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A review by stricker
What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition by Emma Dabiri
sad
slow-paced
1.5
I admit that I am "white". I picked this book up hoping for some help in understanding ways to communicate better with those minorities, particularly black, and empathizing with their situation and ways to share ways of narrowing our communication gulf. This was not that book.
The book, written by a "black", female, Irish-woman who had obviously suffered a great deal of negativity from her "white" Irish compatriots, seemed intent on striking out to overturn the political and economic system of the world. Seems unlikely.
In addition, she insisted, throughout this 150 page book to try to impress with her command of the English language, often to the detriment of what she was trying to say. For example (far from the worst), she wrote on page 140, "While it was a radical and necessary step at the time, which achieved the impressive task of creating awareness of the realities of people whose experiences had been historically disregarded, identity politics requires a self-reflexive understanding of its own limitations (and in fact the collective stated their commitment to 'a continual examination of our politics as they develop through criticism and self-criticism as an essential aspect of our practice') -- Did you get all that?
Without explicitly saying so, the author seems to lean heavily toward a socialist or communist approach to a new economic world order. To me, this seems to be swimming against the current.
The book seems to denigrate the notion of people (presumably "whites") helping the downtrodden through what the author calls "ally", because this is simply insulting the the minority individual and is intended as something to make the "white" feel better and ease their mind without doing anything positive for the minority. She completely ignores the possibility that there are indeed some people that take the directives of many religions to "help one another" and "to do for others what you would want done for you" to heart.
As one picking up this book, seeking to better understand the issues and ways to help, I found the bulk of the book -- directed toward the complete overturning of the political and economic system not only naive but ridiculous. Concerns about those in power positions, while largely valid, fail to recall that even Africans at the time of slavery, used their positions of power (when they had that power over their own people or neighboring tribes) sold people of their own color into slavery. So to rail against people in positions of power seems to be spitting into the wind and attempting to defy history.
Much as I applaud the authors effort to direct more power, both politically and economically to the minority blacks and Bengladishi of her current home, England, I think trying to find ways for the people of good faith among both "whites" and "blacks" toward more communication and understanding is more likely to bear fruit.
The book, written by a "black", female, Irish-woman who had obviously suffered a great deal of negativity from her "white" Irish compatriots, seemed intent on striking out to overturn the political and economic system of the world. Seems unlikely.
In addition, she insisted, throughout this 150 page book to try to impress with her command of the English language, often to the detriment of what she was trying to say. For example (far from the worst), she wrote on page 140, "While it was a radical and necessary step at the time, which achieved the impressive task of creating awareness of the realities of people whose experiences had been historically disregarded, identity politics requires a self-reflexive understanding of its own limitations (and in fact the collective stated their commitment to 'a continual examination of our politics as they develop through criticism and self-criticism as an essential aspect of our practice') -- Did you get all that?
Without explicitly saying so, the author seems to lean heavily toward a socialist or communist approach to a new economic world order. To me, this seems to be swimming against the current.
The book seems to denigrate the notion of people (presumably "whites") helping the downtrodden through what the author calls "ally", because this is simply insulting the the minority individual and is intended as something to make the "white" feel better and ease their mind without doing anything positive for the minority. She completely ignores the possibility that there are indeed some people that take the directives of many religions to "help one another" and "to do for others what you would want done for you" to heart.
As one picking up this book, seeking to better understand the issues and ways to help, I found the bulk of the book -- directed toward the complete overturning of the political and economic system not only naive but ridiculous. Concerns about those in power positions, while largely valid, fail to recall that even Africans at the time of slavery, used their positions of power (when they had that power over their own people or neighboring tribes) sold people of their own color into slavery. So to rail against people in positions of power seems to be spitting into the wind and attempting to defy history.
Much as I applaud the authors effort to direct more power, both politically and economically to the minority blacks and Bengladishi of her current home, England, I think trying to find ways for the people of good faith among both "whites" and "blacks" toward more communication and understanding is more likely to bear fruit.