White Identity: Racial Consciousness in the 21st Century

Jared Taylor is a polarizing figure. Ironically, I read this book mainly because Twitter banned him from their platform for his political beliefs. This book can be evaluated in two ways: the presentation, and the ideas. I'd probably rate it 4/5 on presentation, and I'm undecided on the ideas.

Taylor's core argument is that diversity in itself isn't strength, and he gives numerous examples to support this. He generally makes a strong case for the negatives of diversity, particularly racial diversity in the American context, but doesn't look at the positives at all, so it's not a particularly compelling case. However, merely for raising this issue, one is branded by most of modern American society as an irredeemable racist, but it seems show more clear there absolutely are serious problems with diversity, diversity politics, and immigration in the US today. Shutting down any possible debate by calling people racists isn't going to solve anything.

I'm generally willing to accept his individual factual statements as true (they're cited pretty well), but in several cases where I had some knowledge, they are lacking context, or are cherry picked to be unrepresentative.

(I tend to agree that diversity for its own sake is neutral or negative. However, having the best people for jobs and cultural roles in the positions where they can best use their skills is a huge positive, and if you believe skills and traits are evenly distributed, or even just not completely the province of certain groups, teams of the best possible people will tend to be diverse. The right question is to find the best balance for those teams between cohesiveness and individual excellence, and how to cause those teams (at sizes from small groups to companies to entire cities and nations) to be as effective as possible.)

He looks at broad racial/ethnic/language groups (black, hispanic, asian, and white) and some subgroups within those, and how they seem to exist in modern America. One of the most shocking parts for me was just how dysfunctional the worst schools really are -- basically as bad as prisons, although I think his focus is on the bottom 20-30%, vs. the majority or top performing 10%.

The book is pretty strong at making the case that there are some serious problems in multicultural American society, problems with unrestricted and post-1965 immigration policy, and that a lot of these problems are getting worse. Taylor didn't make much effort to identify the root causes of the western and American shift toward diversity/multiculturalism/mass immigration, and didn't really make any attempt at proposing policy solutions to improve integration or otherwise address these problems. His solution, if anything, was "look at Japan", but there's essentially no chance of America turning into Japan ever.

I don't think I'd recommend this book as a standalone book on racial politics in the US, but it's probably one of the best for making the case of a particular segment of the white identity movement. It would be a good book to include along with equivalent black, hispanic immigrant, and asian immigrant perspectives in trying to understand the issue, however. I definitely wouldn't consider it "hate speech" or violently racist or particularly worthy of censure or censorship, except to say it isn't particularly comprehensive or neutral. That Twitter banned the guy is a pretty strong case for Twitter being a bunch of fucking morons. show less

Въпросите около отношенията между различните раси са голяма тема в момента по целия свят, но особено в САЩ, дето тия раси първо живеят в безпрецедентно многообразие и второ имат доста интересна и донякъде срамна история на взаимоотношенията помежду си.

С настоящата си книга, Джаред Тейлър се опитва да хвърли светлина върху някои теми, свързани с расовите отношения, но най-вече да покаже различните show more перспективи, през които всяка от основните раси в САЩ (негри, латиноамериканци, азиатци и бели) виждат тия отношения - как говорят за тях, как се отнасят към другите раси и помежду си.

Картинката изобщо не е розова, както лесно може да се забележи от кадрите на различни расови бунтове и горящи коли и сгради (не само в САЩ, ами и в Европа) и данните за нивата на престъпност, полицейското и анти-полицейското (убийствата на полицаи) насилие. Тя става още по-трагична, когато авторът цитира (а той цитира много и постоянно) какво различни публични личности, активисти знаменитости, политици и хора на изкуството от различните раси казват и пишат по въпроса за расовите отношения.

Джаред Тейлър има репутацията на "бял националист" което в САЩ в момента е нещо като най-лошото нещо на света и със сигурност предишната му книга, която четох е доста пристрастна но доколкото показва настоящата, ако искаме да го определим като расист, по-скоро би му прилягало "азиатски националист" или нещо такова, защото данните и статистиките относно различните раси определено показват как азиатците в САЩ превъзхождат по всички показатели (доход, законопослушност, образование и т.н.) белите толкова и даже повече, колкото белите превъзхождат черните.

Книгата представя депресираща картина, но определено е опит за трезв поглед върху обществените отношения в САЩ (и като продължение - света и най-вече Европа, макар че нашите малцинства са цигани и мюсюлмани). Макар всичко на тоя свят да трябва да се приема със здравословна доза съмнение, огромното количество статистики, данни от официални източници и цитати, които авторът привежда в подкрепа на тезите си определено дават легитимност на казаното. show less

From Amazon
White Identity: Racial Consciousness in the 21st Century, by Jared Taylor
By Brett Stevens
People don't like to talk about it these days, but a big part of conservatism is racial identity what was once called "nationalism," when nation meant the ethnicity in which you were born. Jared Taylor, a Yale graduate and independent businessman, has for the last two decades run an organization called American Renaissance that addresses the national question. Namely: how do we get beyond "diversity," which doesn't work for anyone, and re-discover our nationalist roots?
Naturally this upsets leftists. They claim to be tolerant of everything, but anything they don't like they accuse of being either elitist, racist, sexist, homophobic, show more anti-fat, Social Darwinism, Satan, etc. Leftists want you to think that you either think multiculturalism is Double Plus Good, or you're a fascist. No middle ground!
Taylor's newest book, White Identity: Racial Consciousness in the 21st Century, will dispel these spurious claims because it does not just focus on white identity. Rather, it explores nationalist and identitarian politics and viewpoints in four racial groups: African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and whites.
Through meticulously researched content, Taylor proves that (a) diversity is failing despite massive government efforts (b) each racial or ethnic group seeks its own self-rule and identity, and in fact most prefer segregation (c) that racial identity is healthy for members of all ethnic groups and (d) that "diversity" and "multiculturalism" not only are failing now, but portend a future of continued failure that will harm all ethnic groups.
Sleek but not slick prose flows through this readable and engaging text, using numerous examples from both scientific publications and the mainstream news. Arguments are cleanly constructed and stand alone. It is an impressive work that will bring food for thought to anyone brave enough to consider the analysis it offers.
If you want a respite from the dogmatic race-baiting of mainstream politics, and a more scientific and historical viewpoint that is both balanced and compassionate but also logical and focused on the long term, White Identity: Racial Consciousness in the 21st Century by Jared Taylor is an enjoyable and informative read.
--Houston Conservative Examiner show less