"Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America," by Ijeoma Oluo

December 1, 2020 2:37 PM - by Oluo, Ijeoma

"I am not arguing that every white man is mediocre. I do not believe that nay race or gender is predisposed to mediocrity. What I'm saying is that white male mediocrity is a baseline, the dominant narrative, and that everything in our society is centered around preserving white male power regardless of white male skill or talent."
posted by The corpse in the library (5 comments total)

I'm only a few chapters in, and I can't get this weird thought out of my head: her writing reminds me of Ian Frazier's, of all people. There's something about the structure, especially in the bit about Buffalo Bill. I definitely have not thought this about her other work.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:40 PM on December 2, 2020

I'm still reading it slowly, because there's a lot going on here. The sections on Biden, and on the 2016 election, are both v. good.

How can a writer from Western Washington call it "Evergreen State College"? Harumph. Anyway. Onwards. Anyone else reading this?
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:53 AM on December 5, 2020

"The fear of Americans of color is almost wholly manufactured by the imaginations of white America. The average white American has always been more likely to be physically harmed by another white person than by a person of color. The average white American has always been more likely to lose their job to another white person than to a person of color. The average white American is more likely to lose a spot at their dream college to a white person than to a person of color. The messaging that claims the opposite has not been created by people like me." (p. 125)
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:18 PM on December 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

The section on the Great Migration, and the Southern Strategy, should be used in schools. Very clear explanation of what happened and the repercussions.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:45 PM on December 10, 2020

I've put this on my list--- thanks for posting, corpse!
posted by travertina at 7:53 PM on December 14, 2020 [1 favorite]