I can't decide which of my snappy one-sentence reviews to use, so here is a selection:
Should've had a content warning, I wasn't expecting so much EnglI can't decide which of my snappy one-sentence reviews to use, so here is a selection:
Should've had a content warning, I wasn't expecting so much English major PTSD.
A more accurate title would be "Bad Dad Sad."
That wasn't fun at all.
This was an okay memoir, but not as groundbreaking or intriguing as I thought it would be. In fact if it didn't have the wonderfully drawn art, I don't know that it would have held my interest. Bechdel sort of wanders all over the place trying to make sense of her father's life and her relationship to him. It is raw and honest, and the subject was a peculiar guy, but there is a lot of repetition and honestly? This could've been shorter. As is, it's about 200 pages, and it's stretching even at that.
Also the Fun Home is barely mentioned. I thought growing up in the funeral business would be way more consequential to the story. It wasn't. It serves as a nice ironic title, and there are some connections Bechdel makes between her father's early death and the profession he was in, but otherwise?
One of the best books I’ve ever read and required reading for anyone who wants to make the world a better place. No Shortcuts is an academic study, a One of the best books I’ve ever read and required reading for anyone who wants to make the world a better place. No Shortcuts is an academic study, a manifesto, and the story of the American labor movement all rolled into one. It does what effective organizers do: It stirs up righteous anger and turns it into drive, motivation, and HOPE. And its lesson is simple: No one is coming to save us, so it’s up to us to organize, unionize, and fight like hell for the dignity of work and for the well-being of our families and our communities.
The book begins by framing three types of change processes: Advocacy, mobilizing, and organizing. It explains the difference between them and makes an argument that only one of these approaches (organizing) can actually disrupt current power structures and make the durable changes that make our lives better. Advocacy makes people aware of issues, and mobilizing can move activists to action, but these approaches bring attention. They don’t WIN. The only way to win is to create a crisis for the powers that be (in our country’s case, Capital), so that those in power must meet our demands. The only way for us to do this as tiny people with little money and influence is by organizing. Organizing requires you to work with everyone, including natural leaders who may not agree with you, not just self-selecting activists. Organizing requires you to build multicultural, multiethnic, multi-shift majorities of all kinds of workers to create overwhelming power. Organizing was used by the two most successful movements of the last century - labor and civil rights - because organizing WINS.
From there, the book goes through what it means to organize effectively, how to build solidarity within a structure that is not sellf-selecting (such as a workplace, apartment complex, or church), and how to activate a community around the fight against the powers that be. It then goes through examples of union fights throughout our 21st century, the lessons that can be learned from both wins and losses, and makes a compelling argument for organizing as the most powerful tool of the working class.
Jane McAlevey also has a lot to say about the 2016 election, the failures of the democratic party, and failures of parent unions that give a lot of food for thought. There are honestly too many great quotes and critiques to put here. But READ THIS BOOK and make all your friends read it too.
“Of course, like democracy itself, unions are complicated and flawed. Yet we’ve found no better system for running a country than democracy and no better mechanism for ensuring decent lives for its working-class citizens than unions. It’s time we finally learned the two are inseparable. Without basic economic justice to underpin it, democracy cannot thrive - or survive” (xiv)....more
I admit I was taken aback by this book when I started it because this book is, if I had to use a single word, frank. It has frank depictions of the boI admit I was taken aback by this book when I started it because this book is, if I had to use a single word, frank. It has frank depictions of the body, of periods, of pap smears, of sex and I’m just not used to it. But do all these depictions service the story? They absolutely do.
Maia Kobabe has written and drawn a wonderful graphic novel about how hard it can be for queer people to find their identity. And for people assigned female at birth, part of finding their identity will just about always involve periods, pap smears, and partners. Maia just had the courage to discuss these things and eir feelings about these things frankly.
This was the most challenged book of 2022 (according to ALA) and will likely remain frequently challenged for the foreseeable future. Is this book appropriate for kids? Probably not little kids, no. Is it appropriate for teens? I think so, though it always depends on the teen. But to try to ban this book and keep it out of the hands of every teen is despicable. I can’t help but think about all the bloody violent graphic novels and manga aimed at boys that no one has a problem with, but you find one book with period blood and a (almost fully-clothed) sex scene, and suddenly we have a society-wide existential crisis.
