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tofupup's review
3.0
There were definitely some worthwhile takeaways for me from this, even though in some ways, I may fit McWhorter's definition of "elect". I think there is some nuance in some of the ideas that McWhorter suggests as blatantly contradictory.
lipsandpalms's review against another edition
4.0
I've often questioned the logic of what this book calls "The Elect" mindset. Many of the words, actions, and general cancel culture of the woke mob, especially on social media shows how much of this so called "antiracist movement" is really focused on virtue signaling. It's become a contest among the educated elitists as to who can be the most woke. It makes perfect sense to see this behavior as that of a religious group, more focused on cultural martyrs and faith in preaching the gospel than actual forgiveness and growth.
While I do agree that the solutions proposed in this book are steps in the right direction, I think even more should be done. More specifically, we need to find a way to open the gates of our culture to allow assimilation without ridicule. We need to find a way to reduce single motherhood rates without demonizing or proselytizing. Otherwise we just become a religion of our own.
While I do agree that the solutions proposed in this book are steps in the right direction, I think even more should be done. More specifically, we need to find a way to open the gates of our culture to allow assimilation without ridicule. We need to find a way to reduce single motherhood rates without demonizing or proselytizing. Otherwise we just become a religion of our own.
obair's review
4.0
Great read- really makes you think about the human condition and gives you a lot to think about. Especially after reading white fragility right before.
beemini's review
4.0
I found this book by looking into the host of a linguistics podcast I listened to and liked about the evolution of the word "you" in English, and was interested enough by the title of this book to give it a shot. Early this year, I read Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, which analyzed the patterns of speech used by leaders of "select" groups from MLM to actual death cults. In Woke Racism, McWhorter, a linguist, explores the use of language by "the woke mob" (whatever that means at the moment) in creating what he terms the new "religion of anti-racism." In particular, he takes issue with its self-contradictory concepts that must not be questioned, the lack of debate allowed, and focus on performative actions, all of which mirror religious ritual. While I don't agree with all of his points (he veers off into phonics-based education and a few other tangents, and there's a few too many sentences beginning with "everybody knows" for my taste), it's thought-provoking stuff. I also don't love how he writes off people who disagree with him: if he's a fan of debate as he says, he can't simply say "the Woke crowd" are beyond reach. Why bother setting ideas to paper, if not to reach people?
"The reality is that what the Elect call problematic is what a Christian means by blasphemous. The Elect do not ban people out of temper; they do it calmly, between sips of coffee as they surf Twitter, because they consider it a higher wisdom to burn witches. Not literally, but the sentiment is the same. The Elect are members of a religion, of a kind within which the dissenter is not just someone in disagreement but is a kind of environmental pollution. They are not to be among us."
Anyone who has witnessed a Twitter take-down or Tumblr character assassination or Tik Tok stitch fight will recognize this pattern of behavior as being far too close to witch-hunting for comfort, even when it comes from a theoretically beneficial place. Recognizing this behavior as religious in nature actually does help explain its otherwise mystifying fervency.
"The reality is that what the Elect call problematic is what a Christian means by blasphemous. The Elect do not ban people out of temper; they do it calmly, between sips of coffee as they surf Twitter, because they consider it a higher wisdom to burn witches. Not literally, but the sentiment is the same. The Elect are members of a religion, of a kind within which the dissenter is not just someone in disagreement but is a kind of environmental pollution. They are not to be among us."
Anyone who has witnessed a Twitter take-down or Tumblr character assassination or Tik Tok stitch fight will recognize this pattern of behavior as being far too close to witch-hunting for comfort, even when it comes from a theoretically beneficial place. Recognizing this behavior as religious in nature actually does help explain its otherwise mystifying fervency.
sarknado's review
funny
informative
fast-paced
4.5
Hilariously skews our country’s obsession with wokeness with regard to Blacks in America, using an extended metaphor of religion and the huckster “priests” who capitalize on racism, turning it into a cottage industry.
plethora's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
0.5
This entire book reads like a Burn Book about the best-selling thought leaders in this space. The author makes no point other than “stop listening to the left, they’re being ridiculous”, and claims a better way to address racism in america would be to 1. End the war on drugs (great start), 2. Teach people to read with a different method (okay I’m with you) and 3. Make it socially acceptable to not go to college . That’s it, Full stop.
