Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy by Talia Lavin

5 reviews

klsreads's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

There was a lot I really liked about this book. The scary look into far-right infiltrative journalism really put me on edge. Lavin is incredibly brave and principled. However, much of this book read like a collection of well-written journal articles. The overall story lacked cohesiveness. I enjoyed each section independently ("We Keep Us Safe" was a standout), but don't go into this expecting a deep dive into the path of online radicalism. It's good as a more intro-level text of vignettes. Lavin's writing is strong, personal, and emotional, though I found it repetitive (and I spent a fair amount of time looking up words). 3.5 stars.

"To those who find themselves uncomfortable with the operation of antifascists outside the comfortable bounds of institutions and, at times, the law, I remind you that the French partisans of World War II were acting illegally, while the Einsatzgruppen had the full support of German law. We tend to like our noble lawbreakers to be comfortably in the past, where time and death have sanitized them into heroes, and to suffer those who struggle against injustice in the present only grudgingly, if at all."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Police brutality, Cursing, Ableism, Body horror, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Sexism, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Misogyny, Transphobia, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Death, Suicide, Stalking, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Islamophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Self harm, Slavery, Hate crime, War, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death and Pandemic/Epidemic

caseythereader's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

3.75

 - I think it is important, when you can manage it, to look at horrible things straight on so you know what you're up against. That said, CULTURE WARLORDS is filled with some of the most horrifying and horrific things I've ever read, all the more terrifying because it's all happening right under our noses.
- I think if you've spent any time at all learning about (or experiencing) what the far right is up to, there isn't a lot of new information in this book. However, Lavin really does a great job of linking seemingly disparate ideologies, events, and social and governmental failures together to show how we arrived here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Police brutality, Murder, Suicide, Transphobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Blood, Racism, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, War, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Stalking

collins1129's review

dark informative fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Stalking, Violence, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Colonisation, Gore, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia

norah's review

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I don't know if it was the fact that I've done similar research to Talia, or that I follow her on twitter, or the last chapter of this book, but this was an emotional read for me. I think it's a comprehensive look at white supremacy in Amerika, and one that doesn't mince words, or feign distance. I think it's very clear that Lavin is extremely knowledgable about antifascism and it shows, brilliantly, throughout. I can't stop thinking of the circle of protective bodies around the church. I recommend this book over others on the same topic, such as Marantz's "Antisocial", if you were to choose only one to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Antisemitism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia

This is a book about white supremacist and nazis, what they think, and how they express their hate. There are descriptions of acts of violence, and an instance of description of animal mutilation.

ehmannky's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75

 I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long while. Lavin documents the various ways in which white supremacy has become a global movement online and the ways in which tech companies such as YouTube and Twitter are complicit in that. She follows the history of white supremacy, tangled with antisemitism, and how it is fed by misogyny, homophobia, and a deep-seeded racial hatred towards anyone who isn't a very specific kind of white person. I felt a deep respect for Lavin's willingness to go undercover and submerge herself in the rampant abuse in order to show everyone what this culture is and why it's so dangerous to ignore it and allow it to grow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Bullying, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence