Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I’ve been reading McWhorter’s essays with delight for the past year. But I’m still surprised by how good and important this book is. It provides deep insights on all essential aspects of woke racism, and there are many. I’ve also been reading widely about wokeism for my own purposes, and this is the best single source I’ve found. I’d read some excerpts he’d released in advance and knew he interpreted Wokeism as a religion cast it in a strictly negative light. This worried me because I felt it would limit his audience unnecessarily. However, by the time I finished that chapter, I was convinced by the sheer number of parallel features that the approach was justified. The analogies with well-known religious features clarified his points and make them memorable. I do think he might have noted that the parallels were only with the least helpful parts of religion. The religious analogy has become quite popular, but be assured that McWhorter takes it deeper than anyone else. Still, the most helpful part for me did not arrive until p. 120 — the Elite’s mistake regarding outcomes and opportunities. (The Elite is his ironic name for the woke.) As he explains the mistake “if we don’t trace the problems to racism, then the only other possibility must be that black people are inherently deficient somehow.” Since the latter is false, all racial discrepancies are thought to be due to current racism. This is ridiculous because past racism can produce cultural problems that persist for decades after the racism is gone. This is a devastating mistake that has become ubiquitous — for example, it is absolutely central to Ibram Kendi’s Antiracism. I knew in theory, about the persistence of cultural problems, but McWhorter finally provided me with the concrete explanations I had been seeking, along with references I can now consult. I’m sure that everyone who reads the book will find their own gems that suit their needs as there are many to be found. He also includes useful recommendations about how to limit the problems caused by woke racism, a problem that is starting to tear apart American culture. Read this book and tell your friends.