Book 23 - Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

Reading date - August 2020

When I first started reading this book, it didn't really stand out to me.  The more I read, the more uncomfortable I felt because it spoke to experiences non-white people face - the touching of hair, the slight whispers you get behind your back.  Nobody can tell me I am imagining things when I hear them.  Your experiences are not mine. 

I also read one review on Amazon which really annoyed me where the guy was banging on about him being prejudiced because he was born working class.  You're still born white, you can't compare that with being called a Paki.  You cannot.  Nothing anyone says will convince me.  And...it's not as if black and brown people are born without a class.  You can work hard or rip people off and beat your working class roots, the colour I was born is the colour I will die.  

I liked this book but it is tough going and can get quite boring and tedious as it's basically a collection of short essays facing racial micro-aggressions.

        


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