Prejudice plus power

"Prejudice plus power" is a redefinition of words like "racism" and "sexism", taking on the following form:

The original definition of "racism" is something like "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior." The narrower definition of "prejudice plus power" requires one ethnic group to be in a dominant position on a societal level over other ethnic groups and posits that this revised version of the word "racism" can only apply to them, due to their having more power to institute and take advantage of their racism. This version describes another type of racism. In fact, since this version of the word "racism" is applied at the group level, it often leads to the "logical" conclusion that all members of the dominant group are de facto racists.

The phrase institutional racism, where discrimination is a systemic consequence of old prejudices, aligns more closely with the "prejudice plus power" paradigm, particularly when institutions are involved in the exercise of power. This term was coined in the book Black Power in 1967, is uncontroversial, unambiguous, and does not conflict with an existing definition.

Another view of racism considers it not as a power imbalance, but as an ignorant and tribal expression of fear and hate, towards any race or ethnicity. In this view, the phenomenon of racism is seen as the collective problem of society and mankind, something that each and every human being is capable of and has a responsibility to remain vigilant against. Power imbalance only factors into the extent of the consequences.

Whether you agree or disagree with the definition, words can have many meanings at the same time. The use of racism to mean "prejudice plus power" by however many academics does not disqualify other definitions of the term any more than psychiatrists defining the term "depression" as a specific disorder disqualifies using it to mean being extremely sad. "Prejudice plus power" as used by some academics is what is called a, used primarily for academic research to literally simplify discussions and text, not to "replace" other definitions of the word in common usage. Whichever definition is used is only relative to the argument at hand and is important to establish prior to discussion for the point of distinction.

Etymology
The word "racism" originated around 1936, "when a new word was required to describe the theories on which the Nazis based their persecution of the Jews". Earlier, this was called "racialism", "race hatred", or "race prejudice". The word "sexism" was coined in 1968 by Caroline Bird, with the definition:

Notably, both of the original definitions defy the prejudice plus power definition — that came later: the phrase "prejudice plus power" was created in 1970 by Pat Bidol and popularized by Judith H. Katz in her 1978 book White Awareness: Handbook for Anti-Racism Training:

Another example of the rationale behind the expression dates from 1973 (as given by the ),

Criticisms of the definition
Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.

Power can come in many forms other than oppression of minorities
If a minority individual happens to be the hiring manager for a position then that individual has power over those applying for a job regardless of their race or the race of the applicants. Refusing to hire anyone who was not of the same race as them would logically be a demonstration of both prejudice and power and thus should count as racism even using a prejudice plus power definition despite the person being part of the minority race. Similarly someone from a traditionally 'underpowered' group may have power over someone from a majority group due to such situations as position, wealth, friends and contacts, knowledge or skills, physical strength, or any number of other situations. It's disingenuous to claim just because one is of a minority group they can never be in a situation where they have power over others in some form.

A more extreme example of this argument claims that bigotry and hatred possess a form of power in and of themselves. It's possible for one to feel saddened, hurt, or angered by hearing bigotry and hatred spouted at them regardless of the relative power of the individual demonstrating that hatred. If the mere act over vocalizing bigotry provides one the power to emotionally harm another then anyone vocalizing prejudice would therefor have already meet the prejudice plus power definition required to be defined as a racist or sexist.

"Single cause, single solution" fallacy
In An Examination of Anti-Racist and Anti-Oppressive Theory and Practice in Social Work Education, senior lecturer in sociology Marie Macey and senior lecturer in social work Eileen Moxon wrote;

This view of race and power only works if all white people are treated as active members of a cohesive body called "white people". True, whites have had — and still have — huge statistical advantages. However, it is unreasonable to believe that possessing white skin gives one "access to the power" to change institutional and cultural processes, and as such, it is unfair to attribute racism to all whites. As such, asserting that all whites are racist simultaneously devalues the work of white antiracists and lends credence to the ridiculous idea that anti-racists just wanna hate on whites.

Prejudice and power are not causally connected
David Pilgrim, curator of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, has this to say on the conflicting definitions of racism:

Obviously this would apply to any racial group that happens to be disadvantaged in a given area. Some of the more obvious examples in the world would include Indians living in Uganda during the rule of Idi Amin, white people formerly living under the rule of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, or the Ainu people of Japan.

Pilgrim goes on to describe how, as an adolescent attending a previously all-white junior high school in the seventies, he was pelted with stones by white passers-by. He points out that many of these bigoted whites were poverty-stricken and so lacked power: "To argue that one must have power in order to be racist is to suggest that the man in Prichard, Alabama who called me a 'red nigger' and threw a rock at me was not a racist. A different explanation is that his poverty and lack of power made him susceptible to anti-black racism." He goes on to relate how facing this prejudice caused him and his fellow black youth at the school to hate the poor whites in a similar capacity:

Reliance on word games
Unsurprisingly the attempt by a handful of academics and activists to redefine a word in a certain ideological frame has been criticized, since this is not how words are typically defined and it makes their argument utterly unfalsifiable. Rationalist Scott Alexander, after quoting someone who insists that racism only refers to prejudice plus power, argues:

In the comments he goes on to argue why it is disingenuous to use a word like "racism" in a way most people don't:

Incitement of bigotry and racial tension
In The Pedagogy of the Meaning of Racism: Reconciling a Discordant Discourse, Carlos Hoyt, Jr. argues that the revised definition "charges white people with being de facto racists ... while providing an exemption to black people from being held accountable for racist beliefs". He advises that teachers use more specific, nuanced terms, such as "Race-based Oppression" or "Institutional Race-based Oppression":

He similarly recounts his youthful prejudices, considering them racism:

Disregarding multiple forms of oppression
Other groups have suggested that instead of painting all oppression in terms of "prejudice plus power", both can be problems simultaneously. For example, the Institute of Race Relations writes;

The IRR's definition suggests that racism can be a problem in all of four areas (individual people's beliefs, individual people's actions, organizational actions, and state actions) all at once. In turn, this suggests that prejudice is a problem at all levels of power — meaning that one need not be the most powerful, or even more powerful, to be a cause of harmful prejudice. As Black Panther Party founder Huey Newton wrote regarding homosexuality:

Failure to address economic inequality
Literary theorist wrote on the vital importance of understanding basic socioeconomics as the engine for bigotry in US society, stating:

A term of division claiming social justice
Almost everyone's on the same page when it comes to saying that prejudice is a bad thing, and that certain expressions of prejudice have more direct negative consequences than others. The problem with the prejudice-plus-power equation, however, is that it inherently shifts responsibility towards and from certain individuals as defined by very broad groupings (such as being "white" or "black"), based on simple variables. In this way, it is a divisive definition that breeds resentment between racial groups, rather than bringing them together to fight a common enemy. As civil rights activist Fred Hampton said:

Undermining anti-racism
Lol when people call you racist because of the color of your skin. It could be argued that validating bigotry against white men undermines anti-racism activism in general due to the attempts to justify one form of bigotry and not others being so paper-thin. It could also serve as a recruitment tool for white racists who want to make whites feel like they are under attack and give them cover when they are accused of racism. Moderate libertarian Cathy Young argues: