The End of Racism

Rating:
Summary: Straight Talk Assessment of America's Race Problems
Review: The real problem in the "Racism" discussion in America is the lack of straight talk. Many Whites believe that racism and discrimination has been completely eliminated in society. By contrast, many Blacks believe that "racism" will prevent them from ever succeeding. Of course, racism does and always will exist. Nevertheless, race and ethnicity is no longer the significant problem impeding the progress of the growing underclass. For instance, Black Americans with college diplomas have an unemployment rate of under 4%. And Asian Americans have a higher average per capita income than White Americans. D'Souza agrees that racism does exist but contends that the underclass problems across America have more to do with a lack of cultural emphasis on education and achievement than with ethnic identity. D'Souza's "The End of Racism" book should be read by everyone concerned about the racial polarization of America.

Rating:
Summary: Well written but a little off
Review: This book was hard to put down. He said some things that were true. He said some things that were disturbing and he said some things that were quite wrong. His arguments were very logical and persuasive to people who feel as if they are looking at an issue "objectively". It is okay to consider the things you already know. After considering outside knowledge, D'Souza was correct in that white racism is not the only thing bringing Black people down. The fact of the matter is if white racism disappears tomorrow, things in Black America will not immediately get better. The "race merchants", as he calls them, realize this but they also know life does not start to get better until it is severely reduced in head and heart. The civil rights leaders want to build up Black people and they tell Black people this to their faces. The fact of the matter is that you have a middle class Black American population who is cut off in many ways from both its white brethren and its lower class Black brethren and this can lead to paranoia and rage, if not disillusionment and beliefs of betrayal. Also, this middle class often has felt they had to not only assimilate to the Majority Culture, but "out-white" white people to have a chance at being successful. This does not suggest that these people want to be thugs, it is just that they may give up things that make them comfortable. The underclass is completely victimized. We talk about their crime and everything and it is not entirely fair. This may sound like some liberal drivel but these people want the same things that everyone wants: money, power, and respect, in that order. The fact of the matter is their sphere of influence is much smaller than many of us who have had these opportunities. This may seem to be off the point, but D'Souza neglects to consider these issues and the role white racism, or racism period, plays in these developments. The fact of the matter is that these discussions appear too complex to be reduced to cool buzzwords like "racism is the problem" and "Black folks need to do for themselves."

The End of Racism is a book worth reading, even if you do not agree with its conclusions. The biggest reason is that he puts up a good argument and too many people who have the "right" opinion fail to construct arguments to bolster their case or attempt to convert people to their view. This book gets five stars except for two things. First, his tone is entirely too condescending and that takes away from the points he makes. As a result, he appears to preach to the converted. Second of all, he completely misuses his position as a person of color. Because he is not white, he believes that he is in the position to take Black people to task and he acts on it. He should have used his position to speak about oppression and the results of victimization because this points can be extended to poor white people in Appalachia, who no one talks about, except for that so-called race merchant Jesse Jackson. He might have reached the same conclusions but he would have made better use of his standing as a "person of color."

Rating:
Summary: 5 or 1 Stars depending on how you look at it
Review: I read this book during my years at Colby College, which is a very liberal college in Maine. The book presented many contrarian points of view that I found refreshing in the environment where I found myself. Colby College was all about "diversity" and "tolerance" which are all excellent ideals, but were tarnished by the way the College presented them. D'Souza's book takes a completely different approach to racism in society, as opposed to "white privilege" which is a very popular theory which I do not espouse; D'Souza tries to use cultural history in his explanation. I have heard people call him disgusting words for his views, but I think he has some excellent points. If you are one who believes in white privilege, do not get this book--it will probably just upset you. However, if you tend to be more moderate or are looking for a point of view, D'Souza's End of Racism is a well researched work that carefully constructs arguments that will engage your mind and help to explain some of society's ills.

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking Exposé of Race and Culture in America
Review: This book is provocative and persuasively written. D'Souza carefully examines racism with a sober approach supporting and refuting positions with remarkable scholarship and revealing anecdotes. At times D'Souza's analysis is far too laborious than the subject matter deserves but you appreciate his sincere effort in making sense out of all the related issues.

