Title: Caste: The Origin of our Discontents
Author: Isabel Wilkerson
Read by: Robin Miles
Publisher: Random
House Audio
Length:
Approximately 14 hours and 26 minutes
Source: Checked
out on Overdrive from the Kewaunee Public Library. Thank-you!
Our country has
been going through a powerful racial reckoning during this past year. Caste:
The Origins of our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson theorizes that much of
our current day problems are because of an unspoken caste system or hierarchy that
is used in America. She compares the
caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany in this book. Wilkerson shows the power of the caste system
through a deep dive into history and into personal stories including her
own. She also talks about the future and
how to make changes for the good including not just being anti-racist yourself
but speaking up when you hear someone making racist comments.
I found this book
to be eye opening and vastly discomforting at times, but it made me really
think about my own biases. I found it to
be very informative and it made a lot of sense for the state of our country
now. I was shocked to learn that the Nazis
based their treatment of Jewish people on how America treated African
Americans. My one compliant is that I
wish there would have been more explanation of the Indian caste system. I’m still slightly puzzled by that
system. The book is very current ending
last year when it was published during the COVID crisis. It does not shirk away from talking about
politics the last five years.
Robin Miles was
the narrator of this audiobook and I thought of her as the voice of the
author. Her voice was engaging, and I
couldn’t stop listening to this audiobook.
Favorite Quotes:
“Caste is
structure. Caste is ranking. Caste is the boundaries that reinforce the fixed
assignments based upon what people look like. Caste is a living, breathing
entity.”
“Evil asks little
of the dominant caste other than to sit back and do nothing. All that it needs
from bystanders is their silent complicity in the evil committed on their
behalf, though a caste system will protect, and perhaps even reward, those who
deign to join in the terror.”
“So the real
question would be,' he said finally, 'if people were given the choice between
democracy and whiteness, how many would choose whiteness?'”
Overall, Caste by
Isabel Wilkerson is a book that every American should read.
No comments:
Post a Comment