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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I feel conflicted about this book. On the one hand, it's a great example of unpacking and examining one's own place of privilege. On the other hand, I thought Wise came across as more than a little self-important, like he was designating himself the spokesperson for black culture and oppression. There was a lot of "I can speak to the black experience because I have black friends/neighbors/coworkers!" I wish that he had gone into the politics of writing this book and presenting his story. Like why does it take a white guy to make us stand up and notice that being black in America is difficult? I just thought there was still a little more privilege in his backpack waiting to get unpacked.
Wise, as always, makes a very strong case for why it's up to white folks to end white supremacy. It's part memoire, part call to action. Through personal anecdote and more than a healthy helping of data, he scrapes away the veneer of whiteness as the default society. He's also careful to show how racism isn't just a rightwing problem, but a common thread the left and the right share, though they dress it up differently to suit their needs. Recommended reading for white folks everywhere who wish to bring about the swift and complete destruction of white supremacy.
The topic discussed is important, but the book itself is not something I am having a good time getting through.
It could have been condensed, it is hard to rate as it is a memoir, but the life of the author is not what I am really interested in, I was expecting something different. I wanted a work with discussion on struggles by marginalized groups, social commentary, a well-researched topic being explained or discussed.
Mr. Wise cannot base a whole idea on his own experiences alone, I read around 70% of the book and had to give up. I might pick it up at a later time but not sure.
Recognizing privilege is the first step to changing how society is a whole, this book is not what I would recommend on the topic though.
I see a lot of people found this way more helpful so maybe it was a "me thing", so take my opinion lightly, the subject is important but that does not mean all the books written about it are going to be to everyone's liking and that does not mean that is because you have a different opinion. This book was simply a memoir of someone's life and the writing style was of no particular interest to me. Nothing more than that.
The first few chapters you are reading about his life you can take as an introduction to know who the person is writing this, but you never move on. The story is simply a retelling of his life and showing us examples of moments where he was privileged. A few incidents might have been good but this seems to drag on and on, making you feel this book is not going to end! It fell to be dragging on, going in circles. It might have been the case where you pick something up and your expected something different so you end up begin disappointed.
It is still a very important topic to explore, so I'll just have to continue looking for something else.
It could have been condensed, it is hard to rate as it is a memoir, but the life of the author is not what I am really interested in, I was expecting something different. I wanted a work with discussion on struggles by marginalized groups, social commentary, a well-researched topic being explained or discussed.
Mr. Wise cannot base a whole idea on his own experiences alone, I read around 70% of the book and had to give up. I might pick it up at a later time but not sure.
Recognizing privilege is the first step to changing how society is a whole, this book is not what I would recommend on the topic though.
I see a lot of people found this way more helpful so maybe it was a "me thing", so take my opinion lightly, the subject is important but that does not mean all the books written about it are going to be to everyone's liking and that does not mean that is because you have a different opinion. This book was simply a memoir of someone's life and the writing style was of no particular interest to me. Nothing more than that.
The first few chapters you are reading about his life you can take as an introduction to know who the person is writing this, but you never move on. The story is simply a retelling of his life and showing us examples of moments where he was privileged. A few incidents might have been good but this seems to drag on and on, making you feel this book is not going to end! It fell to be dragging on, going in circles. It might have been the case where you pick something up and your expected something different so you end up begin disappointed.
It is still a very important topic to explore, so I'll just have to continue looking for something else.
It's all thanks to Matt Peters that I discovered this engaging and informative book. Matt has frequently linked to Wise's anti-racist writings, so I added a few of his books to my wishlist and finally scored this off of paperbackswap.
This book is what it sounds like it should be, a memoir about race and white privilege. Wise does a remarkable job not just of identifying his own privilege and chronicling his anti-racism activism, but also owning up to times when he dropped the ball -- when his privilege blinded him to the effects of race in his own community.
I loved this book, from beginning to end. This should be no surprise, given how much I love Wise's essays online. I intend to read some of his other books, though I'd really love it if he wrote a more practical primer on anti-racism. He does include a section on action in this book, but the most impressive examples of how to effectively talk to people about privilege seem to require a much deeper understanding of issues like welfare, unemployment, the economy, that I just don't have. And are certainly not the dominant narrative in society -- it's the stuff that those who make money off of the disparity between the rich and the poor don't want you to know! So how does the average person, for whom anti-racism is one of a number of issues they are committed to, go about educating themselves? Where to start?
This book is what it sounds like it should be, a memoir about race and white privilege. Wise does a remarkable job not just of identifying his own privilege and chronicling his anti-racism activism, but also owning up to times when he dropped the ball -- when his privilege blinded him to the effects of race in his own community.
I loved this book, from beginning to end. This should be no surprise, given how much I love Wise's essays online. I intend to read some of his other books, though I'd really love it if he wrote a more practical primer on anti-racism. He does include a section on action in this book, but the most impressive examples of how to effectively talk to people about privilege seem to require a much deeper understanding of issues like welfare, unemployment, the economy, that I just don't have. And are certainly not the dominant narrative in society -- it's the stuff that those who make money off of the disparity between the rich and the poor don't want you to know! So how does the average person, for whom anti-racism is one of a number of issues they are committed to, go about educating themselves? Where to start?
