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carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
4.0
After reading Wise's White Like Me, I was unsure that I wanted to read another of his books, but I am glad that I did. This book is the combination of two essays on race in America, particularly related to the 2008 election of our first person of color to the office of the President.
This was a good read, and quick and easy. I leave you with one quote to ponder:
"Confrontin racism is white folks' responsibility because even though we, in the present, are not to blame for the system we have inherited, the fact is, we have inherited it nonetheless, and continue to benefit, consciously or not, from the entrenched privileges that are the legacy of that system."
This was a good read, and quick and easy. I leave you with one quote to ponder:
"Confrontin racism is white folks' responsibility because even though we, in the present, are not to blame for the system we have inherited, the fact is, we have inherited it nonetheless, and continue to benefit, consciously or not, from the entrenched privileges that are the legacy of that system."
zkendall's review against another edition
5.0
This is a powerful book. It is small and short. I highly recommend it. Tim Wise lays out racism 2.0. Racism 2.0 is the current oppressor of minorities. It is not often not blatant; it rides on the privilege of the dominant group (i.e. Whites).
I was introduced to this (as well as issues of sexism and classism) in Soc 101, but this was a great follow up.
P.S. I watched a ten minute video of Wise on youtube. He's a great rhetor. Check him out.
I was introduced to this (as well as issues of sexism and classism) in Soc 101, but this was a great follow up.
P.S. I watched a ten minute video of Wise on youtube. He's a great rhetor. Check him out.
greeniezona's review against another edition
5.0
I was quite happy when this book popped up on my paperbackswap wish list. I started reading it fairly soon after receiving it in the mail, stealing a few minutes here and there to read, often on the walk to work. Then, the train trip to Kalamazoo (for our fall OMA meeting) afforded me the chance to plunge through the rest of the book, fighting back tears in the Kalamazoo train station as I waited for Debbie to pick me up, as I read about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and finished the book.
As always, I found Tim Wise's writing to be insightful and incredibly informative. I had really been yearning for Wise's analysis of the racial issues surrounding Obama's election, and it was wonderful to have Wise not just validate all my uncomfortableness with some of the stupid crap people kept saying by laying those same issues out, but to have him really dig deep into exactly what made them so awful and wrong.
At times it felt like I was bookmarking every other page, and many quotes theories and anecdotes made their way into my conversations in the following weeks. I could go on and on about why I find the writings of this white anti-racism activist refreshing, but instead I filled my reading journal with a list of page references to quotes and arguments that I wanted to be able to refer back to. Normally, I just write the entire quotes. But with this book? There were too many and too long and it would have taken an age. Though I do want to record this one quote, which is a lovely statement on the book as a whole:
As always, I found Tim Wise's writing to be insightful and incredibly informative. I had really been yearning for Wise's analysis of the racial issues surrounding Obama's election, and it was wonderful to have Wise not just validate all my uncomfortableness with some of the stupid crap people kept saying by laying those same issues out, but to have him really dig deep into exactly what made them so awful and wrong.
At times it felt like I was bookmarking every other page, and many quotes theories and anecdotes made their way into my conversations in the following weeks. I could go on and on about why I find the writings of this white anti-racism activist refreshing, but instead I filled my reading journal with a list of page references to quotes and arguments that I wanted to be able to refer back to. Normally, I just write the entire quotes. But with this book? There were too many and too long and it would have taken an age. Though I do want to record this one quote, which is a lovely statement on the book as a whole:
... I have come to realize something: namely, even with Barack Obama as the forty-fourth president of the United States, we will still need a back-up plan. For Obama cannot be relied upon, any more so than any other president or national leader, to shepherd our nation out of the wilderness of racism and inequality. The job is too great, and the single solitary man too small for such an effort. Which is to say that if we want the job done right, we're going to have to do it ourselves, all of us.
lacifaeria's review against another edition
5.0
I knew this was going to be a quick read when I picked it up since it was a relatively small book and only about 120 pgs. long. However, for how small a book it is, every single page is packed to the brim with data, facts, and figures to support Wise's eloquent rebuttal of widely-held racist beliefs and sheds some much needed light on the truth about our racist nation. That's not an opinion. It's a fact that large percentages of the country aren't aware of or deliberately hide from. Racism has been part of our nation from it's inception and is one of the few American legacies that we continue to inherit to this day.
