Book Review: Are We Born Racist? by Jason Marsh et al

Are We Born Racist? is a book you need to read if you want to talk about race and racism. It’s an overview of the neuroscience behind racism.

The answer to the question posed in the title of the book is: Yes.

The book goes on to argue that there is no way to overcome the affects of racism in our culture unless we are willing to accept that fact.  From an essay in the book by David Amodio:

"The brain cannot be antiracist, per se, because [the amygdala] never stops spotting differences and sorting people into categories. But [the brain] is progoal — and if the goal is to make judgments without regard to race, the [neocortex] can do that, though it may take a bit of effort and practice.

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"In other words, egalitarianism is a skill, and people can learn from their experiences to respond without prejudice.

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"The new psychology of racism suggests that simply suppressing prejudice — or trying to directly eradicate bias as it's activated in the brain — will not ultimately work. Instead we have to let the amygdala do its job, and train ourselves to help the neocortex do its job."

One thing to book makes clear is that there are different kinds of racism: ideological, structural, and biological. And the kind of racism that most people fall into is not the ideological “my race is better than your race” kind of claptrap. It’s the unconscious biological racism of people who are intellectually opposed to it.

Other interesting ideas discussed in the book:

*If a person is subject to prejudice, think they are subject to prejudice, or feel like they have to represent their minority group, they tend to performing below their skill level.

*People who are  bi-cultural tend to do better than their single cultural socio-economic peers.

*People who are not racist tend to come across as more racist in social settings than people who are actually racist.

*Color blindness — the idea that we should ignore race — actually promotes racist behavior.

Book Review: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

The Man in the High Castle is a weird book that plays with a lot of challenging ideas regarding racial and cultural norms. But it’s ultimately unsatisfying as a story.

Written in the 1960s, it’s set in an “alternate present” where the Axis have won WWII. The Pacific States of America are a Japanese territory. The eastern US is allied with the Reich, and what is left of the old US exists in the Mountain west.

Most of the action takes place in the Pacific States. In an amusing turning of the tables, kitschy pre-war Americana is all the rage among the Japanese. Everything from Colt .45s to authentic Mickey Mouse watches are in such high demand that a thriving trade in counterfeits has arisen. This is a fun counterpoint to the anime, ninjas, samurai swords, and various Japanese things that are prevalent in our US culture.

The book is also interesting as a contemplation of the notion of race. In the Pacific States the Japanese race is the dominant one. Japanese looks define beauty. Pasty white, tall, big nosed Americans are obsessed with trying to look more Japanese so they can be “beautiful”. Though technically equal, white Americans are made to understand they are inferior to those of Japanese descent. Jews and people of African descent have an even worse time of it.

And this is where I think the book goes a little too far. Black people clearly get the shortest end of all possible sticks in this new world order. The problem is, until right at the very end, there are no black characters. So this depiction comes across as a bit unconsciously racist on the part of the author.

But the real problem with the book is how it’s written. It’s choppy and aimless. I later read that the author used the I Ching to plot the story, and it shows the signs of having been organized in a random and haphazard fashion.

The Man in the High Castle is a book full of great ideas, particularly its musings on race and culture, and is worth a read for that reason. The plot, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired.