I generally dislike getting involved in these conversations on the internet, but I fear I must shake off my hesitation to address this particular comment: “...that professor you described is an anti-oppression expert because he knows more than any putatively "oppressed" people about their oppression...”
I am still reeling from disbelief at your statement, so I apologize in advance for any lack of tact this may induce on my part.
First of all, you cannot be so deluded as to say that a proclaimed expert could know more about an individual’s oppression. I cannot even agree with that as a proposed generalization, so I am hoping that you were being slightly facetious with your perspective. If not - what? Seriously, what? Ever heard of the power of lived experience? Granted, this professor has certain credentials after his name that indicate his cognitive superiority (perhaps) and critical thinking skills (again, perhaps). However, by no means do those credentials discredit an oppressed person’s ability to completely comprehend the systemic and structural barriers that hinder their growth (educated or not; trained or not).
Secondly, I personally know this professor, and I know that a solid potion of his knowledge is derived from the people who experience oppression everyday; essentially, his heightened understanding is achieved through a two-way COLLABORATION over anything else (even meticulous studying).
Lastly, for a group who is considered the “minority” in social work, many of the white boys sure do take up a lot of space in the higher echelons of leadership. The difference, you see, is that your minority status still does not take away your unadulterated source of societal power.