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daumari's review against another edition
5.0
I am not the target audience for this book, but I still strongly encourage everyone to read it as Eddo-Lodge addresses essential factors underpinning the structure of our society.
This year (2018 at time of writing) is exhausting and feels like it's gone on forever. I recognize part of that fatigue has been due to doing ally-adjacent work of explaining in conversations why coded language and power structures are harmful (it's unfair to put the burden of educating the unaware on people of color, but as I am a non-black POC, I feel I can be useful here). A friend was accused of "reverse racism", and their acquaintance had to gently but firmly be informed that racism is prejudice + power, so it doesn't check out to accuse their one black acquaintance of it. Eddo-Lodge goes into detail with history and statistics on why this is so.
The chapter on intersectionality with feminism also struck a chord with me, as I have [white] female friends who mentioned early in the current administration that they just didn't check the news any more as it was stressful/frustrating/etc. I absolutely understand the need for relief from the firehose onslaught of, well, everything but at the same time, there are fellow citizens who cannot afford to tune out as policy changes immediately affect them.
I was caught off guard by this book being centered on British structural racism, but realized that as an American, most of my prior reading is centered on a domestic lens. There's a cool comfort in recognizing other countries have similar issues (though we arguably inherited it from the mother country before ah, making it our own). Not sure if other US readers are aware, but typically when Brits refer to Asians, they mean South Asians instead of East. The Asian diaspora includes everyone descended from Asian countries, but it's an interesting geographical linguistic distinction (and a good reminder that I and fellow east Asian Americans need to show solidarity with our brown brothers and sisters).
Societal struggle is not a zero sum game. The "take back our country" rhetoric is frustrating because the success of black and brown people does not diminish white people in the same field. It's not the job of minority folks to educate our white friends, but this book is a good start.
This year (2018 at time of writing) is exhausting and feels like it's gone on forever. I recognize part of that fatigue has been due to doing ally-adjacent work of explaining in conversations why coded language and power structures are harmful (it's unfair to put the burden of educating the unaware on people of color, but as I am a non-black POC, I feel I can be useful here). A friend was accused of "reverse racism", and their acquaintance had to gently but firmly be informed that racism is prejudice + power, so it doesn't check out to accuse their one black acquaintance of it. Eddo-Lodge goes into detail with history and statistics on why this is so.
The chapter on intersectionality with feminism also struck a chord with me, as I have [white] female friends who mentioned early in the current administration that they just didn't check the news any more as it was stressful/frustrating/etc. I absolutely understand the need for relief from the firehose onslaught of, well, everything but at the same time, there are fellow citizens who cannot afford to tune out as policy changes immediately affect them.
I was caught off guard by this book being centered on British structural racism, but realized that as an American, most of my prior reading is centered on a domestic lens. There's a cool comfort in recognizing other countries have similar issues (though we arguably inherited it from the mother country before ah, making it our own). Not sure if other US readers are aware, but typically when Brits refer to Asians, they mean South Asians instead of East. The Asian diaspora includes everyone descended from Asian countries, but it's an interesting geographical linguistic distinction (and a good reminder that I and fellow east Asian Americans need to show solidarity with our brown brothers and sisters).
Societal struggle is not a zero sum game. The "take back our country" rhetoric is frustrating because the success of black and brown people does not diminish white people in the same field. It's not the job of minority folks to educate our white friends, but this book is a good start.
vexyspice's review against another edition
3.0
I learned a few things from this like why there is a fairly strong west indian presence across the pond. However, the content itself isnt anything different from what ive read about race relations here in America. Same stuff, different nation.
alextheo's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Shouldn't have to recommend this! Accessible and fantastically written.
heathercottledillon's review against another edition
5.0
This is an eye-opening look at structural racism, particularly in Britain, that every white person should read. I've read a lot about race and civil rights in the US, but I knew little about the situation in the UK. It was interesting to learn that history, and much of Eddo-Lodge's observations are universal to countries with white majorities. Some parts that stood out to me the most:
"I think that we placate ourselves with the fallacy of meritocracy by insisting that we just don't see race. This makes us feel progressive. But this claim to not see race is tantamount to compulsory assimilation. My blackness has been politicised against my will, but I don't want it willfully ignored in an effort to instill some sort of precarious, false harmony."
