I can't quite tell if you already know this, so apologies for being redundant if you do.
It's always been my understanding that the phrase means something more like "doesn't see the colors with the usual negative connotations attached."
That's the nice, white interpretation of the phrase; I have not come across it to mean one truly cannot see different races or cultures (though willful misunderstanding or ignorance on the other hand...). What that phrase really means is that whiteness becomes the default: "See, this is the thing: These are the behaviors I have experienced from people, from a world, that is color-blind. I will always be a person of color. Being color-blind means people will never see me: they'll only see the places where their culture overlaps with mine." (http://helsmeta.livejournal.com/208601.html) The whiter you are (and if you never, ever bring up race/racism) the more (white) people are able to be "colour blind": you're really a white person with a tan!
So, for hypothetical example, a person who is color blind would see a black person and ably recognize that the person has darker skin, but won't see him/her and also automatically see a person who is lazy and stupid as someone who is not color blind would see.
Otoh, someone who isn't colour blind might see him as an actual person, complete with faults.
About the only time I've seen that phrase work the way it's maybe supposed to is with the casting of Grey's Anatomy (though the lead couple are still white). But I also think they were perhaps being more colour aware than colour blind.
no subject
It's always been my understanding that the phrase means something more like "doesn't see the colors with the usual negative connotations attached."
That's the nice, white interpretation of the phrase; I have not come across it to mean one truly cannot see different races or cultures (though willful misunderstanding or ignorance on the other hand...). What that phrase really means is that whiteness becomes the default: "See, this is the thing: These are the behaviors I have experienced from people, from a world, that is color-blind. I will always be a person of color. Being color-blind means people will never see me: they'll only see the places where their culture overlaps with mine." (http://helsmeta.livejournal.com/208601.html) The whiter you are (and if you never, ever bring up race/racism) the more (white) people are able to be "colour blind": you're really a white person with a tan!
So, for hypothetical example, a person who is color blind would see a black person and ably recognize that the person has darker skin, but won't see him/her and also automatically see a person who is lazy and stupid as someone who is not color blind would see.
Otoh, someone who isn't colour blind might see him as an actual person, complete with faults.
About the only time I've seen that phrase work the way it's maybe supposed to is with the casting of Grey's Anatomy (though the lead couple are still white). But I also think they were perhaps being more colour aware than colour blind.