yeah, the last thing you want to do is buy into the notion that the world is aligned against you. Its a self fulfilling prophecy and we do people a disservice propagating the idea.
Yet ... many many minority kids grow up with that mindset, and just telling them they're wrong is not going to get them to change their mindset ... in fact it will only make them more defensive and angry at you.
You know what could be productive? Acknowledging that there are more things stacked against them than the average white kid, for example, but that life is kind of like that.
So since nobody rises to low expectations ... they need to set high standards for themselves and fight like hell to achieve those expectations because even though the odds aren't in their favor ... what used to be a 20 foot concrete wall now is nowadays only a little hurdle ... they just have to actually jump
Well, I'm not in the business of telling minority kids they are wrong.
I'm just advocating that we don't reinforce the idea that achievement requires that you must be approved of by the mainstream. It does not. Dozens of other things are more important. Let us focus on those.
Recognizing the myriad factors involved in social capital, social networks, and cultural bias should not be misconstrued as reinforcing privilege. In practice, it's exactly the opposite.