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Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild
kierbart89's review against another edition
2.0
Not really a fan of the writing style / the way the author presents her data. Often comes across as condescending. I walk away feeling like I didn’t really learn much that I didn’t already know.
halaagmod's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Classism
Minor: Racism and Chronic illness
paladintodd's review against another edition
4.0
(Oops, the author is a her, not a him.)
4 stars because the book is well written, he starts from a very earnest and logical premise, and the author tries hard. I think he also makes a very good explanation of the views of the Strangers, but that explanation makes me mad though that's not his fault.
In short, he seems to say the Right has two major motivating factors:
1) White Grievance. He dresses this up and tries to give it some heft by calling it a "deep story" and dedicating a chapter fully explaining this (fraudulent) belief. At the core though, it's simply angry white people who have decided to blame the brown people for their problems rather than maybe giving an honest thought to their own actions in causing their malaise. (And by "own actions" I mean who they vote for, the policies they support. Not that they generally cause their own bad circumstances.)
2) These people are, and I wish it wasn't the case, just plain dumb. The book has:
-- The guy who says he'd be a millionaire if it wasn't for social security taxes
-- The gal who, living in one the most polluted hellholes in the country, thinks that industry can regulate itself
-- The folks who think that the latest oil plant to come to town will be their economic savior even though that scheme has failed for the last dozen oil plants to come to town
-- The mayor that says, in the same sentence, that unemployed blacks are just lazy but that employed blacks must have got there via affirmative action.
-- That the "experts" don't know anything.
I had to quit at the 2/3 point as I just don't feel it was going to go anywhere informative.
4 stars because the book is well written, he starts from a very earnest and logical premise, and the author tries hard. I think he also makes a very good explanation of the views of the Strangers, but that explanation makes me mad though that's not his fault.
In short, he seems to say the Right has two major motivating factors:
1) White Grievance. He dresses this up and tries to give it some heft by calling it a "deep story" and dedicating a chapter fully explaining this (fraudulent) belief. At the core though, it's simply angry white people who have decided to blame the brown people for their problems rather than maybe giving an honest thought to their own actions in causing their malaise. (And by "own actions" I mean who they vote for, the policies they support. Not that they generally cause their own bad circumstances.)
2) These people are, and I wish it wasn't the case, just plain dumb. The book has:
-- The guy who says he'd be a millionaire if it wasn't for social security taxes
-- The gal who, living in one the most polluted hellholes in the country, thinks that industry can regulate itself
-- The folks who think that the latest oil plant to come to town will be their economic savior even though that scheme has failed for the last dozen oil plants to come to town
-- The mayor that says, in the same sentence, that unemployed blacks are just lazy but that employed blacks must have got there via affirmative action.
-- That the "experts" don't know anything.
I had to quit at the 2/3 point as I just don't feel it was going to go anywhere informative.
callitus's review against another edition
Mam zdecydowanie problem z tą książką.
Autorka, zadeklarowana demokratka, wyrusza w drogę do Luizjany, aby nieco lepiej zrozumieć prawą stronę sceny politycznej oraz przekroczyć coś, co sama nazywa "murem empatii".
Aby nieco bardziej zawęzić ogrom różnic, skupia się na czymś, co dla obu stron sporu raczej powinno być wspólne - środowisko i walka z jego zanieczyszczeniem, które w tym stanie jest ogromne.
Tylko że ta książka jest wyłącznie wykładnią tego, dlaczego osoby, z którymi przebywa i rozmawia, się mylą. Mam wrażenie, że te rozmowy, a jako przedłużenie tego - jej wnioski, są bardzo powierzchowne, bo Hochschild świetnie wykłada w swojej książce statystyki, ale jednocześnie nie konfrontuje z nimi swoich rozmówców. Opisuje swoich nowych znajomych, ich przekonania, a następnie przez kilka stron uzasadnia, co z tymi przekonaniami jest nie tak - nawiasem, chciałabym dodać, że robi to w sposób bardzo dobry, i jak na pracowniczkę naukową przystało, bibliografia tej książki jest bardzo bogata.
Natomiast autorka trochę dyskutuje z nimi na odległość, nie dając odnieść się do tych statystyk, nie próbując kontynuować rozmowy. Tym samym w czytelniku pozostawia takie poczucie absurdalności przekonań republikanów, głosującym przeciw własnym interesom, niespójnych i zamkniętych, utwierdzając wszelkie stereotypy, (nawet pisząc o ich "głębokiej historii", w której utwierdza ich obraz jako oderwanych od świata i wierzących w zabobony) które mamy, a tym samym jeszcze bardziej ten "mur empatii" wznosząc.
Książka zdecydowanie dostarcza pod kątem kolejnych argumentów do dyskusji: "dlaczego USA to najbogatszy kraj trzeciego świata", ale autorka raczej miała ambicje na coś więcej, a tego nie dowozi.
Autorka, zadeklarowana demokratka, wyrusza w drogę do Luizjany, aby nieco lepiej zrozumieć prawą stronę sceny politycznej oraz przekroczyć coś, co sama nazywa "murem empatii".
