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eslsilver's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Bullying, and Classism
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Thank you to #SimonBookBuddies Simon and Schuster for the finished copy. I'm writing this review of my own volition.
I think white people really tend to listen to and take other white people more seriously, so if you're a white person and/or benefit from white privilege, I highly recommend you read this.
GB also notes that he is not the first to discuss this, and points folks to reading works by people of color, especially James Baldwin or Isabel Wilkerson (he also notes Robin Di Angelo, which like .... Robin is another white person so ...... sure, fine, read her work, but don't let your education stop there; start reading antiracist and intersectional literature from disabled, queer, and/or people of color too). He also does note works like Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong, which you should read if you haven't already. This is becoming a foundational primer on antiracist lit <3
I appreciated this book because of GB's honesty, vulnerability, and frankness in reflecting on making decisions to ensure he "looked like a good white person". He talks about performing allyship, especially when compared to other white people, and ensuring he was the "right kind of white" as the title suggests. He is incredibly brave in admitting that he mostly cared about optics, about how he was seen, and the dopamine rush from the online validation he received whenever he wrote the "right things" online as far as performing activism and allyship. Look, more people need to interrogate their decisions and thought-processes the way GB does, because they'll likely find that they were acting in fear of being deemed a "bad white person."
Overall, I think since white people listen to other white people, all white people should read this, and investigate their current motivations whenever they are posting in solidarity, whenever they are called in, and whenever they are in dialogue with a nonwhite or mixed race person.
Thank you to #SimonBookBuddies Simon and Schuster for the finished copy. I'm writing this review of my own volition.
I think white people really tend to listen to and take other white people more seriously, so if you're a white person and/or benefit from white privilege, I highly recommend you read this.
GB also notes that he is not the first to discuss this, and points folks to reading works by people of color, especially James Baldwin or Isabel Wilkerson (he also notes Robin Di Angelo, which like .... Robin is another white person so ...... sure, fine, read her work, but don't let your education stop there; start reading antiracist and intersectional literature from disabled, queer, and/or people of color too). He also does note works like Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong, which you should read if you haven't already. This is becoming a foundational primer on antiracist lit <3
I appreciated this book because of GB's honesty, vulnerability, and frankness in reflecting on making decisions to ensure he "looked like a good white person". He talks about performing allyship, especially when compared to other white people, and ensuring he was the "right kind of white" as the title suggests. He is incredibly brave in admitting that he mostly cared about optics, about how he was seen, and the dopamine rush from the online validation he received whenever he wrote the "right things" online as far as performing activism and allyship. Look, more people need to interrogate their decisions and thought-processes the way GB does, because they'll likely find that they were acting in fear of being deemed a "bad white person."
Overall, I think since white people listen to other white people, all white people should read this, and investigate their current motivations whenever they are posting in solidarity, whenever they are called in, and whenever they are in dialogue with a nonwhite or mixed race person.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Minor: Religious bigotry, Medical content, Sexism, Police brutality, Xenophobia, and Racism
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