Scan barcode
A review by books_ergo_sum
The Right Kind of White: A Memoir by Garrett Bucks
informative
reflective
4.0
This was a four star memoire, but I actually 10/10 recommend it. If that makes sense.
Because I can't stop thinking about its topic, namely:
✨ The way a certain (progressive, empathetic, university educated) type of White person's commitment to being "the right kind of White"...
A) leads inescapably to toxic White Saviourism in advocacy for marginalized people, and
B) causes them to turn their back on other struggling groups-just because they're also White (but poor, less educated, possibly bigoted).
It reminded me of a quote from a book (Too Late to Awaken by Zizek) | read earlier that also stuck with me, of an Australian Aboriginal woman saying to a
"rich white compassionate liberal":
✨ "If you have come here to help me, then don't waste your time. But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then come, let us work together."
What made this memoire so good was how earnest and intimate it was. What made it so important was its topic: how a White person who wants to make the world a better place can actually make the world worse—but not the way you'd expect.
I just wish this book had drawn a sharper conclusion.
Because I think everything it needed was already there.
Garrett Bucks did all the right things. He was so committed to progressive activism that he became a Quaker, studied intersectional feminism at university, and worked full time in various activism organizations. But he was too aware of his white cis male privilege-and White Saviourism crept into his work despite his best efforts. And, he was too aware of his small town midwestern upbringing-and he stopped caring about certain people's struggles despite his commitment to compassion.
The events that turned this all around (BLM movement misadventures, getting a debilitating chronic illness, recognizing the seed company logo on a hat of a Trump rally supporter) were really interesting. I just wanted a firmer conclusion. Because I actually think he's more correct than he believes.
Because I can't stop thinking about its topic, namely:
✨ The way a certain (progressive, empathetic, university educated) type of White person's commitment to being "the right kind of White"...
A) leads inescapably to toxic White Saviourism in advocacy for marginalized people, and
B) causes them to turn their back on other struggling groups-just because they're also White (but poor, less educated, possibly bigoted).
It reminded me of a quote from a book (Too Late to Awaken by Zizek) | read earlier that also stuck with me, of an Australian Aboriginal woman saying to a
"rich white compassionate liberal":
✨ "If you have come here to help me, then don't waste your time. But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then come, let us work together."
What made this memoire so good was how earnest and intimate it was. What made it so important was its topic: how a White person who wants to make the world a better place can actually make the world worse—but not the way you'd expect.
I just wish this book had drawn a sharper conclusion.
Because I think everything it needed was already there.
Garrett Bucks did all the right things. He was so committed to progressive activism that he became a Quaker, studied intersectional feminism at university, and worked full time in various activism organizations. But he was too aware of his white cis male privilege-and White Saviourism crept into his work despite his best efforts. And, he was too aware of his small town midwestern upbringing-and he stopped caring about certain people's struggles despite his commitment to compassion.
The events that turned this all around (BLM movement misadventures, getting a debilitating chronic illness, recognizing the seed company logo on a hat of a Trump rally supporter) were really interesting. I just wanted a firmer conclusion. Because I actually think he's more correct than he believes.