This culture was made up of things which were unbeneficial to the individual and society at large. He explains that many of the same negative attitudes that were part of English and Scottish culture came with them, and as such, a new culture was created. There was a lot of immigration from England and Scotland to the American South, despite the fact that Scotland was improving and progressing significantly in the 18th century, especially regarding hygiene. In this first essay, Sowell thoroughly and succinctly investigates the origins of the American ‘redneck’. I had never been happier to fall into an intellectual trap before. When it was revealed that the quote was not aimed at black people, but poor white Southerners, I knew this would challenge my preconceived ideas.
It was put there deliberately in order to highlight the reader’s potential bias and assumptions. they refuse to accommodate themselves to any kind of decent life.” It started with a quote that, at face value, would be assumed to have been aimed at black people “these people are creating a terrible problem in our cities. The first page alone caught me off-guard and was an indication of what was to come. The first essay, named after the book itself, was a very intriguing read, as it explained the history and context of many attributes – both positive and negative – of the black community and why there is such division- socioeconomic and culture especially- amongst them on multiple levels which exists to this very day.
As Sowell will show us, there are certain ways of life, behaviours and attitudes that are demonstrably bad and have negative effects on communities.īRWL consists of six essays which focus on different aspects of American (and sometimes Western) culture. The overall message I received from the book is that, to blacks and whites alike, it has less to do with skin colour and everything to do with culture and attitudes towards life. I also wanted to be presented with information that would challenge my incomplete and biased viewpoints as well as forcing myself to ask myself questions about the world in which I live. The opinions and perspectives of members of my family and mainstream ‘black’ culture from society at large were in direct conflict with my own views, logic and reasoning.Īs such, I started reading Black Rednecks and White Liberals (BRWL) not really knowing what to expect, but hoping I could find answers to questions I had been asking myself for a long time by presenting myself with new information. It is impossible to be totally unbiased, as everybody has particular views and perspectives based on their own experiences.Īdmittedly, I approached this book with a degree of caution and apprehension. If a person ever tells you that they have gone into reading a nonfiction piece of literature with a totally open and unbiased mind, that is highly unlikely to be the case.
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