For me, the sad part about this book was that it was written at the start of the Obama presidency and was rife with possible predictions about how the nation would fare with a black president. And sadly, in every single opportunity where Wise saw huge potential for the advancement of the nation in this area, what wound up happening was the worst of his predictions came to pass. So that as I read it, I could almost hear the joy and the hope in his words that Obama's presidency would provide the catalyst for true growth. And every single time, even as he stated the worst possible outcomes for the nation, he stated them dismissively, because he was so convinced that this was truly a momentous occasion full of potential. Because I read this book in the last year of Obama's two terms as president, I can see all the potential that's been squandered in the wake of that moment. So it's kinda sad on a different level, because here this man was, looking forward at the horizon where a black president was even possible, and he was cautiously optimistic about what this could do to ameliorate a longstanding tear in our nation's fabric. However, I'm reading it at the end of Obama's presidency, where all of the open questions about what it would mean for the nation and it's history of racism have been answered, and unfortunately, Wise's worst predictions all came true. That instead of capitalizing on the moment, most people went back to sleep, convinced that racism had been solved. That things have actually gotten worse for PoC, namely black and brown people but Asian Americans still face wage discrimination and less opportunities for advancement. That people did in fact begin to limit black people and hold them up to an Obama standard of excellence, dismissing all who didn't live up to his benchmark, while simultaneously questioning everything he says or does because they don't really believe in his legitimacy as leader of the US. That the disparities between the races have increased as a result. That there are more and more crimes committed against these marginalized communities and the injustices only add up. The rift wasn't ameliorated. There wasn't real mending. For a lot of liberal voters, voting for Obama succeeded in the only thing that mattered: shelving the uncomfortable conversation of racism and white privilege under the guise of supporting one least threatening.
So that at the end of the book, in the second essay, where he talks about his colleague who always said, "Well, you better have a back-up plan," you could tell that from Wise's perspective, he was really hoping we'd moved past needing one. But his friend was right. "You better have a back-up plan" was a sage warning and the need for it came to fruition. I watched all the hope of true growth against racism get squandered over the last 8 years, and in many cases, things have gotten worse. The bar set by Obama simultaneously allows people to feel comfortable in dismissing black and brown people and punishes the "good blacks" who do ascend to "respectability". It's a sickness.....a sickness that is this country's oldest addiction. And it doesn't seem to have any indication of abating soon. And because of that, the nation continues to suffer, evenmoreso now because so many people thought that Obama's presidency was the cheap panacea to the difficult work of truly examining racism and white privilege -- so while large percentages think the problem was "fixed", it merely proliferated. It changed shape, something Wise refers to as Racism 2.0, but it's still here. It's still insidious. It's still cruel and callous and a grave injustice that not only robs PoC of opportunities to advance, but actually steals billions of dollars from us in lost revenue and wealth due to housing discrimination, educational discrimination, hiring discrimination, etc. All of which are ignored because Obama became president, and people are more comfortable using this individual presidency to bludgeon others than recognize just how much work needs to be done to fix this problem.
The ending section, where Wise was advising white people on the steps that need to be taken to move forward, was sad to read. Besides reading the litany of government medical and chemical experimentation on Black and Brown communities (and I actually want a more comprehensive book to read on the subject now because I didn't know how bad some of it was and I'm pretty sure Wise was just scratching the surface with his summation), reading the real-life accounts was touching, poignant, disheartening. Partially because I was able to empathize with the pain of my people, and partially because I was unfortunately able to see so much of myself in the accounts. It is an important section on valuing and really listening to different perspectives in order to hear what's being said.
But no one wants to listen.
And so that's where we are. This was written at the start of the Obama presidency and much to the chagrin of this one reader, it appears as if the worst predictions for the nation came to pass. I don't know where we go from here, Tim Wise. We failed. We failed spectacularly. And we continue to fail, only this time, we require being coddled in that failure while more and more unarmed black people are being murdered by the police and more studies come out about hiring discrimination and more stories about virtual genocide in cities like Flint, MI come to light. And I don't necessarily know what to do about that because how do you reach people whose entire identity benefits from the shaky foundation of racial superiority? How do you reach people who need to dehumanize you to justify their existences? How do you break through to people for whom ignoring racism or staying silent and complicit in the face of racism only stands to benefit them? We are a nation of cowards, and that's why racism will continue, even as a nation reacts more viciously to the brand "racist" than any actual racism they turn their head at and whistle to forget about.
We are a nation of cowards, Tim Wise. We'll never get better until that stops being the truth. I wish I could afford to send out this book as a stocking stuffer or required reading for people who want to interact with me -- but I've been facing extreme job discrimination where I live so the idea of being able to afford anything above survival is daunting at best, and almost impossible at worst. And let me tell you, living in Portland, the liberal mecca of the PNW, I can tell you that there are plenty of Racism 2.0 liberals here, and they're "tired" of being reminded that racism is still here and that we are still being victimized by it. And if that's the attitude in one of the most self-proclaimed liberal cities in the country, I can assure you that Racism is here to stay. Mostly because it benefits far too many people and coddles them in their complacency to remain quiet.
As I said, we are a nation of cowards. Cowards and bullies.
