Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

29 reviews

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

micaelamariem's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

 found this book to be very educational, motivational, and eye-opening. It was interesting, though brutal, to learn the full scale of the history of caste in america and how awful we can be as humans. I think everyone could benefit from reading this. However, though I agree with Wilkerson on everything including the politics of today, I can see how it might polarize people to where they’d miss the point she’s trying to make. I also think the cohesiveness of the narrative could have been better. Still, overall a great read of a dark history and startling present! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

robbiehuman's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Classism

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Colonisation

Minor: Cancer and Cultural appropriation

leneliest's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

this is such an important read. i think everyone should have to read this. it definitely isn't an easy read though

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Classism

tarines316's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Wilkerson provides an in depth analysis of America’s caste system and the history that has lead us to where we are. She uses personal stories and specific examples to illustrate the elements of caste. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Antisemitism

Minor: Death of parent

kemrick19's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Classism

Moderate: Death of parent and Colonisation

grubloved's review against another edition

it spends so much time trying to assure the reader that racism is real that it doesn't actually do any meaningful analysis?? it kind of reads like a baby's first racism primer. weird also that it kind of handwaves the entire existence of every racial group other than black and white; it makes sense once you understand it is specifically a book about antiblack racism in america, but even the book seems confused about what its purpose is, continually claiming to describe an entire system and then only fixating on one aspect -- feels a little shallow. 

also weird that india's caste system is a selling point but is honestly barely present in the book, and that nazi germany is consistently held up as another state creating an underclass (the goal wasn't an underclass of jews. it was no more jews. this is not very analogous to a caste system). 

the alpha wolf chapter was also absolutely atrocious and i think is a really good example of a lot of the problems i had with the text. it was really strange for the book to claim that racism's big downsides are largely that naturally superior people who happen to be in the wrong caste can't assume their rightful place as leaders, and that naturally inferior people who are in the upper caste should be allowed to be ruled by their betters ??? it continually seems to insist that hierarchy is not the problem, but that it is simply a wrong hierarchy and that we should adjust to follow a better natural order. just really really strange to read in a book about racism.

i really enjoyed the pillars of caste section but the rest of it just wasn't the indepth reading i was here for. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

shoshin's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Sometimes, it's easiest to understand what is happening around you by finding a way to step outside it to describe it. Wilkerson does that brilliantly with this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, and Murder

Moderate: Sexism and Classism

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Murder, Classism, and Deportation