books to read if you're white and/or male and/or middle class and wanna try to be an ally to folks who aren't any or all of those things

Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work For Racial Justice by Paul Kivel
This is a rad book for white folks who want to be allies but aren't really sure how to go about doing that. There's a bunch of chapters and exercises that debunk stereotypes, talk about the privilege one gets from being white, and that sort of thing that are pretty basic, but still clear and well written. He also talks about ways to use your privilege to be an ally to people of colour, and the importance of being vocal about being a white person and anti-racist. Good for making you realize that the way to be helpful about these issues is not to deny your privilege ("I'm totally discriminated against! People don't treat me the same because of my mohawk and bondage pants!"), but to use the opportunities it gives you to create change


Pacifism as Pathology: Reflections on the Role of Armed Struggle in North America by Ward Churchill
I'm doing this review completely based on memory, due to Dan being a slowcoach and borrowing this book for a year and counting, but I've read Pacifism as Pathology umpteen or so times, so I should be able to remember it okay. Churchill has a lot of harsh things to say about pacifist activism, namely that it's mainly the product of middle class white folks who are the only ones who actually have the privilege to choose violence or nonviolence. He feels that people living in relatively affluent neighbourhoods who don't have to brave confrontations with the cops just from walking down the street on a daily basis don't have the right to try and push pacifism on everyone. I think what he says about acknowledging your privilege is completely valid, and he makes a lot of good points about these kinds of activists making a distinction between places where direct action is necessary (usually places that are far away, where the struggle is being carried out by people of colour), and North America, where they feel pacifism is the way to go (which conveniently keeps them in a safe position, where their role in armed struggle is that of a faraway supporter). A really interesting read that will have you thinking a lot about your participation in activism and how much personal safety you're really willing to risk.

Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class, edited by Michelle Tea
This was edited by the amazing Michelle Tea. I was sorry that none of her writing was included, but she did a fabulous job of choosing the writings contained in this book. Without a Net has a wide variety of authors, some more well known (Diane DiPrima and Dorothy Allison, for example), and some I've never heard of, but all the stories are amazing and the women that wrote them are a toughass bunch of ladies. Topics vary from traumatic childhood stories to being a blue collar dyke out-working guys at a labour job, so there's definitely lots of variety. I should also mention that although this book is incredibly worthwhile to read, it can be difficult to get through ... it contains a lot of abuse stories, and abuse survivors may find it triggering in places.