For me, the sad part about this book was that it was written at the start of the Obama presidency and was rife with possible predictions about how the nation would fare with a black president. And sadly, in every single opportunity where Wise saw huge potential for the advancement of the nation in this area, what wound up happening was the worst of his predictions came to pass. So that as I read it, I could almost hear the joy and the hope in his words that Obama's presidency would provide the catalyst for true growth. And every single time, even as he stated the worst possible outcomes for the nation, he stated them dismissively, because he was so convinced that this was truly a momentous occasion full of potential. Because I read this book in the last year of Obama's two terms as president, I can see all the potential that's been squandered in the wake of that moment. So it's kinda sad on a different level, because here this man was, looking forward at the horizon where a black president was even possible, and he was cautiously optimistic about what this could do to ameliorate a longstanding tear in our nation's fabric. However, I'm reading it at the end of Obama's presidency, where all of the open questions about what it would mean for the nation and it's history of racism have been answered, and unfortunately, Wise's worst predictions all came true. That instead of capitalizing on the moment, most people went back to sleep, convinced that racism had been solved. That things have actually gotten worse for PoC, namely black and brown people but Asian Americans still face wage discrimination and less opportunities for advancement. That people did in fact begin to limit black people and hold them up to an Obama standard of excellence, dismissing all who didn't live up to his benchmark, while simultaneously questioning everything he says or does because they don't really believe in his legitimacy as leader of the US. That the disparities between the races have increased as a result. That there are more and more crimes committed against these marginalized communities and the injustices only add up. The rift wasn't ameliorated. There wasn't real mending. For a lot of liberal voters, voting for Obama succeeded in the only thing that mattered: shelving the uncomfortable conversation of racism and white privilege under the guise of supporting one least threatening.
So that at the end of the book, in the second essay, where he talks about his colleague who always said, "Well, you better have a back-up plan," you could tell that from Wise's perspective, he was really hoping we'd moved past needing one. But his friend was right. "You better have a back-up plan" was a sage warning and the need for it came to fruition. I watched all the hope of true growth against racism get squandered over the last 8 years, and in many cases, things have gotten worse. The bar set by Obama simultaneously allows people to feel comfortable in dismissing black and brown people and punishes the "good blacks" who do ascend to "respectability". It's a sickness.....a sickness that is this country's oldest addiction. And it doesn't seem to have any indication of abating soon. And because of that, the nation continues to suffer, evenmoreso now because so many people thought that Obama's presidency was the cheap panacea to the difficult work of truly examining racism and white privilege -- so while large percentages think the problem was "fixed", it merely proliferated. It changed shape, something Wise refers to as Racism 2.0, but it's still here. It's still insidious. It's still cruel and callous and a grave injustice that not only robs PoC of opportunities to advance, but actually steals billions of dollars from us in lost revenue and wealth due to housing discrimination, educational discrimination, hiring discrimination, etc. All of which are ignored because Obama became president, and people are more comfortable using this individual presidency to bludgeon others than recognize just how much work needs to be done to fix this problem.
The ending section, where Wise was advising white people on the steps that need to be taken to move forward, was sad to read. Besides reading the litany of government medical and chemical experimentation on Black and Brown communities (and I actually want a more comprehensive book to read on the subject now because I didn't know how bad some of it was and I'm pretty sure Wise was just scratching the surface with his summation), reading the real-life accounts was touching, poignant, disheartening. Partially because I was able to empathize with the pain of my people, and partially because I was unfortunately able to see so much of myself in the accounts. It is an important section on valuing and really listening to different perspectives in order to hear what's being said.
But no one wants to listen.
And so that's where we are. This was written at the start of the Obama presidency and much to the chagrin of this one reader, it appears as if the worst predictions for the nation came to pass. I don't know where we go from here, Tim Wise. We failed. We failed spectacularly. And we continue to fail, only this time, we require being coddled in that failure while more and more unarmed black people are being murdered by the police and more studies come out about hiring discrimination and more stories about virtual genocide in cities like Flint, MI come to light. And I don't necessarily know what to do about that because how do you reach people whose entire identity benefits from the shaky foundation of racial superiority? How do you reach people who need to dehumanize you to justify their existences? How do you break through to people for whom ignoring racism or staying silent and complicit in the face of racism only stands to benefit them? We are a nation of cowards, and that's why racism will continue, even as a nation reacts more viciously to the brand "racist" than any actual racism they turn their head at and whistle to forget about.
We are a nation of cowards, Tim Wise. We'll never get better until that stops being the truth. I wish I could afford to send out this book as a stocking stuffer or required reading for people who want to interact with me -- but I've been facing extreme job discrimination where I live so the idea of being able to afford anything above survival is daunting at best, and almost impossible at worst. And let me tell you, living in Portland, the liberal mecca of the PNW, I can tell you that there are plenty of Racism 2.0 liberals here, and they're "tired" of being reminded that racism is still here and that we are still being victimized by it. And if that's the attitude in one of the most self-proclaimed liberal cities in the country, I can assure you that Racism is here to stay. Mostly because it benefits far too many people and coddles them in their complacency to remain quiet.
As I said, we are a nation of cowards. Cowards and bullies.
ursulamonarch's review against another edition
I found the discussion of Racism 2.0 to be very interesting, and while the current political context is extremely different from that of the time of the book's writing, it is still highly relevant.
babewithabookandabeer's review
5.0
A fantastic book! Published 10 years ago and still so poignant and sad to read considering who our president is now.
Great insight into white denial, post Katrina racial inequality, antiracism, and the false narrative of “transcending race.”
Highly highly recommend adding this to your TBR!
Great insight into white denial, post Katrina racial inequality, antiracism, and the false narrative of “transcending race.”
Highly highly recommend adding this to your TBR!
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