(my life and times in a racist, imperialist society)
-by inga muscio
2005
Be sure you get the updated 2014 edition.
I despair of doing justice to this brilliant, essential book. Not every author has two great books in them - indeed, a reasonable expectation is otherwise. But inga has scaled the same heights she took her debut, "Cunt". Superlatives fail. This book is a hardcore eye-opener.
I'm not one for self-recrimination. I try to lead all my interactions with radical forgiveness...for myself included. But this sweeping, scathing book had me looking hard at my own life. My reaction to living in this morally bankrupt society has always been non-cooperation. Do NOT chase the money and privilege my birth status prepared for me. Do not follow the hypocritical religion foisted upon me as a child. Do NOT grab a high-status job - leave that slot for someone with ovaries or differing pigmentation. Do NOT marry a white womyn or make white babies, to keep the money in the white world.
That's well and good...
But inga has me facing how pathetically little i've done to proactively dismantle white patriarchy.
This is one of the few books i've ever read, which i won't immediately pass on to someone else. Oh, i'll find other copies to give to those i love, but i might need to re-read the glossary of examined terms, for a hard reminder of what sane sensitivity feels like. If you don't have time to read the book yet, just read that glossary...
You might find yourself doing so again and again.
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