Help Thy Neighbor (But Only If They Look Like You?)

Why do superhero's wear masks? Obviously that's a rhetorical question because we all know that the purpose of the mask is to protect their identity. It's not because the hero believes that he or she is unattractive, (because if that was the case the hulk would have worn a mask) but it is because at the end of the day it does not matter who the face behind the mask is. Their heroic actions are all that need to be recognized.

So why is it that in real life we measure the goodness of someone's actions based on the face behind the mask? How do people expect us to be progressive as a global society when we are trying to overcome prejudice and reform injustice by utilizing prejudice in our methods?

There has been a lot of criticism of 'Kony 2012' because of this concept of the 'white savior'. If people truly want to help one another and become progressive as a global society, the race/ethnicity/nationality of someone leading a campaign aimed towards bettering people's lives should not matter. This is less about the 'Kony 2012' video, but more of the reaction people had to it. Rather than agreeing or disagreeing with the filmmakers suggestion to amend the problem (one I personally disagree with), the focus has been on race and it always is.

I promise that in regards to act of charity the people receiving the help will only see one thing when they receive aid, and that is humanity. If our world even has the slightest chance at becoming a 'better place', we can not measure the value of good deeds based on the race of the individual.

In Response to ----> http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/03/is-the-kony-2012-viral-vid-another-case-of-white-savior-syndrome/