Aby nieco bardziej zawęzić ogrom różnic, skupia się na czymś, co dla obu stron sporu raczej powinno być wspólne - środowisko i walka z jego zanieczyszczeniem, które w tym stanie jest ogromne.
Tylko że ta książka jest wyłącznie wykładnią tego, dlaczego osoby, z którymi przebywa i rozmawia, się mylą. Mam wrażenie, że te rozmowy, a jako przedłużenie tego - jej wnioski, są bardzo powierzchowne, bo Hochschild świetnie wykłada w swojej książce statystyki, ale jednocześnie nie konfrontuje z nimi swoich rozmówców. Opisuje swoich nowych znajomych, ich przekonania, a następnie przez kilka stron uzasadnia, co z tymi przekonaniami jest nie tak - nawiasem, chciałabym dodać, że robi to w sposób bardzo dobry, i jak na pracowniczkę naukową przystało, bibliografia tej książki jest bardzo bogata.
Natomiast autorka trochę dyskutuje z nimi na odległość, nie dając odnieść się do tych statystyk, nie próbując kontynuować rozmowy. Tym samym w czytelniku pozostawia takie poczucie absurdalności przekonań republikanów, głosującym przeciw własnym interesom, niespójnych i zamkniętych, utwierdzając wszelkie stereotypy, (nawet pisząc o ich "głębokiej historii", w której utwierdza ich obraz jako oderwanych od świata i wierzących w zabobony) które mamy, a tym samym jeszcze bardziej ten "mur empatii" wznosząc.
Książka zdecydowanie dostarcza pod kątem kolejnych argumentów do dyskusji: "dlaczego USA to najbogatszy kraj trzeciego świata", ale autorka raczej miała ambicje na coś więcej, a tego nie dowozi.
zdkb24's review against another edition
5.0
Much of the rightwing ideology investigated here didn't come as too much of a surprise, although I really appreciated the way that Hochschild meticulously unpacked the backgrounds and thinking processes of her subjects.
The one aspect that did blow my mind were the points-of-view regarding what to do about environmental threats. The people that Hochschild interviewed were certainly not happy about the pollution that they lived with it, but at the same time, as the author argued persuasively, seemed to find significant self-worth in putting up with it. This is totally polar to the liberal notion, to which I subscribe, that you would best defend your self-worth by fighting against polluting companies and electing representatives who would force them to abide by regulations and to clean up their messes. The hugeness of this difference in thinking is confounding.
The one aspect that did blow my mind were the points-of-view regarding what to do about environmental threats. The people that Hochschild interviewed were certainly not happy about the pollution that they lived with it, but at the same time, as the author argued persuasively, seemed to find significant self-worth in putting up with it. This is totally polar to the liberal notion, to which I subscribe, that you would best defend your self-worth by fighting against polluting companies and electing representatives who would force them to abide by regulations and to clean up their messes. The hugeness of this difference in thinking is confounding.
amb3rlina's review against another edition
3.0
Sociologist from Stanford travels to Louisiana to empathetically understand the Tea Party movement.
I loved the idea behind this book, and had some important (for my own journey of empathy) moments of understanding. But I'm not sure it's an approach that fully works for me. Her delving into the Tea Party's "deep story" was at times illuminating. But I guess I was hoping for a more clear path to solutions for bridging the gap and didn't get them. The "deep story" eventually made me feel frustrated because it felt like it was built on falsehoods. (Not that this is the author's fault.) Yes, I recognize that this misses the point of the book entirely.
I loved the idea behind this book, and had some important (for my own journey of empathy) moments of understanding. But I'm not sure it's an approach that fully works for me. Her delving into the Tea Party's "deep story" was at times illuminating. But I guess I was hoping for a more clear path to solutions for bridging the gap and didn't get them. The "deep story" eventually made me feel frustrated because it felt like it was built on falsehoods. (Not that this is the author's fault.) Yes, I recognize that this misses the point of the book entirely.
beetree's review against another edition
5.0
I have to come back to review this one - but suffice it to say for now that this was utterly amazing. Read it now, go.
bootman's review against another edition
3.0
As a liberal who is also intrigued by human behavior and how we think, I think it's important to understand the thought processes of the right. After having this book referenced in multiple other books, I decided to check it out, and I was severely disappointed. In my opinion, it's extremely overrated. I figured it'd be great for me since Hochschild is a social psychologist, but it wasn't. The book barely touches on any psychological theories and it's in no way a book backed with significant data.
If you like good storytelling and want to read about a liberal social psychologist from Berkely who moved to Louisiana to interview Tea Party members, this book might be great for you. I did learn a lot about how awful the local government treats Louisiana residents, and I'm shocked at how the locals she spoke to still support their government. But again, this is a very microscopic view of the right, and there's probably less than a dozen people she "analyzed". I think there are far better books if you're trying to understand the other side as a whole.
If you like good storytelling and want to read about a liberal social psychologist from Berkely who moved to Louisiana to interview Tea Party members, this book might be great for you. I did learn a lot about how awful the local government treats Louisiana residents, and I'm shocked at how the locals she spoke to still support their government. But again, this is a very microscopic view of the right, and there's probably less than a dozen people she "analyzed". I think there are far better books if you're trying to understand the other side as a whole.