Anyway, good book that won’t take you long. The structure is a bit all over the place but I think it’s fine for a book specifically about identity. The journey to find oneself is rarely linear, and that’s probably especially true for someone who didn’t even have words to describe emself for most of eir life. ...more
I think what this book brings to the table that other self-help books do not is that it's written by an actual working artist and not a self-help guruI think what this book brings to the table that other self-help books do not is that it's written by an actual working artist and not a self-help guru. That gives it a bit more legitimacy, and Tharp is able to look on her own work to see where her creative habits have helped her and how she was able to get unstuck from ruts and projects that just weren't working. I got a few good nuggets out of this and I liked her framing as a habit as more than just a habit: a ritual. A ritual is habitual of course, but there's a different kind of respect for it, a different kind of concentration, a different head space, and it makes me want to do my creative habits even more.
Of course, I am going to say what I say of every self-help book, which will be a problem for all self-help books from here to the end of time: It's entirely too long and would have been just fine as an article. Even if it was reduced by a third that would've made the back half much less of a slog. Still a worthwhile read from an interesting person and she is so right about the nature of genius (There are no gifts from the gods and no amount of talent is a substitute for putting in the work)....more
Well written and interesting. Drugs were much more prevalent in the third reich than I ever imagined.
However, this felt more like a summary than a deWell written and interesting. Drugs were much more prevalent in the third reich than I ever imagined.
However, this felt more like a summary than a deep dive, which is why I give it 3 instead of 4. A lot of the information contained within is covered better in other books, and the author's assertion that drugs played such a big role in battle tactics and turning points of the war feels too assertive.
He does take some time to note that drugs should not be an excuse for nazi behavior, and that Hitler should not be excused as a drug addict rather than the evil fascist that he was, but that was only a paragraph or two. I got the sense that the drugs he was taking were being used to explain him as the book went on.
An interesting book with muddled conclusions. My conclusion is nazis are losers. Log a fascist, not a forest!...more
This is a readable and accessible book about a subject that we all like to avoid talking about: Fat. The stuff I liked was Aubrey's personal stories aThis is a readable and accessible book about a subject that we all like to avoid talking about: Fat. The stuff I liked was Aubrey's personal stories about how fatphobia has affected her, and the things said to her by complete strangers are downright horrible. Overall though, the effect of the book was merely okay. Gordon seems to jump all over the place without a solid conclusion, and I was hoping for more of a systemic critique on how America handles health, diet, and environment. Also some of her messaging is honestly kinda bleak. I imagine there are fat people who want to make a change in their lives, but the message of this book is continuously "Don't bother trying to change yourself, dieting doesn't work." I agree going on a specific diet for a limited amount of time is not going to work, and the science backs this up. But I think it is false to imply that no one can ever make a change in their lives if they so choose. This is where I wanted to see more systemic critiques. Why does America have a much higher obese population than any other developed country in the world? What are the factors that created these conditions?
Despite all this, fatphobia is not acceptable, and Aubrey's personal stories really show that. I think if I had gone in expecting a personal story, and if the whole book had been focused on that personal story, I might have liked this a bit more. As it stands, it's still a good read....more
This is it folks, THIS is the book I’ve been searching for. Five enthusiastic stars, I recommend this to everyone.
So often, books about self-care fallThis is it folks, THIS is the book I’ve been searching for. Five enthusiastic stars, I recommend this to everyone.
So often, books about self-care fall into one of two camps: They either put all the onus on the individual and expect their readers to solve or ignore systemic problems themselves, or they place the blame for our tired bodies squarely on unjust systems (as they should), but offer no solution or way forward and mire themselves in victimhood and helplessness. Real Self-Care finds a way to thread the needle. Dr. Pooja Lakshmin uses the framework of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to acknowledge and recognize unjust systems, gives space to feel angry and betrayed by these systems, but also shows a path forward to cope with these systems and DO something about them. This is a book that instills hope.
Dr. Lakshmin also found a way to call me out specifically. She was like “Hey reader, do you have trouble setting boundaries, and does that lack of boundary setting overwork you and burn you out, and then does that burnout send you into mental martyr mode so that you feel resentful and unappreciated but also refuse any help that is offered to you?”
I’m in this photo and I don’t like it.
Luckily for me, Lakshmin has real exercises and strategies to help readers learn to set boundaries, change your self-talk, and actually sit quietly with yourself and figure out what your values are and how you want to spend your time on this Earth.
