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ckbarnard_0317 's review for:
White Like Me
by Tim Wise
I didn't love this book.
The good:
- Wise's strong relationship to place, especially New Orleans and Nashville
- Illuminating reflections on Hurricane Katrina and David Duke's various political campaigns
- I learned things I had not known about Jewish faith and practice, especially as it relates to class and whiteness in the US
The bad:
- the way Wise depicted racist white people as cartoonish (comparing them to sitcom characters, mocking their appearance, calling white women "Buffy," remarking on how "cute" sorority girls were in their scrunchies. Don't get me wrong-- all those people deserved to be called on their shit. But mocking their appearance is lazy, and makes me think that Wise is deeply uncomfortable at being associated with them and needs to prove that he is more evolved. He took the easy way out. I wish he'd engaged with his discomfort instead; it would have made those sections much more impactful.
- The bizarre section of Wise pulling a "gotcha!" moment on a guy telling a racist joke by claiming he's biracial (he's not)
- Wise's ego. Yikes.
- The section where he refers to a "prank" that some white pilots played on flight attendants (stripping down to their underwear and inviting them into the cockpit). WTF. That's not a prank. That's workplace sexual harassment.
- Wise barely notes how much he failed upwards because of his race *and* gender, but man. It's clear.
Tldr, there are some great books examining whiteness. This isn't one of them.
The good:
- Wise's strong relationship to place, especially New Orleans and Nashville
- Illuminating reflections on Hurricane Katrina and David Duke's various political campaigns
- I learned things I had not known about Jewish faith and practice, especially as it relates to class and whiteness in the US
The bad:
- the way Wise depicted racist white people as cartoonish (comparing them to sitcom characters, mocking their appearance, calling white women "Buffy," remarking on how "cute" sorority girls were in their scrunchies. Don't get me wrong-- all those people deserved to be called on their shit. But mocking their appearance is lazy, and makes me think that Wise is deeply uncomfortable at being associated with them and needs to prove that he is more evolved. He took the easy way out. I wish he'd engaged with his discomfort instead; it would have made those sections much more impactful.
- The bizarre section of Wise pulling a "gotcha!" moment on a guy telling a racist joke by claiming he's biracial (he's not)
- Wise's ego. Yikes.
- The section where he refers to a "prank" that some white pilots played on flight attendants (stripping down to their underwear and inviting them into the cockpit). WTF. That's not a prank. That's workplace sexual harassment.
- Wise barely notes how much he failed upwards because of his race *and* gender, but man. It's clear.
Tldr, there are some great books examining whiteness. This isn't one of them.