"White Like Me" was an incredibly important read to me, although not really fun (but that wasn't the purpose, so I am not complaining).
I can gladly say that my concerns about Tim Wise acting like a wisenheimer were ill-founded. More over, it was a great entrance to a world where racism is discussed and not maintained in silence. Even though I was neither born nor raised in America, my experiences with racism are very similar to Wise's. I don't know why I expected him to write about himself as a perfect, always-been-antiracist, white man, but I did and I feared that I couldn't learn anything from him as he would only judge "the other whites". Luckily, he did quite the opposite: he did judge "us" but only after explaining and making a point. And naturally, he also struggled and still struggles with racist views that are anchored in us privileged people, so I could definitely learn a lot from him.
Frankly, I forget about my privileges in everyday life all the time, which I realised even more by reading this book. Also, shame on me: although Wise only wrote down basic historical and, or contemporary information about Black communities, quite a lot of it was new to me. I can imagine that more educated readers might get bored as reading these but for someone who has only now started to care about the history of people of colour, Tim Wise made, once again, a good introduction to this subject.
Another great aspect of the book, maybe the most important and most basic one, is the way it is written. Tim Wise tells a story, the story of his life, and so he writes about experiences and brings a lot of reality to his subject. Had he been writing only about statistics and facts (which he eventually did too, but well-covered in an exciting story), I don't know if I'd had gotten through the book. This is also the reason why the reader could actually use his concepts and ideas in real life and not only think about them in one's mind.
A lot of these "how-to"s concern white communities: how to react (as a white) when another white person makes a racist joke; how to react when a/your child points at a person of colour and asks about their skin and generally situations like these, situations that I personally have already experienced a lot in my relatively short life. Basically, he tells the reader his ideas on how to deal with every day (but also systematical) racism in a way that is beneficial to everyone: making a point by letting the person recognise their mistake and not just shoving your opinion onto the other.
Most importantly, a point which Wise was making throughout the whole book was how different the way privileged people view the world compared to unprivileged people. He illustrates this anchorage, again, really well by examples.
Finally, in the last chapter, he compares the hope of justice to the hope in a God (faith) and how both are "only" hopes and really uncertain but should still not be forgotten. He mentions that most believers would admit that there is not a single fact that would back up the idea of a God and how still, they are committed to living their lives as if there was one. Then he jumps back to the subject of justice and appeals to the reader to live their life with the goal of justice: "You have to take action because as uncertain as the outcome of taking the action is, as certain is the outcome of staying silent."(I'm not sure I quoted this precisely but that was Wise's point.)
Finally, I want to finish my review of this great book by quoting the last lines of the book:
"And what I've come to believe is required of us is that we be prepared to die for our principals if need be, but even more so to be unafraid to live for them. So let us begin."
I can gladly say that my concerns about Tim Wise acting like a wisenheimer were ill-founded. More over, it was a great entrance to a world where racism is discussed and not maintained in silence. Even though I was neither born nor raised in America, my experiences with racism are very similar to Wise's. I don't know why I expected him to write about himself as a perfect, always-been-antiracist, white man, but I did and I feared that I couldn't learn anything from him as he would only judge "the other whites". Luckily, he did quite the opposite: he did judge "us" but only after explaining and making a point. And naturally, he also struggled and still struggles with racist views that are anchored in us privileged people, so I could definitely learn a lot from him.
Frankly, I forget about my privileges in everyday life all the time, which I realised even more by reading this book. Also, shame on me: although Wise only wrote down basic historical and, or contemporary information about Black communities, quite a lot of it was new to me. I can imagine that more educated readers might get bored as reading these but for someone who has only now started to care about the history of people of colour, Tim Wise made, once again, a good introduction to this subject.
Another great aspect of the book, maybe the most important and most basic one, is the way it is written. Tim Wise tells a story, the story of his life, and so he writes about experiences and brings a lot of reality to his subject. Had he been writing only about statistics and facts (which he eventually did too, but well-covered in an exciting story), I don't know if I'd had gotten through the book. This is also the reason why the reader could actually use his concepts and ideas in real life and not only think about them in one's mind.
A lot of these "how-to"s concern white communities: how to react (as a white) when another white person makes a racist joke; how to react when a/your child points at a person of colour and asks about their skin and generally situations like these, situations that I personally have already experienced a lot in my relatively short life. Basically, he tells the reader his ideas on how to deal with every day (but also systematical) racism in a way that is beneficial to everyone: making a point by letting the person recognise their mistake and not just shoving your opinion onto the other.
Most importantly, a point which Wise was making throughout the whole book was how different the way privileged people view the world compared to unprivileged people. He illustrates this anchorage, again, really well by examples.
Finally, in the last chapter, he compares the hope of justice to the hope in a God (faith) and how both are "only" hopes and really uncertain but should still not be forgotten. He mentions that most believers would admit that there is not a single fact that would back up the idea of a God and how still, they are committed to living their lives as if there was one. Then he jumps back to the subject of justice and appeals to the reader to live their life with the goal of justice: "You have to take action because as uncertain as the outcome of taking the action is, as certain is the outcome of staying silent."(I'm not sure I quoted this precisely but that was Wise's point.)
