Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male Power by Ijeoma Oluo

33 reviews

bayleereads's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

5.0

Such a powerful and informative book. It really takes "not all men" to a whole new level. I knew a baseline amount of information about white supremacy and male America before listening to this book, but now I understand so much more about our country and the policies put in place to basically paralyze any person in America that isn't a cis male, straight, Christian, and white. Oluo backs up her statements with facts and sources that prove her point even further.

Simply a phenomenal book. I think it should be a required reading for high school or college students in political science courses. But, of course they wouldn't do that, because it's "biased." Can something really be biased though, if it's backed up with immense research and facts? White male supremacy in America is harming pretty much everyone and our country isn't doing a damn thing about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Antisemitism

perpetualpages's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

CWs: References to sexual harassment, pedophilia, and sexual violence; discussions of white supremacy, racism, police brutality, hate crimes, and (reported) racial and sexual slurs; explorations of genocide, anti-Indigenous violence, war crimes, and chattel slavery; exploration of misogyny, deportation, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and antisemitism; some descriptions of online harassment, domestic terrorism, suicide, and gun violence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Slavery, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia

Minor: Sexual violence, Suicide, and Sexual harassment

maxgdy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

rachrreads's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.5

While I agree with many of the arguments in this book on white male supremacy in America, I found the flow of the book to be hard to follow. This book really just felt like a bunch of essays thrown together with the main points of the argument at the beginning and end.

I learned quite a bit through all these stories/essays though, so that really helped the rating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Colonisation

traciereads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

Minor: Cursing, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia

shivane's review against another edition

4.5

I enjoyed reading this book for a different perspective on white supremacy, specifically the chapter on male feminists and Bernie bros. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Sexism, Violence, and Colonisation

bookiecharm's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Police brutality

aqtbenz's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Murder

emfass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Ijeoma Oluo is simply one of the best writers writing today. In both this and So You Want to Talk About Race, she takes very tough and complex issues and makes them accessible. She is thorough and thoughtful and I honestly could have read another 100 pages or more of this book. It was also incredibly impactful to listen to the audiobook and hear Oluo's words in her own voice.

The introduction and conclusion chapters are vibrant and necessary overviews of the violence and harm caused by white male supremacy in the U.S. The chapters in between cover related topics by way of specific stories throughout American history. I deeply appreciated the unpacking of these important moments, and in particular the historic events I've lived through. 

Especially eye-opening to me were:
-the stories of Buffalo Bill and the Bundy brothers (Chapter 1)
-an exploration of Bernie bros (Chapter 2, possibly my favorite section of the book, as it helped put to words so many things I've sensed but didn't know how to say)
-the history of access (or lack thereof) to higher education in the U.S. (Chapter 3)
-the horrific tactics that white people used to try to keep Black people from leaving in the post-Reconstruction South (Chapter 4)
-the "problem" of women in the workforce after World War II (Chapter 5)
-the Squad's political career as women of color in Congress (Chapter 6)
-the racist history of football in the U.S. and the tidal wave of backlash that follows when players (including Colin Kaepernick and Michael Bennett) try to use their voice for change (Chapter 7)

Throughout the book, Oluo also shares many instances of the cruel, unjust, horrifying abuse she has endured as a Black woman writing very visibly about racial, feminist, and social justice issues. She does it not for pity, but I think as firsthand examples of the lengths white men will go to when they feel threatened.

I highly recommend this to everybody.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia

Minor: Excrement

bgoodbookclub's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This book is extremely timely and touches on a lot of topics that are extremely important and that I have not seen covered in other books about racism. It will well researched and touches on higher education, the NFL, abuse of women in the workplace, etc. To me, this book reads a lot like Hood Feminism, which I also enjoyed. It's the perfect mix of facts and story to keep you interested and learning. I think I am one of the few people who read this prior to Oluo's other book but I am very interested in picking it up, as I really admire and appreciate her writing style. I often struggle with nonfiction if it reads like a textbook but I looked forward to picking this book up as I read it. This is an important read and necessary when educating yourself on racial tension in the United States. 

My favorite quote is the last line of the book, "We have to not only believe that we deserve better; we have to have faith that we can do better. And we have to start now."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Hate crime and Police brutality