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

Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

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

18 reviews

magicalrealem's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Ijeoma Oluo is brilliant and so is Mediocre. I finished this book in mid-February and have tried writing a review, but I don’t think I can do the book justice. It’s a critically important work; what Oluo analyzes and discusses is vital. I wanted to underline every sentence. This book examines how everything “works according to design.” America and its systems were designed by elite white men through violence, exploitation, and oppression to benefit them and only them. White elites’ greatest con is making middle-to-lower class white men think they have an opportunity at wealth and power, and when they don't, they turn to women and people of color, especially black women, and blame those groups for their situations and lack of opportunity. White supremacy is dangerous not only to women and people of color but also to white men and all progress. Oluo discusses: the violence of Westward expansion and the foundations it laid, the toxicity of Bernie Bros and male feminists, housing covenants, glass cliffs, the great migration and anti-Black violence, higher education, the power dynamics in college and pro football, and the list goes on.

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meganelise's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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keenanmaree's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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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sydneyj's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative inspiring tense medium-paced

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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mfieldshalva's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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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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