Red and Yellow and Pink and Green

I have known since I was about eight years old that I am red-green color blind. I see all the colors. I can see pure red and I can see pure green; the problem comes when people start mixing colors: for example, purple made up of blue and a little red looks like blue to me.

This has been no big deal. I cannot always see every color. Oh, well. Many years ago I had a friend tell me she felt sorry for me because I did not see all the colors she saw. I replied that she did not see colors that way I did, so I felt sorry for her. The point being, we deal with it and it is no biggie. (Complete color blindness -- where a person sees nothing but black, white and grey -- is a different issue.)

So today I read an article about how gene therapy has been successfully used to help color-blind monkeys see color they could not see before. In the article, it quotes one researcher as saying "People who are color-blind feel that they are missing out." In doing other research, I see phrases indicating that color-blind people "suffer" and are "bothered" because of their "problem" of not being able to see all shades of all colors.

I take great exception to this. I am not suffering and I do not see this as a problem. Okeh, sure, I used to have trouble matching patterned shirts and pants but that's hardly a problem. It is a little tricky telling red from yellow on stoplights while driving, but I just look at their position -- top is red, BTW. (This took a humorous turn when we were driving in Omaha, Nebraska because their stop lights are horizontal, not vertical.)

So what if I cannot tell if green grapes are ripe? So what if I cannot tell when a piece of meat is no longer pink inside? That's what I have Matt for. (Well, that and a few other reasons.) Look at it from my point of view: Can you read the number in this color-blind-test-sample pictured? I can. (If you have normal color perception, you cannot.) It has even been demonstrated that partial color blindness might have provided early humans an advantage in hunting (not being able to see certain colors means an animal's camouflage would not work). So, see? Things aren't so bad.

So, would I ever take advantage of a treatment to allow me to see color like most everyone else? Probably not. Just like I know I would not want to take a treatment to change my sexual orientation. Being gay and being red-green color blind are just parts of who I am. I certainly don't want to be like everyone else. I mean, ick!

You can read the Live Science article here.

You can read more about color blindness here.