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madqueeen's review against another edition
3.0
I think the issues Flaherty brought up were important, and the voices he elevated throughout were critical to the purpose of this book. However, I found Flaherty falling into the savior mentality he himself was fighting against. He was the one who was choosing which voices to elevate, which voices were the most important to hear. While I agree it is the privileged’s duty to seek out, listen to, and uplift the voices of marginalized leaders, I don’t think this book follows those principles. Recommend books, articles, essays, research, movements, etc. by marginalized folks. I don’t find it necessary to have a white cis man write a book arguing against saviorism, when he could have just shared resources created by marginalized folks that argue his points. I’d much rather read those.
He also had a lot of personal anecdotes he used as citations. For example, he claimed that social media/Twitter played no role in the Arab Spring. When I looked at his citation for that claim, it was his own personal retelling of what he’d heard at one specific event in 2011. I’ve studied the Arab Spring through the lens of social media, and wholeheartedly disagree that it didn’t play a role.
Anyway, it was an okay book.
He also had a lot of personal anecdotes he used as citations. For example, he claimed that social media/Twitter played no role in the Arab Spring. When I looked at his citation for that claim, it was his own personal retelling of what he’d heard at one specific event in 2011. I’ve studied the Arab Spring through the lens of social media, and wholeheartedly disagree that it didn’t play a role.
Anyway, it was an okay book.
marcymurli's review against another edition
4.0
Such an important and smart book! Flaherty really delves into the phenomenon of the saviour mentality by historically and culturally contextualising it - from hero films to journalists like Nicholas Kristof. His more recent examples - the best of which are post-Katrina New Orleans and Teach for America - explore the subject with an in-depth view of each subject. The writing is solid and engaging. The only chapter that is a bit lacking is the one on the Occupy Wall Street movement, which attempts to cover too much too quickly. Flaherty's conclusion is optimistic, but a bit too much so, perhaps, if you're reading this in the Trump era.
ezreaadingo's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great book that goes through real-life examples of how the ‘savior mentality’ shows ip in many different ways in our culture and how engrained it is in our country’s DNA. The only piece missing (and maybe it’s not intended in this book) is more concrete ideas/strategies to avoid and/or break away from the savior mentality. However, I highly recommend this book for anyone with privilege who wants to be a part of any movements for social change!
cebolla's review against another edition
5.0
I was expecting this to be another book about the movement written by an over-analyzing intellectual who has never seen the front lines of anything. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find a thoughtful series of essays written by an activist with actual life experience. Flaherty has published a number of books and articles, was the first reporter to bring the Jena Six case to a national audience, and is the only journalist identified as a subject in the NYPD's spying programs. It's obvious from his writing that he has more at stake than just the prospect of a nice paycheck.
No More Heroes, using many examples from around the world, breaks down and dissects the savior mentality, a problem committed disproportionately, or almost exclusively, by white people in activist communities. Flaherty drives home the point that white people, when joining a cause, need to learn how to be a part of something and take our cues from people whose lives are being directly affected, without the declawing that comes with white guilt. As he says it: “The prototypical savior is a person who has been raised in privilege and taught implicity or explicitly (or both) that they possess the answers and skills needed to rescue others, no matter the situation.”
Brandon Darby in New Orleans is used as one of the multiple, concrete examples of the white savior complex. Darby is someone who wasn't from New Orleans, but went to help after Katrina. Although providing necessary resources, he thought he was there to teach people who had grown up in the struggle how to get shit done. He was made such a hero by his fellow white people that the allegations of him sexually assaulting multiple women were able to be swept under the rug.
Among the many other examples, the one that stands out the most to me is when Mario Van Peebles was attempting to make the movie “Panther.” He was told by studio executive after studio executive that he needed a white lead. One exec even suggested that he focus on a white person who would meet some black youth and teach them to stand up for themselves. These men would later become the Black Panthers. The importance of having a white lead (even if the main character was a person of color in real life) plays right into creating and maintaining the white savior complex.
The last few essays focused more on what white people can do to be good accomplices. The main idea I drew from this portion of the book is that “Support means using whatever privilege and access you have to influence the systems that have power over the lives of others.”
No More Heroes, using many examples from around the world, breaks down and dissects the savior mentality, a problem committed disproportionately, or almost exclusively, by white people in activist communities. Flaherty drives home the point that white people, when joining a cause, need to learn how to be a part of something and take our cues from people whose lives are being directly affected, without the declawing that comes with white guilt. As he says it: “The prototypical savior is a person who has been raised in privilege and taught implicity or explicitly (or both) that they possess the answers and skills needed to rescue others, no matter the situation.”
Brandon Darby in New Orleans is used as one of the multiple, concrete examples of the white savior complex. Darby is someone who wasn't from New Orleans, but went to help after Katrina. Although providing necessary resources, he thought he was there to teach people who had grown up in the struggle how to get shit done. He was made such a hero by his fellow white people that the allegations of him sexually assaulting multiple women were able to be swept under the rug.
Among the many other examples, the one that stands out the most to me is when Mario Van Peebles was attempting to make the movie “Panther.” He was told by studio executive after studio executive that he needed a white lead. One exec even suggested that he focus on a white person who would meet some black youth and teach them to stand up for themselves. These men would later become the Black Panthers. The importance of having a white lead (even if the main character was a person of color in real life) plays right into creating and maintaining the white savior complex.
The last few essays focused more on what white people can do to be good accomplices. The main idea I drew from this portion of the book is that “Support means using whatever privilege and access you have to influence the systems that have power over the lives of others.”
carolinacortes's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
madcilantrist's review against another edition
5.0
Highly recommend. A powerful lens to see through privilege blinders and how the "hero" myth is insidiously harmful.
This excerpt is a great preview if you're considering reading it: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/38989-saviors-believe-that-they-are-better-than-the-people-they-are-saving
The author draws on tons of history and current examples that clearly illustrate how we have inherited a deeply-rooted popular conception of “doing good” that really does far more harm.
This excerpt is a great preview if you're considering reading it: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/38989-saviors-believe-that-they-are-better-than-the-people-they-are-saving
The author draws on tons of history and current examples that clearly illustrate how we have inherited a deeply-rooted popular conception of “doing good” that really does far more harm.