Racelessness is where you feel or act like you have no race. For example, in much of Africa people do not think of themselves as “black” because everyone is black. But in America it is the opposite: if you are black it is a hard thing to forget – you become race conscious instead of raceless.
It has been said there are two kinds of white people: those who have found themselves the only white person in the room and those who have not – those who are race conscious and those who are raceless.
It seems like at least 80% of whites in America are raceless – they generally do not think of themselves as “white”. They can walk into a room where everyone is white and not even notice. They can paint Eve from the Bible as a blonde and see nothing wrong in that. They can make a list of the most beautiful white women and just call it “the most beautiful women”, leaving out the word “white” – a word they leave out all the time.
If you are white and want to get a good idea how raceless you are, try Thandeka’s Race Game: for one week call everything that is white “white”: my white girlfriend, my white manager, the white television show, that white man across the street, a white radio station, etc.
There are four reasons most white Americans are raceless:
- Most live in an all-white world, living in white neighbourhoods in white families, learning white history in school, watching white shows on television, hanging out with white friends, etc. Blacks and others are few and are mainly just at the edges of things.
- They rarely suffer directly from racism.
- They do not like being reminded of their white privilege – that they receive unearned advantages for being white, like generally living in better neighbourhoods. That is why they are uncomfortable when you call them “white”.
- Most whites born since 1970 have been taught to be colour-blind: “I do not see race”, “I am an individual”, etc.
Most regular commenters on this blog – black, white and Asian – are race conscious, so at least one of these four conditions probably does not apply to them. For whites it would tend to be #1, for blacks and Asians, #2.
Whites, it seems, can go for weeks or months without ever thinking about black people. And they can go way longer than that without thinking about themselves as white people.
Racelessness might seem like a good thing, and it can be, but in the case of white Americans it winds up blinding them to their own racism and privilege. It stands in the way of progress on race.
It also allows them to see white as “normal” and “neutral” and everything else as different, sometimes as good different (“exotic”) but mostly as bad different. So racelessness allows whites to be narrow-minded and full of themselves, looking down on those who are different like there is something wrong with them.
See also:
Don’t you think America is unique to this because there is not one dominant race here?
There is one dominant religion, Christianity, which I find to be a little burdensome in that we always must talk about in God we Trust, God Bless You, God Bless America, etc..
I think this country is different then others in that we have no roots in a particular race – unless you count the native’s who originally occupied this land.
I live up in Harlem, am Jewish and Italian, and see race in my face every day. There are clear divisions set forth all around.
My hope is that that we all evolve enough to enjoy the fact that we are different instead of one dominant race and embrace the amazing country that we live it.
Let’s face it – with all it’s flaws, horrors, injustice, racism and troubles, is still the place most people want to come to in the world because you can be so different and not persecuted for it.
That being said, I think that’s a good point the for the most part, white people see black people as being black, and not white people as being white. For myself, I see both, but I’m a little more conscious of that then most – you gotta be after reading this blog everyday.
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And only everything that’s not white is ‘ethnic’…
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Another intelligent and insightful message – thank you, Abagond. I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your blog. I’ve been going through a difficult period over the past year and a half, and stumbling over your blog has been a bright spot. In fact, it’s been a great encouragement during a very lonely and depressing time. It’s so reassuring to know there is someone out there who is thinking deeply about so many issues that happen to be relevant to me personally, and which are important in general. And I’ve also appreciated your openness in sharing about your family and personal life.
So often in life we don’t know who we’re impacting, so I want to let you know you’ve impacted me greatly. You’ve forced me to rethink a lot of unhealthy beliefs, which has been incredibly beneficial. And after seeing how far and wide your daily explorations have taken you, you’ve inspired me to go beyond my regular journal writing to more structured, daily writing on various topics, a goal that I’m actually excited about. So I guess what I’m saying is thanks for being you and being willing to express yourself, and know that you’ve made a difference in the life of someone who you don’t even know.
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Jeez, abagond!
First you saying that it’s ok to be “raceless” in Africa, then you condem white people in the USA because they are the same, eventhough they live in a 99% white community. Maybe you should stop feeding the hate!
You a minority! I have the same problem here. Is there something I can do about it? Proberbly not.
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Excellent post, Aba.
I do have to say that the continent of Africa is multiracial. For instance, North Africa is mostly Arab.
Africa is also the most “mixed” continent in the world if you feel my drift. Cape Verde, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Africa, Seychelles are all very racially mixed nations.
Whites actually think about blacks more than even blacks can imagine. Their whiteness relies on blackness so it can never really escape their mind.
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Right, not all of Africa is black and some parts are mixed, like South Africa. The blacks those parts will be race conscious, particularly in South Africa where their race was used against them. I reworded that sentence. Thanks.
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Wayne:
1. I did not say that racelessness in Africa was good.
2. Many of those 99% white communities are themselves racist creations, so it is not quite as innocent as you make it seem.
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“Whatever”. I hate it when kids say this phrase but sometimes there is nothing else that can be said!
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Susan: Wow, what a great thing to hear! Thanks for letting me know.