I could gush about this book forever but I wouldn’t be doing it justice. If you feel even the slightest bit anxious, overworked, overwhelmed, or at your wits’ end, pick this up immediately. I’m going to be purchasing it....more
Finally. A book on the ills of social media that doesn’t blame the individual using it for its addictiveness or polarization. The Chaos Machine is theFinally. A book on the ills of social media that doesn’t blame the individual using it for its addictiveness or polarization. The Chaos Machine is the first book of its kind to actually take a systemic look at social media and have a systemic critique. Social media doesn’t just happen to be addictive and polarizing. It was designed that way by founders and their venture capitalist backers to create markets, control those markets, and make lots and lots of money. If it happens to also rip through the fabric that holds societies together, so be it.
There is too much in this book for me to adequately cover in one review, but Max Fisher presents damning evidence that social media companies know their products are addictive and harmful, and won’t do anything about it. In fact, they are likelier to make their products more addictive and more harmful if it means more market share and more money.
At some point, these companies realized that attention is the main currency that drives internet activity. If you can get people’s attention, and keep that attention on your site, you can sell more ads and command cultural conversations at large. So they have created platforms and algorithms designed to sap as much of your free time as possible and keep you coming back for the dopamine hit they can provide. We check our phones over 150 times a day thanks in large part to social media (27). YouTube purposefully changed its algorithm so that searches for videos do not return the best results, but the results that will create the most engagement (106). Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, all of them will do whatever it takes to keep you coming back. And their algorithms figured out that polarizing content that stirs your emotions is the most attention-grabbing (and attention-keeping) content of all.
That’s why Youtube funnels men looking for self-help to Jordan Peterson (210) and used to recommend Alex Jones’ InfoWars more than any other politics or news channel (216). It’s why anti-vax and q-anon groups run rampant on facebook, and why the January 6th riot was able to organize seemingly out of thin air (321). Social media creates rabbit holes of conspiracy and doom because those rabbit holes hook people to the apps. In fact, Facebook can take credible blame for genocide in Myanmar because of its push to take over the country’s market, disinterest in monitoring and taking down harmful content (Facebook would not even hire any moderators who could speak Burmese, the main language in Myanmar), and its algorithm’s mandate to push the most attention-grabbing posts to the top. Anti-Muslim hate spread like wildfire in the majority-Buddhist nation, and caused real life riots and attacks that killed Muslim people. Facebook ignored all of this until the Myanmar government shut the website down on their national internet. It was then that Facebook checked in, not to apologize for all the problems they caused, but to ask why their engagement in Myanmar had suddenly dipped.
I realize the irony of posting all this to another social media website (Goodreads), but it's the best way to grab some attention lol. I don’t even have time to talk about Silicon Valley is run by libertarian psychopaths who think diversity is bad (51), or how part of the reason facebook doesn’t curtail hate speech is because too many conservatives and their political pages use hate speech, and were getting banned as a result (142), or how Mark Zuckerberg claimed facebook would help prevent pandemics (LOL) (171). There’s even a good section talking about how social media’s one potential benefit, organizing for social justice, is a nonstarter because social media can draw big crowds to protests which usually dissipate and have no durability to create real change (216). This is an absolute must-read, and the most convincing entry in the “Why you should quit social media” subgenre.
TL;DR - Once again, we can blame capitalism. ...more
The storytelling about his concentration camp is incredible. The logotherapy stuff is interesting but feels outdated for a modern audience. Really enjThe storytelling about his concentration camp is incredible. The logotherapy stuff is interesting but feels outdated for a modern audience. Really enjoyed this one overall though. Frankl was an inspiring person....more
Fascinating read that has shown me what a diverse spectrum asexuality is. But even beyond teaching more about what it means to be Ace and what the AceFascinating read that has shown me what a diverse spectrum asexuality is. But even beyond teaching more about what it means to be Ace and what the Ace community is like, the book challenges our conventions about what sexuality means, and how important it is in our life and culture. It actually made me question the motivations and differences behind things like intimacy, boundaries, eroticism, and relationships in general. There is a lot to ponder in this book and that's what makes it so good. ...more
Stunning writing debut from McCurdy. I was somewhat familiar with her from iCarly but had no idea the extent of the abuse she suffered or how listlessStunning writing debut from McCurdy. I was somewhat familiar with her from iCarly but had no idea the extent of the abuse she suffered or how listless her career had become. It feels strange and somewhat inappropriate to point out how funny this memoir is but it's really really funny. McCurdy has a dry wit that really pops in her short, pointed writing style. There is some stuff about addiction and bulimia that is tough to get through but the whole thing is raw and honest and unapologetic and I couldn't put this book down.
