Here’s a segment of the papers Fox linked to from the Minnesota Historical Society (out of context of course) that gives a very fair treatment of the issue: White_Supremacy_Culture.pdf (texas.gov).
Paternalism
• decision-making is clear to those with power and unclear to those without it
• those with power think they are capable of making decisions for and in the
interests of those without power
• those with power often don’t think it is important or necessary to understand
the viewpoint or experience of those for whom they are making decisions
• those without power understand they do not have it and understand who does
• those without power do not really know how decisions get made and who
makes what decisions, and yet they are completely familiar with the impact
of those decisions on them
antidotes: make sure that everyone knows and understands who makes what
decisions in the organization; make sure everyone knows and understands
their level of responsibility and authority in the organization; include people
who are affected by decisions in the decision-making
Either/Or Thinking
• things are either/or, good/bad, right/wrong, with us/against us
• closely linked to perfectionism in making it difficult to learn from mistakes
or accommodate conflict
• no sense that things can be both/and
• results in trying to simplify complex things, for example believing that
poverty is simply a result of lack of education
• creates conflict and increases sense of urgency, as people are felt they have
to make decisions to do either this or that, with no time or encouragement to
consider alternatives, particularly those which may require more time or
resources
antidotes: notice when people use either/or language and push to come up with
more than two alternatives; notice when people are simplifying complex issues,
particularly when the stakes seem high or an urgent decision needs to be
made; slow it down and encourage people to do a deeper analysis; when people
are faced with an urgent decision, take a break and give people some breathing
room to think creatively; avoid making decisions under extreme pressure
Fear of Open Conflict
• people in power are scared of conflict and try to ignore it or run from it
• when someone raises an issue that causes discomfort, the response is to
blame the person for raising the issue rather than to look at the issue which is
actually causing the problem
• emphasis on being polite
• equating the raising of difficult issues with being impolite, rude, or out of
line
antidotes: role play ways to handle conflict before conflict happens;
distinguish between being polite and raising hard issues; don’t require those
who raise hard issues to raise them in “acceptable” ways, especially if you are
using the ways in which issues are raised as an excuse not to address the issues
being raised; once a conflict is resolved, take the opportunity to revisit it and
see how it might have been handled differently
Individualism
• little experience or comfort working as part of a team
• people in organization believe they are responsible for solving problems
alone
• accountability, if any, goes up and down, not sideways to peers or to those
the organization is set up to serve
• desire for individual recognition and credit
• leads to isolation
• competition more highly valued than cooperation and where cooperation is
valued, little time or resources devoted to developing skills in how to
cooperate
Objectivity
• the belief that there is such a thing as being objective
• the belief that emotions are inherently destructive, irrational, and should not
play a role in decision-making or group process
• invalidating people who show emotion
• requiring people to think in a linear fashion and ignoring or invalidating
those who think in other ways
• impatience with any thinking that does not appear “logical” to those with
power
