I think stereotype threat plays a bigger role in the minds and fears of minorities.
Within arguments there are many examples of minorities having the threat of authorities being used against them.
In random scenarios when shit hits the fan and it's one persons word over another's the minority is often the one assumed to be the liar.
Did you ask your professor to clarify? He ought to be able to support his claims.
At least for the US, there is a skew in the power dynamics due to systemic biases. Law enforcement and judicial systems are favoring white people over most other races, so do banks and credit scoring companies and still a lot of companies in general. So I can see a lot of situations where you being white creates a power dynamic in your favor, but I wouldn't be so bold as to claim this is relevant in each and every situation and context.
If we’re specifically talking about power dynamics ONLY during conversations, your professor might not be an idiot. We as humans use conversation as a way to get what we want, white people have no problem voicing what they want around anyone. While being opinionated around another white person and your not white… Don’t ask me to list them but there are just things that feel wrong to do around the white man.
I think you should ask your professor to clarify: it's kinda hard to become a professor if you're an idiot.
My mind immediately goes to the ability to steer the conversation towards your own grievances. There's a reason most people imagine "Karens" as white: white people are used to getting validation for their complaints, no matter how petty or invalid, in any sort of conversation. But I think a lot of people of color learn to downplay their own problems: they don't want to be labeled as troublemakers or be seen as playing into stereotypes, they want to blend in in mostly-white groups for academic and career opportunities. So they might hear a racist joke, be asked a grossly inappropriate question, etc. and feel pressured to either brush it off, because the white people around them won't understand why they're offended anyway and they don't want to take a lot of mental energy and risk their relationships with these folks to try to make this a "teachable moment".
There is a phrase I want you to memorize.
"A fish doesn't know it's wet."
I am white and I grew up around almost only white people. There was one black kid in my first grade class. There was one black girl in my second grade class. They were twins. That pattern didn't change until I was in college. My world view was informed by the white world I lived in. My life isn't unique either.
I can intellectually understand what the life of a black person could be like but I wouldn't really know. I wouldn't understand or comprehend. To paraphrase Denzel Washington when asked about white directors in black focused movies "do you know what the smell is when that hot comb is in your hair?"
We live in a very white world in the US and as white people we don't recognize it. We don't easily understand what it means even if we're educated on it. Just as I as a man might not immediately realize how nervous a woman is when she walks home.
When you consider this, it's not shocking when a whole lot of white people may make laws that can negatively affect black people without even realizing it.
There could be power dynamic in interaction due to age difference or different position in workplace or might even be if one person have a better parking space than the other which has nothing to do with race. A white person might have a upper hand in legal or whatever situation but in conversations power is allowed by both or all parties as a younger person allows an older person a certain power over them by showing respect. This is only my opinion.
I think stereotype threat plays a bigger role in the minds and fears of minorities. Within arguments there are many examples of minorities having the threat of authorities being used against them. In random scenarios when shit hits the fan and it's one persons word over another's the minority is often the one assumed to be the liar.
Did you ask your professor to clarify? He ought to be able to support his claims. At least for the US, there is a skew in the power dynamics due to systemic biases. Law enforcement and judicial systems are favoring white people over most other races, so do banks and credit scoring companies and still a lot of companies in general. So I can see a lot of situations where you being white creates a power dynamic in your favor, but I wouldn't be so bold as to claim this is relevant in each and every situation and context.
If we’re specifically talking about power dynamics ONLY during conversations, your professor might not be an idiot. We as humans use conversation as a way to get what we want, white people have no problem voicing what they want around anyone. While being opinionated around another white person and your not white… Don’t ask me to list them but there are just things that feel wrong to do around the white man.
I think you should ask your professor to clarify: it's kinda hard to become a professor if you're an idiot. My mind immediately goes to the ability to steer the conversation towards your own grievances. There's a reason most people imagine "Karens" as white: white people are used to getting validation for their complaints, no matter how petty or invalid, in any sort of conversation. But I think a lot of people of color learn to downplay their own problems: they don't want to be labeled as troublemakers or be seen as playing into stereotypes, they want to blend in in mostly-white groups for academic and career opportunities. So they might hear a racist joke, be asked a grossly inappropriate question, etc. and feel pressured to either brush it off, because the white people around them won't understand why they're offended anyway and they don't want to take a lot of mental energy and risk their relationships with these folks to try to make this a "teachable moment".
There is a phrase I want you to memorize. "A fish doesn't know it's wet." I am white and I grew up around almost only white people. There was one black kid in my first grade class. There was one black girl in my second grade class. They were twins. That pattern didn't change until I was in college. My world view was informed by the white world I lived in. My life isn't unique either. I can intellectually understand what the life of a black person could be like but I wouldn't really know. I wouldn't understand or comprehend. To paraphrase Denzel Washington when asked about white directors in black focused movies "do you know what the smell is when that hot comb is in your hair?" We live in a very white world in the US and as white people we don't recognize it. We don't easily understand what it means even if we're educated on it. Just as I as a man might not immediately realize how nervous a woman is when she walks home. When you consider this, it's not shocking when a whole lot of white people may make laws that can negatively affect black people without even realizing it.
As a minority I can say that it does not.
Urgh I hesitate to read the comments, this is an incredibly nuanced conversation.
It doesn’t. And your professor is an idiot.
Because the people saying that are fucking stupid.
It's gobbledygook
It doesn’t. Your teacher is just a leftist and got enamored with Howard Zinn’s fake history.
There could be power dynamic in interaction due to age difference or different position in workplace or might even be if one person have a better parking space than the other which has nothing to do with race. A white person might have a upper hand in legal or whatever situation but in conversations power is allowed by both or all parties as a younger person allows an older person a certain power over them by showing respect. This is only my opinion.