I approached this book with an open mind. I was surprised again and again at the lengths to which the author went to mischaracterize the movements and the discussions this book claimed to dissect. Is it a dissection if you’re filling a pinata with candy and then pulling out the pieces one by one saying how ridiculous the appendix looks?
The audiobook, read by the author, perfectly demonstrates the bad-faith arguments he is making. The mocking tone used when (incorrectly) paraphrasing these other thought leaders’ works is outdone only by the lack of logic the author uses throughout this work.
The entire comparison between the antiracism movement and a religion is laughable (I outwardly laughed at multiple occasions). Drawing comparisons between kneeling in religious ceremony and kneeling at 2020 protests with no mention Kaepernick, and comparing three best-sellers as a holy trinity of sorts is concerning. Using examples of people saying they don’t feel safe, and then mocking the idea of them not be physically safe, is willfully obtuse on the part of the author.
At once point he states how ridiculous it is for a student of his to have felt oppressed by their experiences with racism because the student wasn’t enough of a visible minority to him. Therefore oppression was in no way appropriate to characterize her life experiences. Remind me how teaching someone presumably a few times a week makes you the authority on their life experience up to that point?
Who hurt this author?
It’s very concerning to think a man like this is teaching with these approaches. But then again, he’ll probably claim mentioning so is a witch hunt.
I approached this book with an open mind. I was surprised again and again at the lengths to which the author went to mischaracterize the movements and the discussions this book claimed to dissect. Is it a dissection if you’re filling a pinata with candy and then pulling out the pieces one by one saying how ridiculous the appendix looks?
The audiobook, read by the author, perfectly demonstrates the bad-faith arguments he is making. The mocking tone used when (incorrectly) paraphrasing these other thought leaders’ works is outdone only by the lack of logic the author uses throughout this work.
The entire comparison between the antiracism movement and a religion is laughable (I outwardly laughed at multiple occasions). Drawing comparisons between kneeling in religious ceremony and kneeling at 2020 protests with no mention Kaepernick, and comparing three best-sellers as a holy trinity of sorts is concerning. Using examples of people saying they don’t feel safe, and then mocking the idea of them not be physically safe, is willfully obtuse on the part of the author.
At once point he states how ridiculous it is for a student of his to have felt oppressed by their experiences with racism because the student wasn’t enough of a visible minority to him. Therefore oppression was in no way appropriate to characterize her life experiences. Remind me how teaching someone presumably a few times a week makes you the authority on their life experience up to that point?
Who hurt this author?
It’s very concerning to think a man like this is teaching with these approaches. But then again, he’ll probably claim mentioning so is a witch hunt.
raychelllibby's review
2.0
This book is, in itself, a scathing review about the people who don’t like this book.
I didn’t want to read this book, but when I recommended “How to be an Anti-racist” to a friend they said yes if I read this book.
So here we are.
Basically this author hates on anti-racism for 149 pages, gives us two pages on what he proposes instead (which until that moment I thought would be that racism didn’t exist) then goes back to shit talking these hyper anti-racist people.
Mcwhorter seems to think that there’s this growing breed of hyper woke anti-racist cancel culture promoting zombies trying to infiltrate society through our elementary schools and libraries. He calls them the ‘Elect’ and their superpowers are: getting random people fired from their jobs, making white people get off on hating themselves, and making people of color valuable only in their experience of how white people effect them.
Ya know… some of that shit isn’t wrong… but he goes on to tell us some super specific things that ALL “Elects” believe. At first I though he was talking about me but then I realized that I don’t believe half of the shit he said I believed so I guess he wasn’t talking about me.
He specifically finds authors and activists Kendi and Coates to be problematic and wrong. But then in those 2 pages when he actually reminds the reader that he isn’t anti-anti-racism: he suggests some key moves that I think both Kendi and Coates would be on board with.
I’ll finish this “review” by quoting the three (of like 200) post it’s I left in my friends book:
- I understand the frustration with people who always feel the need to correct and condemn, but writing a book condemning them is, well, awkward.
- This book is, in itself, a scathing review about people who don’t like this book.
- What in the ever-loving nut sack is going on here?!
I didn’t want to read this book, but when I recommended “How to be an Anti-racist” to a friend they said yes if I read this book.
So here we are.
Basically this author hates on anti-racism for 149 pages, gives us two pages on what he proposes instead (which until that moment I thought would be that racism didn’t exist) then goes back to shit talking these hyper anti-racist people.
Mcwhorter seems to think that there’s this growing breed of hyper woke anti-racist cancel culture promoting zombies trying to infiltrate society through our elementary schools and libraries. He calls them the ‘Elect’ and their superpowers are: getting random people fired from their jobs, making white people get off on hating themselves, and making people of color valuable only in their experience of how white people effect them.
Ya know… some of that shit isn’t wrong… but he goes on to tell us some super specific things that ALL “Elects” believe. At first I though he was talking about me but then I realized that I don’t believe half of the shit he said I believed so I guess he wasn’t talking about me.
He specifically finds authors and activists Kendi and Coates to be problematic and wrong. But then in those 2 pages when he actually reminds the reader that he isn’t anti-anti-racism: he suggests some key moves that I think both Kendi and Coates would be on board with.
I’ll finish this “review” by quoting the three (of like 200) post it’s I left in my friends book:
- I understand the frustration with people who always feel the need to correct and condemn, but writing a book condemning them is, well, awkward.
- This book is, in itself, a scathing review about people who don’t like this book.
- What in the ever-loving nut sack is going on here?!
bootman's review
5.0
I could honestly write an entire blog post about this book (and maybe I will), but this book completely changed my opinion of John McWhorter. I got into John’s books on linguistics, and then I found out he’s a very vocal person when it comes to issues with wokeness. I’ve listened to many of his podcasts and conversations with people, and while he has no problem admitting racism exists, it was hard to get a read on him. I couldn’t quite tell if he was just against the woke stuff as a way to pander as some people do, or what his nuanced opinions were on this topic. Once I read this book, I had a far better understanding of what John believes, and I’m glad to say he proved my skepticism wrong.
I was fortunate enough to get a review copy of this book from his publisher, and I binged the book within about a day. John brings up great arguments about woke ideology and how it’s basically a religion. I’ve heard him make this analogy before, but it makes much more sense once I read the book. While I may not agree with all of John’s opinions, I agreed with most of them. I think the biggest misconception I had, and one that many others have, is that he doesn’t think racism is a problem. Once you get towards the last third of the book, McWhorter dives into a ton of solutions while recognizing some of the issues we face. His arguments are sound, and basically, he just doesn’t think that some of the anti-racist ideology that’s spreading will help solve these issues.
Check out my interview with John McWhorter about the book here
I’m sure this book will get a ton of sales, but I hope it reaches more people like me who were skeptical of John. It bums me out that a lot of people will probably not even read this book and be outraged about it. So, if you’re reading this review and aren’t a fan of John, give the book a chance. It might surprise you.
I was fortunate enough to get a review copy of this book from his publisher, and I binged the book within about a day. John brings up great arguments about woke ideology and how it’s basically a religion. I’ve heard him make this analogy before, but it makes much more sense once I read the book. While I may not agree with all of John’s opinions, I agreed with most of them. I think the biggest misconception I had, and one that many others have, is that he doesn’t think racism is a problem. Once you get towards the last third of the book, McWhorter dives into a ton of solutions while recognizing some of the issues we face. His arguments are sound, and basically, he just doesn’t think that some of the anti-racist ideology that’s spreading will help solve these issues.
Check out my interview with John McWhorter about the book here
I’m sure this book will get a ton of sales, but I hope it reaches more people like me who were skeptical of John. It bums me out that a lot of people will probably not even read this book and be outraged about it. So, if you’re reading this review and aren’t a fan of John, give the book a chance. It might surprise you.
borderhopper's review
challenging
tense
medium-paced
2.0
Very one sided treatment of the woke issue. Dismissive of the strong evidence for racism in the country.