mediocre the dangerous legacy of white male america review

Those of us who are not white men are the labor to be exploited, the scapegoats to blame, the bags to punch. Sadly, the truths in here will seem impossible to many, who will run away with their fingers in their ears finding it impossible to believe there could be this level systemic racism even though segregation just barely ended. The mediocrity of the constructed white male identity is not only disappointing for them, but devastating for those of us who are the first to be sacrificed when the predictable fruits of mediocrity come to bear. I think its greatest downfall will be its lack of hand-holding - if you don’t already understand the downfalls of white supremacy to some extent, Oluo’s unapologetic and self-assured tone (fully warranted, by the way) is unlikely to convince you. Mediocre reveals not only how dangerous it is for women and people of color to be on the receiving end of such entitlement, but how failing to meet the ingrained and deep-seated expectations sowed into the white male psyche for generations has proven to be a tragedy for white men also. Oluo’s writing is conversational and easy to follow this isn’t a dry history book by any means. I learned SO much through this from the storied history of football to the origins of the SATs. She chose a topic, spoke about it on a broad scale, and shared individual instances of each.

That being said, I appreciated the macro-to-micro approach Oluo took with each chapter of this. The people who need to read this the most are those whose minds will be most closed to its message. Published by Seal Press on December 1, 2020 Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo Mediocre investigates the real costs of this phenomenon in order to imagine a new white male identity, one free from racism and sexism.Īs provocative as it is essential, this book will upend everything you thought you knew about American identity and offers a bold new vision of American greatness.This post contains affiliate links if you use these links to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Through the last 150 years of American history – from the post-reconstruction South and the mythic stories of cowboys in the West, to the present-day controversy over NFL protests and the backlash against the rise of women in politics – Ijeoma Oluo exposes the devastating consequences of white male supremacy on women, people of color, and white men themselves. What happens to a country that tells generation after generation of white men that they deserve power? What happens when success is defined by status over women and people of color, instead of by actual accomplishments? As the author clearly shows, today’s titans of white male mediocrity are part of a long line of arrogant, entitled, irresponsible, willfully ignorant bullies in powerful positions. From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk About Race, an illuminating (New York Times Book Review) history of white male identity. Not surprisingly, White men are currently the biggest domestic terror threats in this country.

Mediocre the dangerous legacy of white male america review