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sarahmcg's review against another edition
5.0
This books is incredibly well-researched from start to finish. Not only does it include facts and figures, but moving personal stories from the author and those she interviewed that I will carry with me for a long time. It was a new perspective to see the comparisons drawn between the US caste system (based on race and white supremacy), the caste system during Nazi Germany, and the caste system in India.
“Empathy is no substitute for the experience itself. We don't get to tell a person with a broken leg or a bullet wound that they are not in pain. And people who have hit the caste lottery are not in a position to tell a person who has suffered under the tyranny of caste what is offensive or hurtful or demeaning to those at the bottom. The price of privilege is the moral duty to act when one sees another person treated unfairly. And the least that a person in the dominant caste can do is not make the pain any worse.”
Several times throughout the book as the author moved through different time periods, I found myself wondering, “would I have been on the right side of history?” Because most of the time, white people have not been. There are many lessons/reminders to gain from this book, but a few would be: to continue to disrupt the current system in place, use your privilege to speak out, and listen to those marginalized communities who are hurting, especially when it’s uncomfortable.
“Caste is insidious and therefore powerful because it is not hatred, it is not necessarily personal. It is the worn grooves of comforting routines and unthinking expectations, patterns of a social order that have been in place for so long that it looks like the natural order of things.”
If you have read this, I’d love to discuss! I think this would be a great book club pick.
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Police brutality, and Mass/school shootings
ebrown0789's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Police brutality
beanjoles's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture
Moderate: Antisemitism
f18's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, War, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Sexism, Xenophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Colonisation
tlilf's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
buttermellow's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Antisemitism, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, and Medical trauma
Minor: Gun violence and Police brutality
whisper88's review against another edition
3.75
The audiobook version narrated by Robin Miles is a good way to get this down, especially if you are reading another lighthearted book at the time as literary "spoonful of sugar" because Caste is indeed a bitter pill to swallow.
I'm glad I read it and I know I'll need to reread it to be able to better grasp it's intent, however I left me feeling like I just watched Django Unchained: more or less sick to my stomach.
Graphic: Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
julied's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Murder
annabunce's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder
thebespectacledbookworm's review against another edition
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Slavery, Violence, and Antisemitism
Minor: Rape, Torture, Police brutality, and Murder