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itsdianakelly 's review for:
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America
by Ijeoma Oluo
Listen to me when I tell you that this book is vital. Especially right now, in the current political climate slash complete hellscape that is American “democracy.” I mean, oof. This book is dense and horrifying and validating and nuanced and--
Trust me, it’s vital.
I was a huge fan of Ijeoma’s first book, “So You Want to Talk About Race?” so I was absolutely delighted when Seal Press sent me an advanced copy of Mediocre to inhale in exchange for an honest review. Pardon my vulgarity, but I knew this shit would be good, and I was not disappointed. Mediocre stems from the premise that America was established and has thrived on white male supremacy. And not even because these white dudes are super skilled, intelligent or even worthy. Most of the time, they’re just mediocre. But hey, as long as they see themselves and act as though they’re better than women and people of color, they’re good! While there are extreme cases of white supremacy, such as the KKK, neo-nazis, or even your common Tr*mp supporter, most of the harm comes from the fact that this is a systemic issue. It was built into all of our systems from the very beginning. Health care discrimination, job discrimation, mass incarceration, the school-to-prison pipeline, police brutality, educational bias. It’s insidious and it’s not going to go away until people stop being complacent and actively start fighting against it. Hey fellow white people! It’s time to stop marinating in our privilege!
Despite this book being packed with horrendous (but necessary) history lessons, there was an underlying tone of hopefulness. It’s not so much an attack on individual white men, but on the system that raised them. The author touches on the fact that white supremacy can also be harmful to men. A lot of men are taught from birth that showing emotion is “weak” and a trait that should be associated with women. Men should be aggressive, domineering and void of emotion. When you think about it, it’s truly insane. What a strange and completely unnecessary burden to place. No wonder masculinity is so fragile.
I fully plan on shoving this book in everyone’s face come December.
Thanks again to Seal Press for giving me a head start with this gem of a book.
Trust me, it’s vital.
I was a huge fan of Ijeoma’s first book, “So You Want to Talk About Race?” so I was absolutely delighted when Seal Press sent me an advanced copy of Mediocre to inhale in exchange for an honest review. Pardon my vulgarity, but I knew this shit would be good, and I was not disappointed. Mediocre stems from the premise that America was established and has thrived on white male supremacy. And not even because these white dudes are super skilled, intelligent or even worthy. Most of the time, they’re just mediocre. But hey, as long as they see themselves and act as though they’re better than women and people of color, they’re good! While there are extreme cases of white supremacy, such as the KKK, neo-nazis, or even your common Tr*mp supporter, most of the harm comes from the fact that this is a systemic issue. It was built into all of our systems from the very beginning. Health care discrimination, job discrimation, mass incarceration, the school-to-prison pipeline, police brutality, educational bias. It’s insidious and it’s not going to go away until people stop being complacent and actively start fighting against it. Hey fellow white people! It’s time to stop marinating in our privilege!
Despite this book being packed with horrendous (but necessary) history lessons, there was an underlying tone of hopefulness. It’s not so much an attack on individual white men, but on the system that raised them. The author touches on the fact that white supremacy can also be harmful to men. A lot of men are taught from birth that showing emotion is “weak” and a trait that should be associated with women. Men should be aggressive, domineering and void of emotion. When you think about it, it’s truly insane. What a strange and completely unnecessary burden to place. No wonder masculinity is so fragile.
I fully plan on shoving this book in everyone’s face come December.
Thanks again to Seal Press for giving me a head start with this gem of a book.