Customer Reviews

WHITE RACISM: The Basics

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading some of the reviews, and finishing this excellent study, it is apparent that the message of this book did not come across to some. Feagin is not picking on "white" (European Americans) people, he is merely pointing out the inequalities that exist within the United States. This book is thorough in proving the experiences of people of color and of European Americans are extremely different. Feagin found police brutality, for example, occurred increasingly more for people of color than for European Americans. African Americans experience harassment far more than European Americans, and the cases Feagin uses illustrates this fact. Also, the recent debate of affirmative action is also covered well in this book.

"Reverse racism" as many would like to claim Feagin is guilty of, is not real. People of color cannot be racists because racism is linked to power. People of color can be bigots, but since power in this country is held by European Americans, as Feagin points out in many of his chapters, people of color cannot act on their hatred or resentment. Since European Americans are found in government, police forces, Fortune 500 companies, and other vessels of power, "white" interests are protected.

As one can see, this book causes the reader to think. Even though you might not agree with Feagin's conclusions, it causes us to examine a social ill that has been with this country since its founding. I will not only answer questions, but help raise critical questions about ethnic relations in this country.

The authors speak of real problems, but address them ineffectively. By peddling generalizations of the white race, they perpetuate the victim/victimizer dichotomy which divides instead of uniting. Further, the boundary between victim and victimizer is drawn rigidly along racial lines. They fail to recognize that any progress has been made in the decades since the civil war toward a more loving, color blind society. This truly dishonors the memory of those whose blood and tears watered the garden from which African Americans now harvest financial and educational opportunities as well as self worth. A better discussion, in my opinion, can be found in Joel Kovel's book by the same title.

I have read the book White Racism and it is an excellent book. Racism is viewed from a different perspective. This book give the real reasons whites don't like black people and the reasons for the coverup. White's should take a long look at imbedded racism and see all people as one. A part of the human race.

I came across this book from the perspective of an author doing research on smalltown racism for an upcoming novel. While I found the title promising, I found the actual content less promising...

There are really only three cases that are even close to being properly documented in this book--they actually document the background and the apparent causes of the incidents of racism. The bulk of this book consists of (rather subjective) analyses, most of which are incomplete. For example, on a holistic scale, while this book mentions *justified* white antagonism against blacks, where blacks tend to expect money without working for it--it fails to properly defend (if defense is possible) blacks against this decadent view. Instead, it pushes the blame on "American capitalism," stating that while it might be true that blacks are slothlike, we should sympathize with their state because of how they were never given a chance. This particular "counter-argument" (if it could be called such) is worse than its ad hominem cousin--"blacks should get it easy because they have soul."

Going beyond the scope of the book, I must ask: how, then, do Asians make it to the upper middle class? They aren't white, and they share similar facial features and even skin-tone to blacks. If it is truely one's facial features that bar financial success/security, then how exactly did they make it? Have you ever heard the parable of the Chinese rice farmer working 22 hour days--doing *arduous* toil--in order to meet up to the standards of a full harvest? (Of course, this issue does get more complicated. Although Asians make good livings, in general, they are barred by a glass cage of sorts in that they're only allowed to rise up to a certain level--how often is it that you find a notable corporation whose CEO is Asian?)

Compelling narratives up the 0 star to a 3.

If the Author wanted to speak out against racism, then why not speak about racism in GENERAL and overall look at racism from all races, instead of assuming that only whites have power in the entire world therefor only whites can be racist.... What about China, Japan, South Africa, South America, etc.. where whites hold NO power at all and are discriminated against ten times more than non-whites in the U.S.?

The fact remains that the Author of this book obviously holds anti-white beliefs in the topic of race. If you are looking for a study on racism, reading this book is equivalent to reading a book written by the KKK or the Black Panther Party. It is one-sided and bias.