Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

74 reviews

micaelamariem's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

 found this book to be very educational, motivational, and eye-opening. It was interesting, though brutal, to learn the full scale of the history of caste in america and how awful we can be as humans. I think everyone could benefit from reading this. However, though I agree with Wilkerson on everything including the politics of today, I can see how it might polarize people to where they’d miss the point she’s trying to make. I also think the cohesiveness of the narrative could have been better. Still, overall a great read of a dark history and startling present! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, War, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death of parent, Deportation, Pregnancy, Bullying, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Stalking, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide, and Torture

emmaemooney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Genocide

Moderate: Gun violence

elisalasater's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Medical trauma, and Hate crime

shadereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Slavery, Torture, and Racism

Moderate: Gun violence and Police brutality

Minor: Death of parent

leneliest's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Racism, Hate crime, War, Colonisation, Police brutality, Murder, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Gore, Antisemitism, Classism, and Genocide

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

this is such an important read. i think everyone should have to read this. it definitely isn't an easy read though

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, Classism, Gun violence, Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery

tarines316's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Wilkerson provides an in depth analysis of America’s caste system and the history that has lead us to where we are. She uses personal stories and specific examples to illustrate the elements of caste. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Violence, Hate crime, Racism, Murder, Slavery, and Classism

Moderate: Antisemitism

Minor: Death of parent

dianapiskor's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

Wow wow wow did I learn a great deal in this book. I think this is a must read for any individual, especially for those living in what is a caste system in America. Poignant, well researched, and well written, this book was difficult, but important, to read, as it lays out it's argument that in the United States, not all are born free and have never been so, even since the beginning of this nation's founding.

This novel argues that we have a caste system in the United States and that African Americans are at the bottom of this caste. Through exclusion, violence, and other strategic means, the United States has created a system where those at the bottom MUST stay at the bottom of a caste hierarchy or face the consequences. This is engrained in every facet of American life and has been done so in order to disenfranchise African Americans and to keep them in their caste. 

This book was enlightening, if not horrifying. The author lays out EVERYTHING the United States has done in order to subjugate African Americans and the extent to which individuals have done so is disgusting and terrifying. This is not an easy read. It is uncomfortable for those who are not aware of the deep history of this subjugation. But it is necessary to understand, to relate, and to see the effects of caste within our current events and the current day. 

This is an absolute must read, especially as the United States continues to see the issues of caste within the news, politics, and society. If you thought that these issues faced by Black individuals was a thing of the past, buckle up, because one cannot escape the past when it is woven into the present. However, please be aware of triggers, as part of this book can be upsetting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Colonisation, Genocide, Death, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, and Hate crime

lpfoley's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

A really brilliant take on the history of what it means to be Black in America and the social constructs that create and perpetuate oppression. Accessible, thorough, and inviting, Wilkerson walks the line between calling out the behaviors and attitudes that have created what she designated as a caste system in the US as well as discussing the broader pressures at work to sustain it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Genocide, Violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Medical trauma, and Hate crime

kemrick19's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Racism, Hate crime, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Classism

Moderate: Death of parent and Colonisation