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canalpublishing said:
Don’t you think America is unique to this because there is not one dominant race here?
Huh? I must be missing something. There is a dominant race: white. And even though America is a mixed country, like South Africa and Brazil, it seems like most whites arrange to live in as white of a world as their money will buy. White flight, etc.
Let’s face it – with all it’s flaws, horrors, injustice, racism and troubles, is still the place most people want to come to in the world because you can be so different and not persecuted for it.
That might be a Jewish point of view. Most people come here because they are sick of being poor.
Also most of the country is very conformist: people try to put you in a box and expect you to act like you belong in that box. And if you do not act according to their narrow little views, then there is something wrong with you.
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“White flight” is only because people want to live in neighbourhoods that are clean and save. This applies to SA.
You should have a look at the brutality and murder in this country and try and imagine your own family going through a night of mothers and daughters getting gangraped, fathers and sons beaten and stabbed to death. A favourate pastime here is when the totsis heat up a clothes iron and have some fun with the family before killing them.
Now, if that was a posiblity of happening to your family abagond, would you stay or whould you go, that’s obviously if you have the means. Poor people will always have no real option.
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no. white flight is when white people move, whenever ANY black person moves into the neighborhood.
a regular black family that is no different from a white family, other than in skin color, moves in, and whites run away.
even if the black family is a mirror image of the white family.
the whites are only scared of the skin tone, and nothing more. they dont give the black family a chance, they dont want to look past their own racism they have against black people, to see that there are many black people who are no different from whites.
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Right: whites leave because blacks are moving in, not because the crime rate is going up. If they say it is because of crime, it is only because they think of blacks as crooks. I know this may come as a shock to some, but most black people are not crooks.
I lived in one of those places in New York where the good white people fled. It did in fact sink into crime and violence, but not till more than 20 to 30 years after they left and not till the great and good of the city started pushing the drug trade there and the police gave it up for lost. Until then it was largely black and middle-class.
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What happened when the crime levels increased? Did the good black folk also leave for another area? I think so, as you obviously moved out!
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Right, I became part of a black flight. But black middle-class flight is based on facts on the ground – crime and bad schools – not on racist fears, like white flight.
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Wow. Not really a Jewish point of view. Where did you get that from? Looks to me like you were generalizing there.
After all, thousands of people from all countries of all races do whatever they can to get here because this is a country where you can do whatever you want if you work hard enough to do it. That is what I meant.
Before you say more, I live in Harlem and do so because it is such a diverse community. I support neighborhood business and help to keep them going. And, before you start in with your gentrification argument, my family has had roots in this community for over 60 years.
I think people of my generation are craving communities based on diversity. I know I do and only feel comfortable when I am part of them.
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But black middle-class flight is based on facts on the ground – crime and bad schools – not on racist fears, like white flight.
White flight was highest in the 60s and 70s when crime was exploding. Also white flight (or middle class flight..) also occurred in predominantly white urban areas like Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon.
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I’m proud to be white. And I think America would be worse off if whites were no longer the majority, just as cities in America once white-dominated–such as LA or Detroit–have become nearly Third World as minorities have become the numerical majority. Why is this? Lots of reasons. But race is one of the reasons, along with all that entails with regard to habits, culture, IQ, etc.
Incidentally, I’ve been the only white guy. When I was around a bunch of Asians, I was A-OK and not worried. Around Hispanics, too. Blacks, not so much.
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I cannot speak to the particular cases of Detroit or LA, but in general American cities have grown beyond their old limits but the tax base has not kept up with that. It is made even worse by white flight.
“Habits, culture, IQ, etc” is a white Republican way of looking at it. They do not want their taxes raised to help the city. They would rather see it go down the drain and blame blacks and Latinos for it. I suppose that is part of white “habits, culture, IQ, etc”.
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I wonder if blacks in Africa are raceless since they are the majority and just blend in with everyone else?
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In some parts of Africa they are, like in Mali or Cameroon, but in other parts they are not, like in South Africa.
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Here’s a comment i encounter a lot on the Buffalo news website after a black on black crime happens. What do you think?”The truth is even blacks don’t want to live with blacks. Blacks would rather live with ‘racist’ white people than live with other blacks”. So many white folks in Buffalo NY believe that and white flight.
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One survey I read said that blacks, if given a choice, would live in a place that is half white and half black. But whites do not like those kinds of neighbourhoods. To them blacks mean crime and they are afraid their children marrying black.
Most whites will admit to the crime part, few I think will admit to the race mixing angle, but it seems to be part of it.
I wrote about white flight here:
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Eve actually was blonde. It takes a blonde to get herself kicked out of Paradise for a piece of fruit :P.
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[…] racelessness « Abagond Racelessness is where you feel or act like you have no race. For example, in much of Africa people do not think of themselves as “black” because everyone is black. But in America it is the opposite: if you are black it is a hard thing to forget – you become race conscious instead of raceless. […]
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Thanks a lot for your blog, it taught me quite a bit, considering that I wasn’t looking for insights on race, but just amusing around on tumblr.
