If you are saying that power dynamics have to do with INDIVIDUAL interactions, I agree.
If that's true, why crack down on gangs by name? Why call out MS-13 if power dynamics are only individual? And yes, I used an extreme example, guilty as charged. The, but the fact remains there are power dynamics in groups.
Here let me put into a syllogism....
Major Premise: If all power dynamics were purely individual, then group membership would have no impact on the nature of a threat.
Minor Premise: A threat from a gang member is different in nature from a threat from a similar individual due to the power dynamics of the group.
Conclusion: Therefore, not all power dynamics are purely individual.
Now, let's do the same for Racism.
A syllogism to explain this can be constructed as follows (in a black, white sense):
Major Premise: Racism is defined as prejudice plus systemic power. This means that for an act to be considered "racism" in the sociological sense, it must be an act of prejudice from a member of the dominant group against a member of a marginalized group, where the prejudice is backed by institutional and historical power that creates and maintains an unequal social structure.
Minor Premise: In the United States, white people have historically held and continue to hold the dominant systemic power, while black people have been and continue to be a marginalized group within that system.
Conclusion: Therefore, when a white person acts with prejudice against a black person, it is an act of racism because it is supported by a system of power. When a black person acts with prejudice against a white person, it is an act of prejudice, but it is not racism in the same systemic sense because it is not backed by the same institutional power to create widespread oppression or disadvantage.
There is a difference between racism and prejudice, racism is prejudice plus power.
Just as a gang threat is different than a threat from an induvial.