My favorite part though is the chapter where she writes about how much she hates her own fans, that had me dying lol. I imagine a lot of celebrities feel the same way but none are brave enough to admit it. God it was so refreshing. This book is great....more
I have so much to say about this book that is not safe for Goodreads.
I love books about work, and this may be the most meta book about work yet. It eI have so much to say about this book that is not safe for Goodreads.
I love books about work, and this may be the most meta book about work yet. It explains so much as to why work can be so hard and why there seems to be so many jobs that are straight up bs. It's one of those perspective-shifting books that comes along very seldomly.
I found the messages to be affirming: Take rest. Listen to your body. Do not sacrifice your physical and mental well-being for the sake of production.I found the messages to be affirming: Take rest. Listen to your body. Do not sacrifice your physical and mental well-being for the sake of production. For the sake of capital. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your achievements are not your worth. The fact that you are human makes you both incapable of doing everything you want to do and deserving of dignity and respect despite that.
All of these messages are great, and the problems facing our overworked bodies are clear, but the book doesn’t go far enough into proper solutions. Not everyone has a job where they can negotiate an hours reduction, or can convince higher-ups to allow them to work from home. The idea of working class people banding together to collectively bargain for better working conditions is just barely mentioned (In fact, Dr. Price doesn’t even use the word “union” even though that is exactly what they are describing). This collective action is what is needed for most jobs.
The way that Dr. Price focuses on white collar office or academic jobs does a disservice to their message. It is impossible to relate to these jobs for working class people, and easily dismissed by those who disagree with Dr’ Price’s premise. Which is too bad because I think this is a message that conservative, hard-working workaholics need to hear the most.
I’d still say this was a worthwhile read because some of the individual solutions and mental health practices are good. And again, sometimes I just need to be told to take a break and this book provided that message over and over again. ...more
Probably the best book on the subject, but a book that once again suffers from the fact that this could easily be a magazine article or PDF. The stratProbably the best book on the subject, but a book that once again suffers from the fact that this could easily be a magazine article or PDF. The strategies are helpful and I've started to incorporate some of the lessons into my routine, and this book also gets BIG points for finally acknowledging the fact that some folks are just born with advantages in certain fields. Not everything can be accomplished through hard work and that's okay. You can still commit to your passions and interests and be the best that YOU can be....more
Maybe my most frustrating read this year. How can I go from feeling total validation on one page to feeling total disdain to the next? I’ll try to expMaybe my most frustrating read this year. How can I go from feeling total validation on one page to feeling total disdain to the next? I’ll try to explain.
For starters, I love the thesis: “Rest is a form of resistance because it disrupts and pushes back against capitalism and white supremacy… Rest is radical because it disrupts the lie that we are not doing enough. I am enough. I am worthy now and always because I am here” (7-8). I can get on board with any worldview that legitimizes the dignity of all people, no matter their productivity or ability, and in addition to capitalism and white supremacy Hersey takes aim at grind culture, social media, and rest as a means for more production. These things should be scrutinized, and I was ready to hear compelling arguments for rest as practice and against a system that sees us only as machines. Unfortunately the book left me wanting.
In general, the whole thing is around 200 very short pages, and yet it is totally disorganized. Hersey repeats herself constantly (I must have read the words “capitalism,” “grind culture,” and “white supremacy” about 50,000 times), makes section titles that don’t match the content underneath them, asks questions that aren’t answered for 100 pages (if at all), splits up stories so that they show up in bits and pieces all over the book, and claims to offer solutions to our production-centered world while also saying she doesn’t have prescriptions or step-by-step instructions. It’s hard for me to explain how she came up with her philosophy, how she practices, or how rest will give us true liberation because of this disorganization. I get the sense she is a compelling speaker and her words would be effective as a sermon, but as a written text it doesn’t translate and left me sort of lost.
But what’s more problematic than the disorganization is her slew of unsubstantiated claims. As a prime example she writes on social media: “Currently the Metaverse has become real. Millions of people are waiting anxiously for this digital world to materialize so they can move in and stay” (70). Are they? I don’t know a single person who wants to transfer their whole social life to Facebook of all places. She makes other claims. Grind culture has taken over our medical system (21), grind culture is a collaboration between capitalism and white supremacy (38), and shallow wellness work that doesn’t speak about dismantling these systems are making us unwell (133). I understand the use and place for hyperbole, and again, I’m inclined to agree with all of these claims. I just don’t respond well to bold statements and claims that are backed up by a feeling, or in other words, backed up by nothing. This book will not convince anyone who doesn’t already agree with Hersey’s thesis that rest is a necessary form of resistance, and that’s a problem for a book that I assume is intended to be persuasive.
