The Color Wheel

White. What a word. It's a color. A race. A word that is pinned to a variety of words to connote a certain meaning. White is the color of innocence, purity, and cleanliness. Brides wear white.
But why? White, a simple color has become deeply integrated into our society. Why not green, or blue, or, (my personal favorite) yellow?
We had a long discussion about the meaning of whitewashing in class the other day. When you whitewash something you conceal something. It's relevant to paint, and virtually everything else involving censorship. I was shocked that I'd never noticed the connection between that term and the color. I began to think of other terms or phrases in which white is usually used.
The first term I thought of was a white lie. A white lie is deemed acceptable by society.It is used to protect someone's feelings. It is innocent. Yet it is still a lie. Does the fact that it is called white make it better, less "dark" and instead sinless?
The second term I thought of was white noise. This term is very closely related to that of whitewash. White noise covers something up as well. It is used in households around the world for a simple form of comfort. It puts babies to sleep; so it must be relaxing, welcome and commonplace. If white and black are opposite colors, would black noise be the opposite of white noise? What would black noise sound like? Would it wake someone up, would it be loud and raucous?
"Like black and white," is an everyday term...meaning opposites, two extremes. But if this comparison of colors is applicable to everything, what does that say about the black and white races? Are blacks the opposite of whites? No. Is there any connection between pure white snow and pale skin? No. They are not even the same color. Is there any connection between a bat and the skin of an African-American? No. They are entirely different. Color does not indicate internal differences. How could it if you can so easily cover color up? You can paint anything whatever color you want.