Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

39 reviews

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

viporras's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, and War

hmbrokaw's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

A phenomenal look at what exactly caste is. Any yt person interested in anti-racism work should read this. It’s heavy and hard to read, but in all the ways it should be when reading about the oppression of billions. Don’t expect to feel good about yourself- expect to learn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence

pmhandley's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

5.0

This was incredibly informative and provided a deep explanation of how the caste system exists in America without being overly academic or dense. Wilkerson's background as a journalist allows her to explain a complicated topic with a lot of historical information wedged in without ever sounding dry or losing your attention. This is definitely a worthwhile read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Antisemitism

scarroll178's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder

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

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

ronan_lesh's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, and Classism

Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and War

arthur_harris's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

This book pulls absolutely no punches. It lays out the facts of its subject matter with a kind of frank, unflinching look at the truth that is so constantly softened and blunted in history. Deeply, grimly informative on the true history of the Black experience in the United States. A harsh reality check for those - like me - who grew up with a whitewashed view of American history. While this book is a difficult read in many ways, that is part of what makes it such a necessary one. It forces the reader to examine the deeply ingrained racism baked into the foundation of America, and the subsequent role of the (non-Black) reader in that racist system. An absolutely vital piece of literature. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

veryill's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, and Violence