It’s a real bummer, because Hersey has some incredible stories that are compelling! Slave narratives, her father’s story as a railroad worker and community organizer, her personal story as a mother, student, and worker are all used as wonderful examples of how overproduction and grind culture are killing us. She tells a heartbreaking story of a child who is not allowed to use the bathroom at school and ends up wetting himself because our school system is more focused on creating automatons than listening to the needs of its students’ bodies (22-23). Hersey has imaginative ideas on what liberation looks like, she is challenging the idea that pursuing justice is unrealistic, and she really practices what she preaches (She has found a way to take month long work sabbaths in spite of trying to organize and grow a movement).
The book desperately needs an editor because there are nuggets of gold among all the chaotic organization and unsubstantiated claims. It’s hard for me to recommend this but it is very short if you do want to give it a go. If you do, please do take the author’s advice and read it lying down....more
Yet another radical history in the United States they won’t teach you in school. Safiya Bukhari lived a revolutionary life in an attempt to make the wYet another radical history in the United States they won’t teach you in school. Safiya Bukhari lived a revolutionary life in an attempt to make the world better for her people, and despite attacks by police, the FBI, the whole United States government, despite a long prison sentence and an attempt to kill her through medical malpractice and solitary confinement, despite an entire media and literature that wants to rewrite and re-frame the history of the Black Panthers, she continued her fight until her final days.
There is too much to cover here in a Goodreads review, but the whole book is fascinating. It starts with Safiya telling her story of joining the Black Panthers after the police continuously brutalized and assaulted and killed black people with complete immunity from consequence. She recounts all the ways COINTELPRO’s counterinsurgency wreaked havoc on the party and ultimately cost them many lives (through death or prison). She goes on to talk about how she was able to get out of prison and advocate for political prisoners and continue to be a revolutionary even without the Black Panthers. It’s a good reminder that whenever the United States has something to say about morality or justice, it has absolutely no leg to stand on. The U.S. claims not to have political prisoners. It claims that it believes in freedom of speech. Read this book to get the real story.
Also there was a part of this book that felt like a villain origin story. Safiya was invited to a debate about granting amnesty to U.S. political prisoners and on the other side of the debate were none other than Peter Thiel and Ted Cruz. Served as a good reminder that these tools have always been tools, and that if you ever doubt yourself or your own ability, you are more qualified to do literally anything than these guys are. Safiya and her team destroyed them with FACTS and LOGIC.
Anyway, it is a great book and inspiring. Read it. This is a book the powers at be don’t want you to read.
The book corroborates a belief that I already had: That the Afghanistan War was totally unjust and useless. Thousands killed or wounded, billions of dThe book corroborates a belief that I already had: That the Afghanistan War was totally unjust and useless. Thousands killed or wounded, billions of dollars wasted, all to expand our empire's reach to the middle east. There is a major weakness in that most of the primary sources come from "lessons learned" interviews and intergovernmental memos, not from on-the-ground reporting. Despite that, it is still a stunning account of incompetence, mismanagement, and "bumbling" American imperialism. Two things that struck me the most:
1. No one involved with the war takes accountability or responsibility for anything. In all of the interviews, generals, military personnel, secretaries, politicians, etc. all say "mistakes were made" or "no one listened to me" or "the administration made me do this." It's all in this aggravating passive voice that deflects responsibility to no one at all. We all have some collective responsibility for this atrocity.
2. Even in this objective-sounding nonfiction book, the value of an American life is one million times greater than an Afghan life. Throughout the book, there would accounts of attacks where two or three Americans die, and the author would take a whole paragraph to give some biographical details, hobbies, and family information for those deceased. Then at the end of the paragraph he would tack on a sentence that said something like "also 15 Afghan civilians were killed." There are reasons for this, being an American book for an American audience, and generally having more information about Americans who died, but the difference is still striking.
