Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

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

19 reviews

emfass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Ijeoma Oluo is simply one of the best writers writing today. In both this and So You Want to Talk About Race, she takes very tough and complex issues and makes them accessible. She is thorough and thoughtful and I honestly could have read another 100 pages or more of this book. It was also incredibly impactful to listen to the audiobook and hear Oluo's words in her own voice.

The introduction and conclusion chapters are vibrant and necessary overviews of the violence and harm caused by white male supremacy in the U.S. The chapters in between cover related topics by way of specific stories throughout American history. I deeply appreciated the unpacking of these important moments, and in particular the historic events I've lived through. 

Especially eye-opening to me were:
-the stories of Buffalo Bill and the Bundy brothers (Chapter 1)
-an exploration of Bernie bros (Chapter 2, possibly my favorite section of the book, as it helped put to words so many things I've sensed but didn't know how to say)
-the history of access (or lack thereof) to higher education in the U.S. (Chapter 3)
-the horrific tactics that white people used to try to keep Black people from leaving in the post-Reconstruction South (Chapter 4)
-the "problem" of women in the workforce after World War II (Chapter 5)
-the Squad's political career as women of color in Congress (Chapter 6)
-the racist history of football in the U.S. and the tidal wave of backlash that follows when players (including Colin Kaepernick and Michael Bennett) try to use their voice for change (Chapter 7)

Throughout the book, Oluo also shares many instances of the cruel, unjust, horrifying abuse she has endured as a Black woman writing very visibly about racial, feminist, and social justice issues. She does it not for pity, but I think as firsthand examples of the lengths white men will go to when they feel threatened.

I highly recommend this to everybody.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Murder, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Genocide

Moderate: Antisemitism, Bullying, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Excrement

sidbookreviews's review against another edition

challenging informative fast-paced

5.0

This is one of the most important books, and one of my most favourite non-fiction books that I have read in quite some time. Mediocre is a sharp, challenging, nuanced, multifaceted, clear and effective book that serves as a history and examination of white male supremacy in America and a scathing look at the systems of power it has created. So much is covered in this book, with historical and present examples of how white male supremacy has affected everything from the economy to the environment to politics and general society. Mediocre is everything I hoped for when reading the title and more. It's no question that Oluo is immensely talented and this book is a truly fantastic piece. Seldom do I adore non-fiction as much as I did this book. I think it's also worth noting that I read this as an audiobook, which I would highly recommend, as it's read by Oluo herself and is a very powerful and passionate reading. Overall, I can't recommend Mediocre enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexism, Xenophobia, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual assault, Antisemitism, and Death

hannahollihan's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Sexism, Rape, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Police brutality, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Hate crime, and Gun violence

shelbo's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book is incredible and everyone should read it. A thoroughly researched history of white male supremacy in the USA, presented in a digestible manner. A lot of the content is understandably dark and upsetting, but Oluo managed to make me laugh through my righteous anger multiple times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Sexism

Minor: Xenophobia, Suicide, Police brutality, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Hate crime, and Gun violence

vvoman_of_darkness's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia

stephsz's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Police brutality, Sexism, Mass/school shootings, and Xenophobia

sydneyj's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Antisemitism, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia

zombiezami's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Racial slurs, Racism, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, Police brutality, Rape, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Hate crime, Grief, Genocide, Death, Cursing, Child death, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Ableism and Mental illness

Minor: Cancer, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Infertility, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

Displacement

caseythereader's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Bullying, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia