White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son
By:
Tim Wise
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Lowest New Price: $7.72
List Price: $14.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Description:
Racial privilege shapes the lives of white Americans in every facet of life, from employment and education to housing and criminal justice. Using stories from his own life, Tim Wise shows that racism not only burdens people of color, but also benefits those who are "white like him" — whether or not they’re actively racist. Using stories instead of stale statistics, Wise weaves a compelling narrative that assesses the magnitude of racial privilege and is at once readable and scholarly, analytical yet accessible.
Publisher: Soft Skull Press
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
understand white folks - As a white dude, I can say that Tim Wise understands white folks in the states, probably as well as anyone can. He knows all about how we think and how we insulate ourselves from reality and how we have the uncanny ability to simultaneously tell others to be responsible while we blame them for our problems. And he's even anticipated your unwitting and latently racist attack / defense in expressing your outrage that there is such a thing as white privelege (which you will put scare quotes around, "privelege", to say that it doesn't exist.) He knows your tricks, and he is an extremely engaging and humorous author on top of it.
This is one of the single best books I have ever read and is definite must-read material for anyone living amidst a lot of racism, especially the kind that doesn't see itself as such.
Customer Review: 1 out of 5
Arrogant cook - This book was given to me and I did not finish it.
What I read offended me - as a Caucasian.
This Tim Un-Wise knows he is preaching to the choir of self loathing rich white folks who are left wing cooks full of guilt from what some of their ancestors did.
However it also seems to make the assumption all white people should feel that way, well speak for yourself, pal.
I am and I know a lot of decent caucasians with decency and courtesy who are further from racism that most black folk. Write that, pandering lyar.
Making excuses like that is not helpful to the black community either as most of their problems can hardly be blamed on the folks who make welfare possible - the taxpayers.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
A terrific exploration of race in America - Tim Wise's name is well-known and I have read many of his essays over the years. So as I was about to read this book, it's safe to say I had some expectations for it. The verdict: it surpassed them. In the first few pages, the book seems a bit aimless, and at various points in the book his language is a little off-putting (by that, I mean his very free use of words like F-bombs). But after the first few pages, and getting past the occasional language obstacle, he shines with it.
He proves very adept at illustrating how ever-present race is in everyday life, and I don't make this point lightly. I already felt I had a good understanding of this, but some of his examples prove that wrong and show that it's present even in places I didn't think that was the case. He shares stories from his family as well as life outside of home that all drive home his points well.
Most of all, as is the case in his essays, Wise gets real about race as it concerns White people. He pulls no punches, evident in several parts of the book. He makes it clear more than once that merely "being a good person", for lack of a better phrase, will never be enough to make a significant dent in racism. He points out that for White people doing this work, the rewards are not what one might expect - don't expect to be on the cover of a major magazine or the top story on the six o'clock news, and don't expect to be loved by all the way athletes and entertainers are worshiped in America. And he does a great job of showing how racism hurts White people, examples including how privilege can put us in danger or rob us of our self-determination, and in perhaps an extreme example, how it can lead the poorest of Whites to support politicians and policies that don't help them at all but profess to be anti-Black - the latter being the reason they support the politician or policy.
This is a challenging book. It certainly was for me, and I haven't been a passive observer on this subject matter during my life. It made me examine myself and my thoughts on this subject, yet it also in some points affirmed that if nothing else, I may be on the right track, as there were certainly parts I identified with. It's also realistic in that the overall picture it paints is that for many reasons, fighting the rampant White privilege in America is not easy at all.
All in all, this book is well worth reading, especially for a White person who wants to do something positive on race.
Customer Review: 1 out of 5
Not too Wise - He sure knows not much about the Civil War, even that it was not a Civil War
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Very Important Book - I've seen other reviews stating that all white people should read this book. I think that EVERYONE should read this book. This book addresses race and race relations in a way that is unorthodox, clear and grabs your attention. As a race/ethnicity scholar and teacher, I'm always looking for ways to get my students aware of and concerned about (this is the tough part) racial issues in the US. Most feel and think that it's not a big deal, racism is over, etc. Most students express a "color-blind" attitude. But this attitude is harmful by ignoring institutionalized racism. The issue of white privilege isn't a new one, but Mr. Wise introduces us to some new ways of thinking about it.
There is a lot of material and excellent examples to take from this book, but a few really grabbed me. One is getting at how white privilge operates in everyday life and at the institutional level. The other main and often subtle important aspect is how white privilege is dangerous not only to black people and other minority group members, but to white people as well, on a psychological level. Tim Wise makes his case by appealing to white people on a gut level by appealing to their egos and sense of self without attacking them as "bad people." And I think that blacks and people of other races can benefit by understanding how white privelege often operates unconsciously...We spend most of our lives learning to be racist and it takes a lot to unlearn all that crap. Tim Wise does his best to set us on this path.
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