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A review by twistingsnake
Anti-Semite & Jew by Jean-Paul Sartre
4.0
The anti-Semite is afraid of discovering that the world is ill-contrived for then it would be necessary for him to invent and modify, with the result that man would be found to the master of his own destinies, burned by the agonizing and infinite responsibility.
Sharply relevant to today's political climate around hatred toward minority groups (immigration in particular) Sartre's pocket-sized thesis on what creates a social hive mind around the us vs. them ideology and provides smart commentary on the mindset of oppression and how it can inflict generational trauma with lasting effects on how people interact with their own individualism. I annotated the fuck out of this and after I lend it out to a few people I could see myself revisiting it. This is one of the first books someone recommended me for getting into Jewish theology/history and it absolutely lived up to expectations. There were many notable passages and a lot of profound insights/commentary that made rethink or reconceptualize a lot of my understanding of how to view racists and the mindset of someone who has to dehumanize another to feel safe in his own humanity. One part in particular that stood out was his commentary on social complacency toward members of the community who are loudly outspoken with their aversion to certain minority groups. "There was a tacit understanding between Jules and his family: they ostentatiously avoided talking about the English in front of him, and the precaution gave him a semblance of existence in the eyes of those about him at the same time that it provided them with the agreeable sense of participating in a sacred ceremony." which is a sentiment that, again, has great relevance today.
It took me over a month to read this book and even longer to annotate/research the climate and world powers that were central for France in the 40s but it was worth the grind and I couldn't recommend this swiss army knife of a social thesis more. 4 1/2 stars.
Sharply relevant to today's political climate around hatred toward minority groups (immigration in particular) Sartre's pocket-sized thesis on what creates a social hive mind around the us vs. them ideology and provides smart commentary on the mindset of oppression and how it can inflict generational trauma with lasting effects on how people interact with their own individualism. I annotated the fuck out of this and after I lend it out to a few people I could see myself revisiting it. This is one of the first books someone recommended me for getting into Jewish theology/history and it absolutely lived up to expectations. There were many notable passages and a lot of profound insights/commentary that made rethink or reconceptualize a lot of my understanding of how to view racists and the mindset of someone who has to dehumanize another to feel safe in his own humanity. One part in particular that stood out was his commentary on social complacency toward members of the community who are loudly outspoken with their aversion to certain minority groups. "There was a tacit understanding between Jules and his family: they ostentatiously avoided talking about the English in front of him, and the precaution gave him a semblance of existence in the eyes of those about him at the same time that it provided them with the agreeable sense of participating in a sacred ceremony." which is a sentiment that, again, has great relevance today.
It took me over a month to read this book and even longer to annotate/research the climate and world powers that were central for France in the 40s but it was worth the grind and I couldn't recommend this swiss army knife of a social thesis more. 4 1/2 stars.