"Not seeing race does little to deconstruct racist structures or materially improve the conditions which people of colour are subject to daily. In order to dismantle unjust, racist structures, we must see race. We must see who benefits from their race, who is disproportionately impacted by negative stereotypes about their race, and to who power and privilege is bestowed upon--earned or not--because of their race, their class, and their gender. Seeing race is essential to changing the system."
"How can I define white privilege? It's so difficult to describe an absence. And white privilege is an absence of the consequences of racism...when I talk about white privilege, I don't mean that white people have it easy, that they've never struggled, or that they've never lived in poverty. But white privilege is the fact that if you're white, your race will almost certainly positively impact your life's trajectory in some way. And you probably won't even notice it."
"There is an unattributed definition of racism that defines it as prejudice plus power. Those disadvantaged by racism can certainly be cruel, vindictive and prejudiced. Everyone has the capacity to be nasty to other people, to judge them before they get to know them. But there simply aren't enough black people in positions of power to enact racism against white people on the kind of grand scale it currently operates at against black people."
"I think that we placate ourselves with the fallacy of meritocracy by insisting that we just don't see race. This makes us feel progressive. But this claim to not see race is tantamount to compulsory assimilation. My blackness has been politicised against my will, but I don't want it willfully ignored in an effort to instill some sort of precarious, false harmony."
"Not seeing race does little to deconstruct racist structures or materially improve the conditions which people of colour are subject to daily. In order to dismantle unjust, racist structures, we must see race. We must see who benefits from their race, who is disproportionately impacted by negative stereotypes about their race, and to who power and privilege is bestowed upon--earned or not--because of their race, their class, and their gender. Seeing race is essential to changing the system."
"How can I define white privilege? It's so difficult to describe an absence. And white privilege is an absence of the consequences of racism...when I talk about white privilege, I don't mean that white people have it easy, that they've never struggled, or that they've never lived in poverty. But white privilege is the fact that if you're white, your race will almost certainly positively impact your life's trajectory in some way. And you probably won't even notice it."
"There is an unattributed definition of racism that defines it as prejudice plus power. Those disadvantaged by racism can certainly be cruel, vindictive and prejudiced. Everyone has the capacity to be nasty to other people, to judge them before they get to know them. But there simply aren't enough black people in positions of power to enact racism against white people on the kind of grand scale it currently operates at against black people."
inessova's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very hard book to rate, and I don't think I'm eloquent enough to put my thoughts into words, but I'll try
What the author tried to tell is very important, but her way of relaying it didn't sit well with me.
This is the voice of a black british woman describing how her community suffers because of racism, and how most white people aren't open to discuss the constant struggles minorities face in England. I understand her frustration, her anger, why she decided to not talk about race to white people even if I don't agree with her.
First, talking to people when angry is never a solution. They get defensive, and they stop listening, which is counterproductive.
Second, when talking to people who disagree with you, it's always good to try and empathize with them, understand where they're coming from (specially when they're wrong), in order to know how to change their mind, and convince them they are actually wrong. The author didn't do that once.
So even when she was right in her indignations, I was on the defensive (I'm not a white english person) but the speech just rubbed the wrong way.
Finally, I feel the need to say that I believe it's the majority's responsibility to be inclusive and to fight for minorities so that they can be equals. Ignoring others' hardships because you're privileged is not how we live in society.
What the author tried to tell is very important, but her way of relaying it didn't sit well with me.
This is the voice of a black british woman describing how her community suffers because of racism, and how most white people aren't open to discuss the constant struggles minorities face in England. I understand her frustration, her anger, why she decided to not talk about race to white people even if I don't agree with her.
First, talking to people when angry is never a solution. They get defensive, and they stop listening, which is counterproductive.
Second, when talking to people who disagree with you, it's always good to try and empathize with them, understand where they're coming from (specially when they're wrong), in order to know how to change their mind, and convince them they are actually wrong. The author didn't do that once.
So even when she was right in her indignations, I was on the defensive (I'm not a white english person) but the speech just rubbed the wrong way.
Finally, I feel the need to say that I believe it's the majority's responsibility to be inclusive and to fight for minorities so that they can be equals. Ignoring others' hardships because you're privileged is not how we live in society.
izzyschnizzy's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0