Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

23 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

readwithandreina's review

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Xenophobia, Slavery, Police brutality, and War

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

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

annamay1021's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, and Racism

Moderate: Colonisation

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

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