Seeing Red

Imagine, if and as you want, 

that I was born without the physical ability to see red…

…the color, that is…and, now, I have come to you to ask you: 

                                                please explain red to me

I believe others can see it

I’ve caused enough confusion about this subject in my life already. I honestly, honestly trust that you do see it. That doesn’t help us to understand one another whenever ‘red’ shows up between us…and you see it clearly…and I do not…at all…

I am neither stupid, lazy, or messing with you. I do not see that color the way that you do…

And we can argue about that forever and we are both completely ‘right’…for ourselves, for the way we are honestly seeing/not seeing the same color/thing.

There is a color that most of us ‘see’ and have been taught to identify as red. Those who can ‘see’ it agree on what that is culturally for them and assign the word for it in their own language. Those who can ‘see’ it also agree that no one ever really ‘sees’ pure red…such a color does not exist…the color red, is itself, a spectrum range of sorts, an approximation—more red than orange, more red than pink, etc…

No one can explain or adequately even describe any pure color…or anything that is absolutely pure at all…everything is a spectrum…on a range…rather bendy…

If you are so kind as to attempt to help me approximate what the color red is, would it not be useful for you to ask me about the shades of colors that I do ‘see’? Would that not help you ‘see’ what color(s) might be closest to the red you ‘see’? Even these types of questions coming from you can give me a sense of where red belongs in the color spectrum gap I experience…and that alone is very helpful.

I may not be able to ‘see’ red directly. However, I can’t thank you enough for showing me where it belongs in our colorful interactions in order for us to not get so confused and frustrated. 

What’s obvious to you…I want to learn about…not fight about…

I recognize that it involves a lot of caring and patience to assist anyone to ‘see’ what, for them, as yet, through no fault on their part at all, they do not.

Each of us simply cannot see what we cannot see.

Unless someone cares enough to see our confusion,

and takes their precious time to slow down,

and, without judgment or fault or blame, if you could be so kind,

to help someone like me.

yes, yes…

We can call anything any color we want anytime.

If, however, we cannot agree to agree on what the range each distinct hue occupies for communication purposes,

we babel at one another without recognizing our own confusion.

Who has time to deal with that?