Anyway, America has no business policing the world, and has no leg to stand on as a moral authority. Also if you want more proof that corporate republic and and corporate democrats are all on the same team, this book is definitive proof....more
Which city serves the best pizza pies? New York City? Fugetaboutit! Chicago? That isn’t a pizza, that’s a casserole. No my friends, as someone with abWhich city serves the best pizza pies? New York City? Fugetaboutit! Chicago? That isn’t a pizza, that’s a casserole. No my friends, as someone with absolutely no expertise or qualifications I can say that without a doubt, Columbus is the pizza capital of America. Nay, THE WORLD.
And it’s about time someone did our city justice. Jim Ellison has taken on the task of diving into the history of pizza in Columbus, uncovering how pizza businesses here started, thrived, and helped make Columbus a city of food innovators, competition champions, and community-minded pizza aficionados. I had no idea that the forefathers of the oldest pizza businesses all knew each other (and golfed together). I learned that Rubino’s and Bexley Pizza Plus may be next-door neighbors, but are not competitors (They help each other out if one restaurant is out of dough or the other is out of power). I discovered the story of that wonderful rocket-strapped basset hound atop the Hounddogs pizza delivery vehicle. Hell, I even found new names of old restaurants to check out so I can try their pizza as well.
This is not a ranked list of the “best” pizza or “most authentic” pizza in our fair city. It is a love letter to an underappreciated food in the test-market capital, and to the people that make that pizza taste so good.
I will admit the writing is sometimes repetitive, and the whole book could use a bit more editing and restructuring. But Ellison’s love for Columbus pizza comes through. And if a history book can make my mouth water every time I read it, I’d say it did its job. ...more
I picked this book up to reframe my relationship with alcohol, not because I have a dependence or addiction (this book is DEFINITELY not for that situI picked this book up to reframe my relationship with alcohol, not because I have a dependence or addiction (this book is DEFINITELY not for that situation). Throughout this pandemic I have gotten into habits that simply aren't healthy for me and don't make me feel good, and decided to go on an alcohol fast to break up those habits.
The book itself is typical self-help fare, but does have a lot of interesting information about the science of alcohol and habit formation. Weirdly, having a chapter to read every day created a sort of reward system for myself. I would fast from alcohol for the day, and as a reward I got to read another chapter of the book and journal my thoughts. I created a new habit that has kept going beyond 30 days.
I will eventually have an alcoholic drink again, but getting out of a habitual rut has been helpful, and I can be more mindful about when I drink alcohol and why I'm choosing to drink. I don't know that the book is a life-changer, but reflecting upon my unconscious actions and lining them up with my conscious mind has led to some self discovery. Which is pretty neat I think....more
“I work for the Sheriff’s office… I hunt people – it’s a great job, I love it. I got a bunch of my SWAT members here and even my bosses are here, I ap“I work for the Sheriff’s office… I hunt people – it’s a great job, I love it. I got a bunch of my SWAT members here and even my bosses are here, I appreciate ‘em coming out, they’re good men of God. I’m glad they came out to support us today, but they’ll let you know, I worked this job 14 years, you know I ain’t never been hit clean in the face one time? It’s a fact. It ain’t cuz I’m so good, I ain’t bad, it ain’t cuz I’m so good. You know why? I learned long ago I gotta throw the first punch. And I learned long ago why I’m justified in throwing the first punch. Don’t look up here like ‘oh police brutality,’ people I hit you wish you could hit, trust me. Right? Hahahaha yeah, every time I hit ‘em and I’m like that’s for you, that’s for you [referring to the audience]. It’s not that bad, I’m kidding. But listen, this is the truth. Hah hah. This is the truth” (2018 sermon from Franklin County Sherrif’s Deputy Jason Meade, who shot and killed Casey Goodson Jr.).
“Some police officers believe that we are called by God to help people in our community in their most difficult and dangerous moments. Some wear their uniforms feeling that God ordains police officers to be the authority to enforce His will. Therefore, they believe, if a citizen resists their authority, they are resisting the authority of God and will encounter His wrath” (Walking the Thin Black Line xiv).
Thus begins an alarming and damning portrait of the Columbus Police Department. Melissa McFadden is a 24-year veteran of CPD, a lawyer, and a black woman takes readers inside a racist system that has tried to hide its racist crimes and root out anyone who dares challenge it. McFadden is an excellent writer, and her story reads like a page-turning thriller.
