Summary of Ijeoma Oluo's Mediocre

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Ijeoma Oluo's Mediocre in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: What happens to a country that tells generation after generation of white men that they deserve power? What happens when success is defined by status over women and people of color, instead of by actual accomplishments?

Through the last 150 years of American history -- from the post-reconstruction South and the mythic stories of cowboys in the West, to the present-day controversy over NFL protests and the backlash against the rise of women in politics -- Ijeoma Oluo exposes the devastating consequences of white male supremacy on women, people of color, and white men themselves. Mediocre investigates the real costs of this phenomenon in order to imagine a new white male identity, one free from racism and sexism.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Dec 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781669344223

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on Ijeoma Oluo's Mediocre

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Brian was a distant relative who would always show up at family gatherings to talk politics. He was always quick to offer inappropriate commentary, in his outdoor voice, at the dinner table. Social media changed all of that, and Brian’s comments became even more outrageous online.

#2

Brian, the main character in the author's story, is a typical Trump supporter. He lives in the Midwest and has little experience with Islam, but he is convinced that there are terrorists ready to attack his neighborhood. He creates these fears in his mind and then invents a story about himself as a hero who defends his family from this imaginary threat.

#3

The author thought about every Black person who has had the police called on them for simply existing in public, and she wondered what stories the fearful white people must have told themselves to justify their fears. The violence such white men visit upon others is often very, very real.

#4

The act of scalping one’s enemies had existed for over two thousand years before European colonists arrived on the shores of this continent. In place of this history, however, American textbooks generally only feature the brutality and suffering of the Native people.

#5

Buffalo were slaughtered for sport by the thousands, and the Native Americans who lived on the land were the primary victims.

#6

Buffalo hunting, which involved the slaughter of buffalo for their hides and meat, was a popular pastime for the wealthy and powerful men of the East Coast and Europe.