The Color of Fear

I watched a portion of The Color of Fear during my Adult Education class this summer and it was one of the most powerful things I've ever seen. Through the inter-library loan program at PSU (Summit), I was able to check out the video and am now watching the entire documentary. This first portion is every bit as powerful as I remember and it's hard to keep from weeping as I watch it.

The film documents conversation in a focus group formed of men from a variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds - Asian, Latina, Black, and White. These men don't identify themselves specifically by those words but I'm using them for the sake of explanation. There are two white men in the group, one who admits his racism, one who just wonders why we can't all get along - wonders why all those 'other' people create problems for themselves.

Listening to him is infuriating and enraging and eye-opening. Eye-opening simply because, in my experience, there are SO MANY white people who think and feel the same way. It's infuriating and enraging to watch and listen to him sitting in the group - disseminating information with such an air of superiority and self-righteousness.

It's extremely difficult to withold judgement and realize that he's not intentionally trying to be cruel and unfeeling but that he simply has no idea - at all - about what it means to be a white person. Peggy McIntosh wrote an article, Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege, that should be absolutely required reading for every person in every school in America. I would suggest that the article also be read in every Euro-White nation but I'm not sure if it's too culturally relevant to America to apply elsewhere.

With people like this, it's difficult to have compassion and realize that they are speaking from a place of ignorance and fear. Many people are often unwilling to transform because transformation can be terrifying and can force us to look at aspects of ourselves that we feel we can't bear to see. I cannot even begin to imagine what it was like to be in that group of men and face those issues in such a direct and honest fashion. I have such admiration and respect for the courage of those men and other men and women who are willing to facilitate such conversations.