A review by driedfrogpills
The Opposite of Hate: A Field Guide to Repairing Our Humanity by Sally Kohn
1.0
When you are writing a book discussing hate, bias and prejudice, don't misuse other people's words to make yourself sound better. Especially if that person is black and you are white. In all honesty I don't think it was done maliciously, but instead illustrates how privilege blinds us. This in no way excuses Kohn from not checking her privilege and verifying her facts.
I had hoped this book would break new ground or discuss in-depth methods for recognizing and dealing with our hate, but it reads like the "woke white woman realizing there are social issues around her and she has thoughts!!!!" stereotype. At times, it feels like the bare minimum of research into very complex issues went into this book. The controversy surrounding two quotes makes the rest of the book's content, some of which involving interviews with people from other backgrounds, into question as to the validity of those engagements. Also, using the experiences of one or two interviewees to illustrate the experiences of their people seems to me to be an incredibly narrow way to accurately reflect those experiences. It doesn't help that half of the book reads like a memoir than an examination of the nature of hate.
Kohn had some good thoughts, especially about connection. However, she doesn't go deep enough into her idea to generate any conductive discussion, and her sloppy handling of her source material overshadows any benefit this book may have had otherwise.
I had hoped this book would break new ground or discuss in-depth methods for recognizing and dealing with our hate, but it reads like the "woke white woman realizing there are social issues around her and she has thoughts!!!!" stereotype. At times, it feels like the bare minimum of research into very complex issues went into this book. The controversy surrounding two quotes makes the rest of the book's content, some of which involving interviews with people from other backgrounds, into question as to the validity of those engagements. Also, using the experiences of one or two interviewees to illustrate the experiences of their people seems to me to be an incredibly narrow way to accurately reflect those experiences. It doesn't help that half of the book reads like a memoir than an examination of the nature of hate.
Kohn had some good thoughts, especially about connection. However, she doesn't go deep enough into her idea to generate any conductive discussion, and her sloppy handling of her source material overshadows any benefit this book may have had otherwise.