Foolish White People: A Critique of America by an American

Author: Mur
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-03-01
Features: In 2002, "Stupid White People" burst onto the scene in the United States, debuting on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Amazon.com, and staying at the top of the former for over a dozen weeks. In a United States in turmoil after 9/11, what kind of book could attract people's attention so quickly and sustain it for so long? When people from a nation or ethnic group write about their own country, it is always easy to gain popularity. However, critical writings, especially self-critical ones, are often overly harsh or biased. The language of this book is particularly intense, its attitude exceptionally severe, and its conclusions startlingly bold, surpassing most similar works. The popularity of "Stupid White People" can be considered expected, but if a book continues to be beloved and makes readers say things like "Our country is in dire straits, no joke," then its popularity cannot be simply dismissed as sensationalism. For America, we often feel we know her well, yet sometimes we feel we don’t understand her as much as we thought. Perhaps seeing an American’s own judgment of their homeland, whether uncovering passion beneath the absurd or absurdity beneath the passion, is always beneficial.