Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

25 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional informative slow-paced

2.75

I’m unsure why this book has become so popular. The theory the author puts forth is somewhat incoherent and is held together by a bunch of anecdata. I’m glad I read it so that I can be aware of its presence in the zeitgeist, but I got very little of the actual content. The author contends her little with colonization in her book, which I feel is a huge absence. She seems like the kind of person who wants to “save the soul” of America, when I’m over here shouting #landback. At the end she gives an impassioned plea for everyone to just be exposed to the true nature of US history, that that would cause everyone to wake up and fight for justice. I really don’t think that’s the case.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Classism, Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, War, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Minor: Colonisation, Addiction, Abortion, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Drug use

Casteism

chaoticnostalgia's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Death, Child abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Hate crime, Police brutality, Suicide, War, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic and Sexism

Minor: Mass/school shootings

cnjg88's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Antisemitism, Racial slurs, Murder, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, War, Classism, Xenophobia, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Racism, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Gaslighting, and Death

Moderate: Cursing, Car accident, Blood, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Deportation, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Domestic abuse

hannahwinston's review

challenging informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

Whatever you think you know about the origins of racism/classism/caste, this book goes even further.

While I knew a lot about the American Caste, I did not know how much it influenced Nazis. There were several lines that blew my mind but this one, about selling souvenirs from lynchings during the Jim Crow Era, knocked me off my feet:

“This was singularly American. Even the Nazis did not stoop to selling souvenirs of Auschwitz, wrote time magazine many years later.”

The biggest takeaway/reminder:

“Evil asks little of the dominant caste other than to sit back and do nothing. All that it needs from bystanders is their silent complicity in the evil committed on their behalf.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Slavery, Antisemitism, Physical abuse, Racism, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Classism, Confinement, Torture, and Colonisation

shawnapantzke's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Slavery, Xenophobia, and Classism

readandfindout's review

informative slow-paced

4.0

Style/writing: 3.5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Child death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Hate crime, Genocide, Death, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Murder, Antisemitism, Torture, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Gore, and War

Moderate: Misogyny

meaghanelizabook's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Death, Murder, Slavery, Colonisation, Police brutality, Classism, and Racism

micaelamariem's review

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

robbiehuman's review

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Genocide

Minor: Cancer and Cultural appropriation

leneliest's review

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