Tom - Bookrastinating reviewed Racecraft by Barbara J. Fields
Review of 'Racecraft'
5 stars
As said by others the ideas herein are fire! They are, unfortunately, shielded from the average reader by dense sections of prose which are frankly not written for the average reader. I found it impossible to get through it by reading the text directly. Determined to absorb the ideas, I borrowed the audiobook from the library and let some of the denser portions wash over my mind. The conclusion is, although still strewn with $100 words, the best part of the text and fully summarizes the ideas. This sat on my shelf too long... don't let it sit on yours, because the ideas are too important!!! 4 stars because of readability.
My favorite bits:
"The racecraft-inspired political synecdoche short-circuits the issue of accountability"
"In the shadow of racecraft, 'discrimination' shoves 'unfareness' out of the vocabulary available for public debate"
"Skillfully invoked, racecraft can discredit any public policy initiative, good or …
As said by others the ideas herein are fire! They are, unfortunately, shielded from the average reader by dense sections of prose which are frankly not written for the average reader. I found it impossible to get through it by reading the text directly. Determined to absorb the ideas, I borrowed the audiobook from the library and let some of the denser portions wash over my mind. The conclusion is, although still strewn with $100 words, the best part of the text and fully summarizes the ideas. This sat on my shelf too long... don't let it sit on yours, because the ideas are too important!!! 4 stars because of readability.
My favorite bits:
"The racecraft-inspired political synecdoche short-circuits the issue of accountability"
"In the shadow of racecraft, 'discrimination' shoves 'unfareness' out of the vocabulary available for public debate"
"Skillfully invoked, racecraft can discredit any public policy initiative, good or bad, whether or not designed with Afro-Americans in mind."
//and the best for last... literally the last para in the book. //
"By crowding inequality off the public agenda, racecraft has stranded this country again and again over its history. It may do so again, permitting an economic sickness that arose from inequality to be treated homeopathically by further doses of inequality, which may eventually provoke rage that will sweep away respect for democratic politics and for the rule of law. Forestalling that calamity is our duty. The first and fundamental step in that direction is to observe racecraft in action, study its moves, listen to its language, and root it out. Only after doing so will we be prepare for the still harder work of tackling inequality. Are we up to it?"