Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness | John L. Jackson Jr.

Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness | John L. Jackson Jr. | A must read for all who seek understanding of how fear and political correctness distorts reality

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Racial Paranoia: T...

	Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness John L. Jackson Jr. Basic Civitas Books, 2008 - 278 pages average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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The Civil War put an end to slavery, and the civil rights movement put an end to legalized segregation. Crimes motivated by racism are punished with particular severity, and Americans are more sensitive than ever about the words they choose when talking about race. And yet America remains divided along the color line. Acclaimed scholar John L. Jackson, Jr., identifies a new paradigm of race relations that has emerged in the wake of the legal victories of the civil rights era: racial paranoia. We live in an age of racial equality punctuated by galling examples of ongoing discrimination-from the federal government?s inadequate efforts to protect the predominantly black population of New Orleans to Michael Richards?s outrageous outburst. Not surprisingly, African-Americans distrust the rhetoric of political correctness, and see instead the threat of racism lurking below every white surface. Conspiracy theories abound and racial reconciliation seems near to impossible. In Racial Paranoia, Jackson explains how this paranoia is cultivated, transferred, and exaggerated; how it shapes our nation and undermines the goal of racial equality; and what can be done to fight it.

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A Reminder of the Persistence of Racism in America

Few books offer as concise and cogent a review of the history of the African American in America as does John L. Jackson, Jr.'s RACIAL PARANOIA: THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. The Introduction to this elegantly written book mixes historical references to slavery and the variations of that horrific time in our history with subsequent alterations in the civil rights gains and losses, and leads into discussions of contemporary figures who influence the manner in which racism persists under different guises today. Jackson is both scholarly in his research and presentation while always maintaining a keen sensitivity to the reader's attention by including such well-known public figures as OJ Simpson, David Chappelle, Oprah Winfrey, President Bush, Eddie Murphy and other prominent political and entertainment figures. In that Introduction he outlines his own position by comparing Louis Farrakhan and Kayne West: "Farrakhan and West epitomize 'hard' and 'soft' versions of what I'm calling racial paranoia: distrustful conjecture about purposeful race-based maliciousness and the 'benign neglect' of racial indifference.'' It is this 'progression' from blatant racism to the Politically Correct 'enlightened' racism that makes this book so valuable a read: the mirror is well polished to reflect a bit of each of our faces.

Where Jackson succeeds in maintaining the extended study of the occult physical and cautiously spoken types of racism is his ability to build a solid platform of fact to post his suggestions of persistent behavior. Never lecturing to the reader, Jackson introduces a degree of humor that makes the contemporary trend toward total acceptance of color lines as entertaining as well as pungent. His writing style encourages the reader to stay with him through his arguments and the end result is an appreciation of a fine mind in action. In commenting on the media of today he remarks ' Media scholars have said it before and in many ways: the media constitute a productive force. They don't just passively represent the world; they also craft it.' And in leading us to the position of at least acknowledging his postulates he is not afraid to ask the reader questions: 'Do Americans want to deal with race? Are Americans willing to invest their time and their trust in one another? At the very least, are they willing to see the racial disparities that continue to define important social and economic differences between and among the citizenry?'

Jackson's book raises concerns, turns on lights, and makes us more aware of what he calls 'racial paranoia' - and there are very important lessons to learn from his wise little book. Grady Harp, July 08

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A must read for all who seek understanding of how fear and political correctness distorts reality

i became aware of this book while taking a course in Multicultural Counseling. As a licensed psychologist and doctoral candidate I am fascinated by this topic. I wanted to learn more about how people understand and misunderstand each other. This book explains the complex issue of how well meaning people, attempting to make others comfortable by using language that is sensitive and non-offensive have inadvertently created a situation where racism is hidden by language.

At one time, racism was out in the open, and those who were hateful of those who were different used language to express their feelings. Now, using political correctness, they hide their racism. According to Jackson, racism is now expressed in more subtle ways and this has created a sense of paranoia in those who are discriminated against. Simple gestures are subject to misinterpretation as possible racism. Therefore the cries of racism have increased. Paranoia has developed.

This is an interesting read for any person who is interested in the state of human relationships in our society today. i highly recommend it.

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Great Analysis, But Not a Great Book

Jackson offers tremendous insight into how race operates in the post-civil rights era. His discussions of Dave Chappelle, de cardio racism, and hip hop are flat-out brilliant. Through these chapters, Jackson shows how race and racism operate has changed and gone "underground" into people's hearts. This change means that racial motivations are no longer clearly stated, causing folks to become "paranoid" in their efforts to find the hidden racial meaning of everyday encounters. He also does an excellent job explaining why racial insults (like Don Imus, Michael Richards, etc.) seem so significant because they appear to reveal the "real thoughts" in a person's heart. It really helps further the conversation about race in contemporary America.

Despite the excellent analysis, the chapters do not flow together and a few of them, like the section on Tijuana Brawley, feel like fluff. I would encourage people to read the book, but you might want to skim some of it.

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