Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

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

4 reviews

shadereads's review against another edition

challenging dark informative slow-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Police brutality and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cancer, Mass/school shootings, and Excrement

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.

---

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

meganelise's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexism, Hate crime, and Gun violence

Minor: Self harm, Suicide, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Excrement

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. 

---

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