Reviews with content warning for Racism - Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo

60 reviews

meganelise's review against another edition

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5.0

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5.0

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keenanmaree's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is incredibly important. It should be required reading for everyone. It is difficult and appalling, but also surprisingly optimistic that, even after all of the damage white male supremacy has done to our society, and despite how deeply engrained it is, there is still hope that we can do and BE better.

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5.0

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5.0

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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4.25

I liked this much more than Oluo's previous book. I thought that the premise and execution were well done. Oluo ties a lot of disparate threads together under this theme. I will say, however, that the beginning and ending of the book were stronger and clearer than the middle.

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5.0

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tachyondecay's review against another edition

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4.0

When I heard Ijeoma Oluo had written another book, there was no question in my mind that I would run, not walk, to NetGalley to request it. Publisher Seal Press made it happen! Medicore: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America is a formidable follow-up to So You Want to Talk About Race. In her first book, Oluo outlines all the ways that white people can move past ignorance and fragility to have authentic dialogue about race and racism. In this book, Oluo explains how white supremacy (particularly in the United States) creates a culture of mediocrity in which white men receive the message that they deserve greatness, even if they haven’t actually done all that much. I’m sure many people will dismiss this book as an attack on white people. But if you go into it with an open mind, the history that Oluo outlines demonstrates incontrovertibly the hostility that the United States has shown and continues to show Black people and people of colour.

At first, I wasn’t sure what Oluo was doing. But soon the picture emerged: each chapter began with the white supremacy of the past, from which Oluo draws a line into th white supremacy of the present. This is a history lesson, one that establishes how today’s racism exists atop a foundation of racism from centuries prior. In this way, Oluo demolishes the myth so often sold by white men to each other—the idea that it is possible to make American great again. America has not been great, especially for Black people and people of colour. The United States has always privileged the feelings of white people over the lives of non-white people.

Now, I am Canadian, so I am slightly outside the target audience for this book. Canada has its own dangerous legacy of colonialism and racism and is also a white supremacist state. I’ll have to seek out pertinent books about anti-Black racism here. Nevertheless, I think non-Americans would benefit greatly from reading this book. First, it will help us understand what the hell is going on in America. A little history lesson goes a long way. Second, although the details are different here, the story arc is the same: white people show up, steal the land, import cheap labour by people of colour, and then marginalize and oppress them when they’ve gone from useful to inconvenient. Oluo’s chapters are illuminating regardless of where you live.

Take her chapter on education, for example. I like how she explains the paradox of post-secondary education for people of colour. Right-wing pundits sometimes insist that post-secondary institutions are bastions of socialism and political correctness gone wrong. In fact, post-secondary institutions are still racist, sexist, classist, etc. Oluo points out, therefore, that attending college or university is simultaneously the best path people of colour have for attaining middle-class stability and one of the worst places to be, in terms of facing discrimination. This paradox is but one of many in American society—and I’m sure it is much the same here in Canada too.

For my fellow white people, this book asks us to examine how we are complicit in white supremacy and patriarchy. And those of us who aren’t men are still complicit. Oluo’s entire thesis is that we cannot allow the conversation to be distilled down to “some white guys are terrible.” Her whole point is that this is not about individuals; this is about systems. So you do not have to be a white man to participate in upholding a system that privileges white men. Additionally, Oluo points out that the system really wants to help rich white men—the system by design punishes poor white men too. This, in turn, motivates them to uphold white supremacy by encouraging them to feel superior to people of colour.

I’ve said this before, and I will say it again: if you want to consider yourself anti-racist, you need to do that work. And that means you need to do more than read books. But Mediocre is a great starting point in your quest for information. What matters going forward is what you do with the information, how you throw around your metaphorical weight to help dismantle the system Oluo exposes here.

I would like to quote at length from this book, but if I did that, this review would contain almost the entire book. Oluo’s writing is just that dense with meaning. This is a book that can be savoured as you explore each chapter, and it is rich with connections and ideas. Mediocre invites you, as I said, to truly consider white supremacy as a four-dimensional system—and when you can see the shape of a thing, through time as well as space, you have a better chance of understanding how to manipulate—or in this case, dismantle it.

Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.

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deedireads's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

5.0

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Mediocre is an incredible work of nonfiction, a revelation on the history of white male supremacy. It’s in the top five best antiracist books I’ve read so far.

For you if: You’re interested in learning more about how the white patriarchy holds its power, now and throughout history.

FULL REVIEW:

“White men lead our ineffective government with almost guaranteed reelection. They lead our corrupt and violent criminal justice system with little risk of facing justice themselves. And they run our increasingly polarized and misinforming media, winning awards for perpetrating the idea that things run best when white men are in charge. This is not a stroke of white male luck; this is how our white male supremacist systems have been designed to work.”

First and foremost, thank you so much to Seal Press for granting me an advanced review copy of this book on NetGalley.

Because books are the primary medium through which I like to learn about the world, I’ve sought out quite a few (especially this year) on antiracism. Mediocre is in the top five — maybe even the top three. It’s a must-read.

If you read Ijeoma Oluo’s first book, So You Want to Talk About Race, you know she can write a book that’s so much more than the sum of its parts — so much more than what you expect. Mediocre is no different. Just like SYWTTAR went way beyond a conversation guide, Mediocre goes way beyond highlighting white men’s mediocrity. It’s a deep dive into the intentional systems that white men have put into place, throughout history and today, to maintain their position on the social hierarchy despite their continued mediocrity.

This approach — clarifying history and unearthing the details that don’t get taught — has opened my eyes to how systems of power work more than any other approach. It’s been a catalyst in helping me begin to better understand the world and my place in it. This was true for Stamped From the Beginning and White Tears/Brown Scars, and it’s true for Mediocre.

Throughout, Ijeoma Oluo takes no shit. There’s an entire chapter on football and how white men have gone from physical dominance over Black men to controlling the physical dominance of Black men — which was an excellent chapter, by the way, that really made me think — called “Go Fucking Play.” Between research and truth bombs, she masterfully inserts moments of outrage and connection with her readers. And so while you read, you can just tell that this book was written by someone who cares so damn much about the topic, and the world, and justice, and even you.

This book hooked my attention, and it taught me a lot. I read it in one day. I couldn’t look away, couldn’t get enough of the information provided. Read it, read it, read it.

TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Suicidal thoughts (briefly alluded to); Depictions of racism; Violent threats against women

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Thanks to Seal Press for the free advance copy of this book.

MEDIOCRE is one of those books that makes the reader feel like they've put on a new pair of glasses and everything is clearer. So much of what Oluo dissects in this book are ideas that I've seen half-formed in many places, but she really expands on them and places them into the larger social context in a way that made lightbulbs go off all over the place for me. 📚
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The thesis of this book is that American men have been told the world is theirs, and when that wasn't delivered, they needed scapegoats - women, BIPOC, poor people - anyone who isn't them is taking away what is rightfully theirs. 📚
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Oluo traces several threads throughout American history - from the Wild West to the NFL - that have converged over time to bring us to where we are today. I feel like I have a much deeper understanding of these social forces now, and am better equipped to have conversations about them in the context of our current political landscape. I think if you are still trying to grasp all the reasons why Trump voters act the way they do, this book is a must-read. 📚
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Content warnings: Antisemitism, bullying, death, gun violence, hate crime, Islamophobia, mass/school shootings, misogyny, physical abuse, police brutality, racial slurs, racism, slavery, suicidal thoughts, violence, and xenophobia.

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