping hand down to the individual. Big categories like race are far less precise.

[@joeday4293]

I doubt Russell Simmons or Oprah Winfrey would trade their wealth for my white privilege, but I'd make that trade in a hot second.

[@Keara113]

Thank you so much for having an HONEST discussion on color blindness!!! And as someone else said hi to grow up with not discriminating on people based on how they look is a VALUE. PS: “nefarious concept, called race.”, i like that, well said.

[@ryanmcnamara9749]

I remember Steven Colbert on the “Colbert Report” always making a sarcastic remark“ I can’t see race”. Was anyone else a fan of the show and can recall him saying that?

[@kingpin3795]

Great job Coleman!

[@yessir8089]

What's your personality, what are you made of? Are the first questions that come to my mind when I meet someone.

[@mylesleggette7520]

A woman at my job who I have never met before approached me the other day and the very first thing she asked me was, "what racial group do you identify as?" as she was recruiting for a black social networking group at my workplace. I was disgusted and told her I had no interest in joining any social group she was involved with.

[@Salamander407]

One of the few rational thinkers out there

[@jamesgriffith4]

Thank you for a reasoned and practical return to Dr. King's rationale for the power in the Civil rights movement - the call to live up to who we can be without falling into utopian ism.

[@keahililia8208]

So glad I found this. The fact there's a long essay video about this show's there's little common sense amongst people. Horrifying to see that people forget we're all individuals in this big crazy divided game.

[@ricodelavega4511]

Wendell Phillips didnt just concoct colorblindness, rather that idea he got from the founding of the Mexican state in 1821 which banned all racial designations, color blindness.

[@kimj5037]

So well said, Coleman. Thank you! And, in the words of the wonderful Thomas Sowell, “If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten you labelled a radical 60 years ago, a liberal 30 years ago and a racist today.”

[@pgchakerian]

I really like this video essay format to bring your writing to life, but please ditch the cutesie little popping sound when you cut to clips. I’m glad it didn’t persist throughout the video. Also check your caption generator. Saw a few typos like witness (whiteness) and alright (alt-right). Thanks Coleman!

[@ernsty346]

Treat me like the interesting individual that I am and I will do the same for you. The melanin content of your skin, the way your eyes are shaped or whatever else are just features of our common humanity. Don't be a category and don't treat others as categories. You are you, be proud of that.

[@pizagno1]

wow. What a brilliant piece.

[@hermitpermit2553]

Thankyou for articulating this so astutely

[@AlterNathan]

Appreciated and resonate with your essay.

[@Rickpa]

"Anti-racism" doesn't really seem to be about ending actual racism. "Whiteness," in the vernacular used by these people appears to be a stand-in for enlightenment liberalism.

[@merrylderrickson3147]

great talent, great character. wishing you tons of success in reaching more ears.

[@trorisk]

As a Frenchman being "color blind" is. It doesn't matter if my doctor is black or Jewish, what interests me is that he is a good doctor. And if a bad doctor is black or Jewish he is a bad doctor and I will change. What is complicated is that social problems (like poverty) are superimposed on racial questions. The "Colorblind" position is to say that we must treat social problems with social responses. Positive action (Positive discrimination) is a racial answer to a social problem, necessarily there will be no effect on social problems in the long term. Since we are not trying to solve them.

[@ncrdavis5555]

Anyone remember En Vogue’s hit song, “Free Your Mind”? I started singing the chorus in my mind after listening to Coleman.

[@hemlock527]

Very well argued

[@pjalexandra]

Without any academic language whatsoever, my christian, prairie 1970's mother taught me much about equality of all human beings, including the relatively recent immigrants to our small Canadian town. It wasn't about 'not noticing' a difference--that modern, disingenuous definition of 'colour-blindness.' It was, rather, about kindness and curiousity in the individual layer of relating, and standing for those values at the community level of relating.

[@filmcoolstuff]

"To misunderstand it, perhaps intentionally." Hit the nail on the head. I would say definitely intentionally. That's the problem I have with many intellectuals... they're vain. They try so hard to be relevant.

[@simplicityinthecomplexity6988]

Thanks for the comment about the supreme court judge. The point the judge makes is more true than most understand. The Constitution is words on paper the paper does not have eyes to see with so is literally colorblind.

[@ikoyDaPnoy]

When it comes to treatment of others, I don't see color ... HOWEVER, we have to understand that there are races that are identified by their geographic origin and races that are identified by the color of their skin. In America, it can be complicated for blacks & whites to trace their geographic origin so rather than say they are African or Irish or Scottish, they simply say they are either black or white. Many have begun to say their just American which to me makes more sense since their lineage is already several generations into America. However, I noticed many geographic races like Japanese, Chinese, & Filipino start to say they're not Filipino American but just American. That's fine but I'm beginning to notice a trend mostly among Conservatives and Centrists that American Citizens are all just American and the same. I truly believe that we are EQUAL but NOT THE SAME. I believe in equal treatment but we should still appreciate are differences. We have different cultural backgrounds that should not be ignored or looked down upon but appreciated. Yes, I treat people differently who have different skin color than myself but I do notice the differences in our cultural backgrounds even though we may be both "American."

[@uileam161]

Please keep sharing.

[@danielaf1487]

I'm a white European woman and, as a young teenager, was put in a boarding school in Singapore (my family worked and travelled all over Asia for work at the time). The girls' boarding house where I slept had 63 students staying in it while I was there. One evening, towards the end of the academic year, one other girl and I were bored and decided to count how many girls of a given ethnicity were in the boarding house. It turns out I was one of 5 white girls - the remaining 58 were non-white or mixed race. What struck me was that I'd never even noticed - honestly, the "imbalance" was huge, I was one of a tiny minority of Caucasians, but it had never mattered to me, to the point I didn't see it. Every girl in the boarding house was an individual to me - a friend, someone I liked but who intimidated me a little, someone who annoyed me, someone I admired, etc - just like in any school situation. It could be said I was "colour blind" at the time, totally. Was I racist, then? Quite the contrary! I quite literally did not see my school mates in terms of their ethnicity. I know that nowadays some people might not believe me, but I know that this is nothing but the truth.