This work is more than just a rendering of the role of race in America. It's a remarkable analysis of the philosophical foundations of Western society and how it corresponds with the liberal notions of proportional representation, cultural relativism and multiculturalism. D'Souza's painstaking study examines the historical and cultural roots of these ideologies and what the consequences have been for African-Americans and for America as it fulfills the vision of its creed: 'all men are created equal'.

This book is a must read for anyone thinks about race in America.

Rating:
Summary: Searingly, brutally honest and clear-minded,
Review: This is probably the most important and courageous book on race and racism in America written in the 1990s. It flies in the face of the comfortable shibboleths and easy answers that we've all heard so often in the last 30 years.

D'Souza genuinely believes in the cause of racial equality and harmony. But he refuses to flinch from looking at reality as it is--not just from the black perspective or the white liberal perspective, but from the average white person's perspective, and from the perspective of minorities who are neither black nor white--like D'Souza himself. In other words, he strives for a HUMAN perspective that transcends race.

It's powerful and controversial. D'Souza doesn't flinch from criticizing problems in black culture. Nor does he have much good to say about the policies that have been pursued to fix racial problems over the last 30 years.

Not everyone will agree with everything in this book. The book has genuinely infuriated some who strongly believe in things like Affirmative Action or the idea that white racism is at the root of most of the problems in black America. D'Souza sees some truth there but mostly rejects them as a primary cause for any of today's problems. The troubles lie deeper, he says, and in areas that people of all races are genuinely afraid to even discuss.

Anyone who genuinely cares about race and race relations needs to read this book--whether they agree with D'Souza's conclusions or not.

Rating:
Summary: Straight Talk Assessment of America's Race Problems
Review: The real problem in the "Racism" discussion in America is the lack of straight talk. Many Whites believe that racism and discrimination has been completely eliminated in society. By contrast, many Blacks believe that "racism" will prevent them from ever succeeding. Of course, racism does and always will exist. Nevertheless, race and ethnicity is no longer the significant problem impeding the progress of the growing underclass. For instance, Black Americans with college diplomas have an unemployment rate of under 4%. And Asian Americans have a higher average per capita income than White Americans. D'Souza agrees that racism does exist but contends that the underclass problems across America have more to do with a lack of cultural emphasis on education and achievement than with ethnic identity. D'Souza's "The End of Racism" book should be read by everyone concerned about the racial polarization of America.

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking Exposé of Race and Culture in America
Review: This work is more than just a rendering of the role of race in America. It's a remarkable analysis of the philosophical foundations of Western society and how it corresponds with the liberal notions of proportional representation, cultural relativism and multiculturalism. D'Souza's painstaking study examines the historical and cultural roots of these ideologies and what the consequences have been for African-Americans and for America as it fulfills the vision of its creed: 'all men are created equal'.

This book is provocative and persuasively written. He carefully examines racism with a sober approach supporting and refuting positions with remarkable scholarship and revealing anecdotes. At times D'Souza's analysis is far too laborious than the subject matter deserves but you appreciate his sincere effort in making sense out of all the related issues.

The most distressing part of the book is how he exposes black pathology in all its naked absurdity and degeneracy. This work will incite those who believe more acknowledgement should be given to the contributions African-Americans have made to American society. Additionally, they will argue that D'Souza, as an East Indian immigrant, doesn't fully understand the dynamics of black culture. 'It's a black thang. You wouldn't understand', so to speak. He does celebrate black culture but this book is about bridging the socio-economic and cultural gap between blacks and whites. Black anti-social behavior, unfortunately, is one of the reasons for the gap. Also, as an immigrant, D'Souza provides an objective perspective to an issue that needs an objective perspective.

He is absolutely correct in stating that what is described as present day racism is actually rational discrimination, which is the sensible prejudgment of an individual based upon the factual behavioral characteristics of the group the person belongs too. He isn't arguing that it is justifiable for taxis to pass anyone by based solely on the color of his or her skin; however, if tomorrow a huge crime wave came mainly from East-Indian communities, don't expect many taxis picking up Dinesh D'Souza.