Finally, I want to finish my review of this great book by quoting the last lines of the book:
"And what I've come to believe is required of us is that we be prepared to die for our principals if need be, but even more so to be unafraid to live for them. So let us begin."
Absolutely unbelievable. Opened my eyes to so much. One of the more influential books I've read. Still processing.
An extremely thoughtful, thorough examination of white privilege in many contexts. I do think Wise may have relied a little much on personal anecdotes of his college experience, which may or may not resonate with all readers, but they did ultimately tie back to Wise's main arguments.
If there is one topic of discussion that makes people more uncomfortable than prejudice, it's privilege. Both elements constitute opposite sides of the same injustice, so to only speak of one would leave the conversation woefully incomplete. In his thematic memoir, [b:White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son|88362|White Like Me Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son|Tim Wise|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328690631l/88362._SY75_.jpg|1082257], Tim Wise details the self-reflection of his own white privilege in an accessible and personal account.
While good, I do not rate this book higher for two reasons. First, as the concepts of this book are extracted wholly from Tim's personal exploration, I do feel that there are elements of privilege theory that were left underdeveloped. There is an absence of literature on the subject, but the lack of a bibliography was still nonetheless disappointing. Second, Frances E. Kendall wrote a better book on this topic, [b:Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race|929327|Understanding White Privilege Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race|Frances E. Kendall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347620704l/929327._SY75_.jpg|914320], that I feel better tackles the subject-matter, especially when it comes to different levels of privilege and how they interplay.
That said, Tim's personal account is worth reading. There is something moving about a person honestly detailing how they were wrong about something important, even if it paints a deeply unflattering image, and then how they learned from their mistakes and moved to do better. Furthermore, as many of these examples of Tim's privilege are presented through his own prominent memories of eureka moments in which he erred, he does do a good job of showing how even well-meaning people can unwittingly contribute to societal problems.
"...we mustn't romanticize our resistance, but fight to maintain its presence in our lives, knowing that it could easily vanish in a moment of weakness, anger, insecurity, or fear... it is because we spend so much of our time in that other place--a place of diminished capacity and wavering commitment--that we have to be careful" (92)
Also good, is his approach to being an ally. Pointing out your privilege should be neither an outward accusation (unless it has to be, and sometimes it really does) nor an uncouth call for personal self-aggrandizement to show what a "good" person you are--it should be just stating basic reality. Truth-telling is the bare minimum for being a decent person, and acknowledging racial privilege does not belittle other types of personal struggle (e.g., gender, sexuality, nationality, mental health, poverty, etc.). Tim does a good job of explaining how his white privilege benefited and protected him from poor choices, while others making the same mistakes would have faced far more serious consequences.
Overall, this is a pretty solid book and it's worth reading, though I would recommend the Kendall volume first.
While good, I do not rate this book higher for two reasons. First, as the concepts of this book are extracted wholly from Tim's personal exploration, I do feel that there are elements of privilege theory that were left underdeveloped. There is an absence of literature on the subject, but the lack of a bibliography was still nonetheless disappointing. Second, Frances E. Kendall wrote a better book on this topic, [b:Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race|929327|Understanding White Privilege Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race|Frances E. Kendall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347620704l/929327._SY75_.jpg|914320], that I feel better tackles the subject-matter, especially when it comes to different levels of privilege and how they interplay.
That said, Tim's personal account is worth reading. There is something moving about a person honestly detailing how they were wrong about something important, even if it paints a deeply unflattering image, and then how they learned from their mistakes and moved to do better. Furthermore, as many of these examples of Tim's privilege are presented through his own prominent memories of eureka moments in which he erred, he does do a good job of showing how even well-meaning people can unwittingly contribute to societal problems.
"...we mustn't romanticize our resistance, but fight to maintain its presence in our lives, knowing that it could easily vanish in a moment of weakness, anger, insecurity, or fear... it is because we spend so much of our time in that other place--a place of diminished capacity and wavering commitment--that we have to be careful" (92)
Also good, is his approach to being an ally. Pointing out your privilege should be neither an outward accusation (unless it has to be, and sometimes it really does) nor an uncouth call for personal self-aggrandizement to show what a "good" person you are--it should be just stating basic reality. Truth-telling is the bare minimum for being a decent person, and acknowledging racial privilege does not belittle other types of personal struggle (e.g., gender, sexuality, nationality, mental health, poverty, etc.). Tim does a good job of explaining how his white privilege benefited and protected him from poor choices, while others making the same mistakes would have faced far more serious consequences.
Overall, this is a pretty solid book and it's worth reading, though I would recommend the Kendall volume first.
DNF at 50% so no rating, but honestly...1 star. How is this book recommended so often? Extremely anecdotal. I guess if you’re someone (preferably a white middle class man) that has never thought about privilege and racial discrimination it could be helpful? Maybe?. I didn’t gain any new information or insight from reading about this dudes family history and HIS experience. And to think it was recommended alongside Carol Anderson’s books. Not even close.