Starting from before she was even training to be a police officer, McFadden recounts the history of CPD’s racism all the way back to a federal lawsuit brought forward by black CPD officers in 1985. In the 70s, CPD had racist hiring practices, a racist promotion system, and horrifically racist treatment of its black officers. One black officer on duty was even “sent by himself to an open field near a cemetery to be confronted by six men in white sheets surrounding a burning cross. This was in 1979 in Columbus, Ohio. The men in white sheets were police officers from his precinct. They said it was a ‘joke’” (42). This federal lawsuit resulted in a hiring mandate that required CPD to hire a larger percentage of black officers. The black officers who brought this federal lawsuit were labelled as troublemakers, most of the white officers participating in the racism were not reprimanded or punished in any way, and the mandate has since been lifted. This previews McFadden’s own experience in the system.
From the very beginning of McFadden’s career, she has challenged the system. She has held officers accountable and herself accountable for following the law, and has called out officers who lie on their reports or break the law in order to make an arrest. This has made her a lot of enemies. Throughout her history she has been denied promotions despite being the most qualified candidate. She has received discipline for incidents that never happened, and had to fight through the courts to prove that she shouldn’t be fired. CPD higher ups have even had the audacity to punish her for “racial prejudice,” simply because she demands that cops do better to serve their community. She is a much stronger person than me, because throughout her ordeals she refused to quit, refused to bend to the will of her supervisors to conform to the system, and chose instead to fight at great financial and professional cost to herself. I’m grateful for that so that we can have this inside look, and I’m grateful she brought receipts! You would think police officers, who deal with all kinds of evidence all day, would realize that there are ways to get access to their Facebook comments. Then again, there is no discipline for the disgusting comments they make, so why would they bother trying to hide it?
I think McFadden is a brave woman, and I believe she genuinely wants to make the police profession a proud one that helps the community, rather than one that subjugates and brutalizes it. But if I were to have one criticism of her, I believe her solutions for fixing policing are not good enough. Towards the end of her story she lists out seven policy change ideas that she and a group of black pastors brought to City Council and the mayor. These were the most basic, nonaggressive changes I have yet seen proposed, and they bring no changes in how the police conduct business, no changes to their funding or training, and no changes to the system itself. They mostly ask that investigations in discrimination and police weapon discharges be handled by outside groups, and that promotions be less “subjective.” It probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that our brave, not-at-all-corrupted mayor has not implemented most of these changes.
On top of this, McFadden still wants to encourage young people of color to be police officers. And yet she fully admits that this system is set out to destroy the will of those who want to make policing better. On mentoring these young people, she says “I don’t want my history of trying to root out racism to taint these talented young people. They need to get their bearings before they take on the culture of discrimination” (139). Why would someone willingly enter a system that you know and they know is discriminatory against them? She is more honest with herself and the police towards the end of the book: “I want [black youths] to understand that they are not walking into a career that is ready for them to be equals. Black women especially need to work ten times harder to withstand the constant oppression. These young officers will need to seek mentors, organize, not rely on the union, stand up for themselves, and thrust their gut when they see discrimination. Then they need to be ready for retaliation when they call out the racism. They will need to be aware that the white power structure will try to turn them against their neighborhoods. They will need to resist” (197-198). Is it fair to encourage a young person to join a police force while setting expectations like this? She proves throughout her story that being a good cop who tries to change the system from the inside doesn’t work. To tell black people to join this corrupted system that will make their lives hell is naive at best, and irresponsible at worst. It seems to me the best way to resist a racist system is to not participate in it at all.
Walking the Thin Black Line is an instructive text, and a necessary one to provide the perspective of a police officer within these conversations about police brutality. Melissa McFadden set out to tell her story and show what it’s like to walk the thin black line: the line between being a black person who is a victim of white supremacy, and being a police officer whose system supports and reinforces that supremacy. In this regard, she has succeeded, and her bravery and fight should be commended. I don’t know if she meant to talk about progress police reforms have made, or to encourage people to join the profession to continue reforming it, but if that was also her intention, it failed on me. This system cannot be reformed.
I included the quote from Jason Meade at the beginning of this review because it so closely echoes McFadden’s thoughts on how police officers see themselves. They see themselves as chosen ones, as people above all citizens and rules, and they have the violent, authoritative power to back up these beliefs. The discussion on religion, power, and policing is a topic for another day, but I did find this quote from McFadden (a woman of great faith herself) especially interesting: “I know bad behaviors change when I walk in the room. When I can’t see what is happening, maybe a body camera will catch it. If that fails, I know God sees all and will try to protect the victims of police brutality” (85). This is a nice sentiment. It also is not good enough. ...more
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