His review of American slavery is eye opening. At first his analysis may seem suspiciously apologetic for an immoral system by pointing out that a substantial number of free blacks (and Native Americans) owned black slaves not just to rescue family members but like white slave owners, to exploit free labor. However he does so only to bring a nuanced perspective over the politicized history of slavery, which in not a Western invention and has always existed in various forms in all societies. D'Souza points out that it is liberty and individual rights that are relatively new and Western concepts. However, with regards to reparations, this doesn't make his churlish question, 'what do blacks owe America for ending slavery?', any less condescending.

For all his meticulous study of cultural relativism, rational discrimination, early 20th century eugenics, and even the Greek understanding of nature and the polis, he surprisingly didn't extend his scrupulous analytical talents over the roots of black rage. D'Souza exhaustively discusses its paranoid nature and the depravity it produces. He does discuss how the unique characteristics of black culture developed under slavery and how they persist today contribute to some of the community's dysfunctions. But why did black rage flourish in the 1960's, as oppose to after the end of slavery when presumably blacks should've been bursting with rage? Why and how did black rage metastasize into its present form of rampant crime and illegitimacy? Such an analysis would've been important because though there are similarities between white racism and black rage (so similar in fact that D' Souza exposes the astonishing collusion between Malcolm X and the KKK), black rage emerged essentially as a response to white racism. The difference is not inconsequential. The emergence of black rage after the liberating repercussions of the Civil Rights movement suggests there it may correlate with the cathartic qualities of universal suffrage. This analysis could provide additional insights into how a multiracial society can prevent or at least mitigate the rise of such pathologies, which seem to stem from group resentment and an inability to effectively deal with group underachievement.

This criticism is in no way an attempt to give credence to the idea that we must 'understand the root causes' of a problem to effectively deal with it. Placing criminals in jail is far more effective in stopping crime than trying to 'understand' what compelled one to commit the crime. However, if we're to consider present day white racism as rational discrimination, then another question should be asked: is there rational black rage? At the time of the Civil Rights movement, despite the stubborn efforts of the free market, which allowed for black economic and social mobility, the ubiquitous 'System', with its Jim Crow laws and societal discriminatory mores, was real and was actively working against blacks. At one point the paranoia behind black rage was legitimate, hence rational. But as paranoia tends to do, it spun out of control. The rage became an alibi for immorality and underachievement. Additionally, the mayhem emboldened self-serving judges, policy decision makers and race merchants to justify the circumvention of the Constitution out of deference to the fulfillment of proportional representation, which has been guised as the protection of minority rights. Even if the crisis within the black community were to be repaired tomorrow, America would still need to contend with the rampant judicial activism that is wreaking havoc on our democratic traditions. D'Souza should've discussed this further.

After 400 years of slavery and Jim Crow it has been difficult for a people, whose entire historical and cultural identity can only be verifiably documented no further than North American shores, to accept that the virulent forms of white racism ended within less than a generation. It would almost be irrational to believe this, but it is true. What D'Souza is analyzing is how a people are painfully struggling with the reality that there has been, in fact, an end to racism.

This book is a must read for anyone thinks about race in America.

Rating:
Summary: One of the worst books ever written.
Review: First, let me say that I am a libertarian (an ideology whose adherents generally seem to agree with the principles D'souza espouses). Second, let me add that while I am not a racist ( a term I find misleading, because it implies a defining character trait as opposed to one that may manifest in certain situations), I hold the uncommon viewpoint that racism is just as legitimate of an ideology as any other, and that discrimination CAN be rational. However, this book is so pathetic that it ranks lower than whatever deconstructionist, multiculturalist, Marxist book is popular.

Let us first look at the meat of D'souza's work, which I will sum up in three points.

1. Slavery has nothing to do with current black poverty.
2. Black poverty is caused by black culture.
3. The pathologies of black culture are a result of slavery.

While not making any link, D'souza explains that blacks' condition is a result of the fact that black individuals are more likely to be lazy, criminal, etc... than whites. He then (actually, he does this earlier in the book) explains convincingly how slave culture obviously lends itself to laziness and theft. Both of these points are probably true, but they contradict the central thesis of the book which is that past oppression has little to do with current black poverty.

The secondary thesis of this book is that Western Culture is superior to that of any other. Let us now look at his claim of Western Moral superiority. He claims that modern western cultures were the first to ever voluntarily abolish slavery, and he cites a study which attempted to complete the difficult task of researching every culture that ever existed and the way they dealt with slavery. However, it is a known fact that slavery was outlawed in Ancient India.