As a (of course white) European it was the strangest thing traveling to Africa and finding myself standing out of the crowd much the same way those few African refugees back home. Not a pleasant experience and in a way I can relate, but still on a rather abstract level.
As a white male in Tanzania I was looked at as a walking money depot by some, which was pretty much to the point. Africans in Europe are looked upon as different and potential threats, pretty much as in the US, with the added thing that we asume (as I do as well, I can’t help it) that a black (or asian) person probably won’t be able to speak my language.
I’d like to know if you call it racist, when you just feel the odd feeling of someone being *different*, what you probably feel as well if you were walking in China or Iran, or some other “exotic” place? Or is the judgement that makes the racist part?
Thanks a lot in advance for your attention.
Wolfram
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There’s an otaku forum for anime lovers to talk,debate and share about animation kingdom. They’re still debating about race in anime characters. While the creators quote them as asians or poc. Some white people still got a difficult time of seeing that. Race come to them through media or internet world.
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First, congratulations on having the courage to write this. I think its an important subject and yours is the first writing Ive ever seen on being raceless.
Second, you sure seem to be obsessed with white people. You mentioned them dozens of times in your writing and seem to know what they are thinking and and their reasons for doing things. Did you interview all the white people?
Starting now, I consider myself raceless. I will try my best not to see people as black or white or anything else. Of course, I won’t be able to keep a stereotype from popping into my head, but I will try not to let it linger there. Those things will happen because of what I have seen, heard and experienced in my life. Anyone who shows an interest in me I will be proud to consider my friend. Anyone who lives in my neighborhood, I will be glad to have as my neighbor and will consider it my responsibility to care for my neighbor. That is unless they have a dog that barks all the time. But even then, if I have an opportunity to do something for them, I will.
Respectfully, why does race matter? Why do we divide people into groups of colors? I don’t want any part of it.
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@ James from Texas:
Please read these posts for further clarifications.
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Leigh204:
Thank you for suggesting the other articles. I spent a few minutes reading them and I have some observations:
“I don’t see colour, I just see a human being”
Again this poster seems to be obsessed with white people and somehow knows what they are all thinking.
I disagree with the writer – for me, I’m not proud of people of my color. I’m not unproud of them either. To me, color is nothing to be proud of. For example: When the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl, a newsperson asked Tony Dungy “How does it feel to be the first African American to win a Super Bowl?”. I thought this was a strange question to ask. I would rather they had asked “How does it feel to be the best in the world?”.
I’m proud of outstanding Americans. Im proud of people who have the same values as I do. I respect people who work hard and love their family. Im proud of my children. My color is not part of who I am. But then, maybe I just don’t understand.
I don’t really see what the writer is getting at and so this writing does not show me how race matters. And who in America spells color with a “U”?
“colour-blind racism”
Again, a very thorough understanding of how white people think, even giving an example of hearing two white people describe a black person and even hearing them when they left the room saying the word “black”. Wow. It seems (in my opinion) to be obsessive.
This writing does not show me why race matters. It does indicate that it matters very much to some people, but doesn’t tell me why it should matter to me.
“Being colour-blind will not end racism”
I appreciate the quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.
The question is posed, “So, what went wrong?” I don’t see that being answered, but maybe Im just missing it. Is being color-blind the thing that went wrong?
The writer says “Not noticing race, on the other hand, means not seeing racism” That may give me something to think about, however of course I do see racism. I perceive it all over the place. Some is probably actual racism and some may not be.
I don’t want to assume something that isn’t correct, but it appears this writer has a strong distrust for white people when they say “…it means you see the racist lies of white people as the truth.”
So, these writings have not shown me why race matters. They show me that RACISM matters, but then I already knew that. My point is: Why should I consider myself a member of a RACE or others a member of a particular RACE?
George Ryder:
I don’t particularly like the term color-blind. Im vowing to myself to NOT judge people based on color. I was looking for a good term to use for myself and thats why I googled “Racelessness”. Im deciding to be raceless.
Considering myself raceless: It doesn’t change anything really. It only means that Im not going to check a box on a form that identifies me as a member of a race because I think it’s irrelevant. It’s my way of doing a very very small thing to stand against racism. It means I wont need to use adjectives like “black” and “white”. I will use the words “Hard working”, “Inconsiderate”, “Awesome”, “Criminal” and “Friend” when appropriate.
I appreciate what you say about waging the war in my own mind – that is where the biggest battle lies. There and how I treat others. That’s the part I can control.
Thank you for your responses and I welcome a discussion.
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One time I got so high I became invisible; thats the highest Ive ever been.
So far.
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This sounds like a post for Raven Simone.
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To be raceless or colorless is to be invisible.
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“One time I got so high I became invisible; thats the highest Ive ever been.”
“To be raceless or colorless is to be invisible.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Is being “invisible” like vibrating (transcending) into a completely different plane of existence??
Or is that something else?
Visibility (white supremacy) is definitely over-rated… it’s like saying, “Look at me … see how SUPERIOR this is.. I am .. we are.”
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