'they' only see black and white

On the day of our national elections I made my mark on the ballot paper and felt like perhaps, this election, it might make a difference. I felt happy and proactive, and took a walk home along the beach with my boyfriend. On the way, as I sometimes do, I began to listen to the conversations of the people around us. What did they feel about the elections? Did they share my excitement?

Sadly, the first group I began listening to were talking about the IPL, so that was a bit of a loss. The second group however was more appropriate for my ponderings. It was a middle aged woman talking with someone who appeared to be her daughter. They were talking about who they voted for, and the various parties on offer. The daughter questioned her mother - "who do you think is going to win? the ANC?". Her mother replied, her facial expression showing concern and deep thought. I sped up to hear her. "Well, maybe not the ANC this time, there is COPE now. Not the DA. No, they definitely won't win. You know, 'they' only see black and white." "Probably the ANC then" responded the daughter. "Probably" reiterated her mother.

I wondered how this woman had managed to extricate herself from the 'they'. It was fairly obvious who she was talking about. But how do other women like her come to believe that it is others, not they, who only see in black and white? Is it a case of never having to question the colour of their own skin that makes them appear 'normal' or the starting point for judgement.

Dyer said that whiteness is a 'flesh-coloured' bandaid. It is taken as 'normal' by so many people, that they do not question whether 'flesh-coloured' is really representative at all. When I read this for the first time I thought of those wax crayons that we used to use during primary school. We always called the pinky cream one 'flesh' coloured. When we learnt colours I'm pretty sure that was one of them. How many people felt alienated by this statement? How many teachers didn't question it at all?

So 15 years on race remains important, if not in the way that individuals vote, then in the way others assume they will. Race has changed from the colour of a wax crayon to the colour of a worldview, a culture, a creed. It is now a sticky tab that alerts others to who you are. Why bother asking when you can just use the outer markers to decide?

After speeding up again, this time to avoid eavesdropping, my sense of enjoyment was somewhat deflated. I began to think about what difference I hoped that my vote would make.

Could I have believed that it would change these perceptions, or was I just hoping for a change in government?