Because Bob asked, yes, I have heard white people talk about "what white people do", or doing things "like a white man", and it was positively about what was expected of a well-behaved person in my (white) society. I never heard it as conveying bad feeling about African-Americans or any other racial or ethnic group. Rather it cast aspersions on white people who don't behave properly. It's a lot like saying "act like a man!" when you want to push some virtue that you and the man you are talking to might have a common understanding on. It isn't said out of contempt for women or children. It's just leaning on the person's identity and expecting that they connect that identity with some favored character traits.
I feel like by mentioning whiteness there must be some degree (perhaps minor) of assumption that non-whites might be expected to behave less honourably.
Definitely not something that I would expect to hear from an elite media figure in current year.
Because Bob asked, yes, I have heard white people talk about "what white people do", or doing things "like a white man", and it was positively about what was expected of a well-behaved person in my (white) society. I never heard it as conveying bad feeling about African-Americans or any other racial or ethnic group. Rather it cast aspersions on white people who don't behave properly. It's a lot like saying "act like a man!" when you want to push some virtue that you and the man you are talking to might have a common understanding on. It isn't said out of contempt for women or children. It's just leaning on the person's identity and expecting that they connect that identity with some favored character traits.
I feel like by mentioning whiteness there must be some degree (perhaps minor) of assumption that non-whites might be expected to behave less honourably.
Definitely not something that I would expect to hear from an elite media figure in current year.