Another problem with this book is that it supports the neocon claim that Martin Luther King supported black and white equality and colorblindness. D'Souza avoids the many things king wrote explicitly in favor of reparations for slavery, affirmative action, separatism, and black economic protectionism such as:

"A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for him, to equip him to compete on a just and equal basis."

"No amount of gold could provide an adequate compensation for the exploitation and humiliation of the Negro in America down through the centuries...Yet a price can be placed on unpaid wages. The ancient common law has always provided a remedy for the appropriation of a the labor of one human being by another. This law should be made to apply for American Negroes. The payment should be in the form of a massive program by the government of special, compensatory measures which could be regarded as a settlement in accordance with the accepted practice of common law." (MLK's 1964 book "Why we cant wait")

D'Souza attacks a straw man about how while king believed in equal results by claiming that he felt the way to accomplish
this was through equal rights, and that if he had lived longer, he would have seen his error.

D'souza's account of Christopher Columbus is terrible History. (For an equally shoddy, but opposite point of view, read anything by Howard Zinn) He simply selects certain quotes by explorers that support his conclusion, while eschewing others that may serve to contradict it.

Most of the early part of the book, which focuses on a time in a more distant past, is made up of anecdotes from contemporary figures, which he uses as "proof" of the way the world was. If someone did that to describe present day America, they would be laughed at, why don't people do this for ancient history?

Rating:
Summary: Puts the Race Baiters Sharpton and Jackson out of business
Review: Brilliant and TRUE!

Since slaves first touched the earth on this nation, WHITE people have been fighting to see them released from their chains.

Slavery has existed for more than 2,000 years, yet AMERICANS fought a bloody war to end this practice.

You'd never know that if you listen to racial hucksters Sharpton and Jackson, who are out to make a buck or two (or a few million.)

Jackson has been exposed time and time again for illegal practice in his so-called "Non-profit" Rainbow Coalition. He literally shakes national corporations down, threatening a huge boycott if he and his cronies are not paid millions in "consultation fees" designed to "improve minority relations."

...No wonder he and Sharpton love to play the race card and fan the flames or racial tension wherever they go! The end of racism means the end of their million dollar racketeering!

Rating:
Summary: immirgrants know nothing about amerikkan racism
Review: After reading this book again it conviced me to write a proper review,D'sousa who couldn't write if his life depeneded on it and the only books that makes money and a splash are the books on race and the only reason he has a career,and just like 50 cent and other rappers that white people will buy anything saying that black people are inferior and should be done away with. ( and who wrote the MOST insipid of the reagan bios)wrote a book about racism in amerikka, basically his third such book it goes to prove my point that immirgrants know nothing about amerikkkan racism they are just here to make money and bring their own country's class and color biases with them. After using various stats( as i say you can use them for anything even proving that white amerikkkans are among the most violent people on earth)and interviewing radical white racialists like Jared Taylor and Black separtist Micheal McGee. D'sousa goes on tangents saying that slavery was not so bad, ( so i think after watching HBO'S slavery series with those suriviors that those former slaves are liars) and after various racist insinuations throughout his book here's the real kicker to his solutions for the race divide, he concludes that amerikka should repel the 1964 civil rights act, and repel every other piece of progressive legislation intended to prevent discrimination to go back to the good old days of lynchings seperate but equal and the like. Two promiment black (glenn loury and robert woodson)conservatives left becuase AEI (american enterprise institute)endorsed this racist polemic piece of cowdung and the book is at best terrible writing and shoddy scholarship at it's worse a political manifesto for white and their minority allies who think that racism is a good idea for make black people behave. I have news and a warning for you conservatives who think that people like D'Sousa, Howoritz, Limbaugh , O'Reilly and Savage that their words on race are so great you are playing with fire and will get burned. There are black folks (not jesse or al or the gangbangers) but silent black folks who work hard and want the amerikkkan dream who getting tired of this type of racial rhetoric coming from your "RACE HUSTLERS".

p.s. if you conservatives want to pontificate about your racism join the klan, reading this book justs makes you look like a bigger idiot at least their racism has a point not just elitist [junk.]