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No More Heroes: Grassroots Challenges to the Savior Mentality
How can we build a better world? And why do so many people with privilege end up making things worse when they try to help? It’s called the savior mentality, and Jordan Flaherty finds it in FBI informants, anti-sex-work crusaders, Teach For America corps members, and out-of-touch journalists. No More Heroes celebrates grassroots challenges to these saviors and highlights movements focused on real, systemic change from the Arab Spring to Black Lives Matter.
Praise for No More Heroes
“In this marvelous, enormously instructive book, Jordan Flaherty explores how we too often allow the struggle for change to be undermined by would-be saviors—and how today’s grassroots social movements, led by communities on the frontlines of crisis, are charting a far more powerful path forward.” —Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything
“Part memoir, part history, part political critique, No More Heroes exposes the savior complex for what it really imperialism camouflaged as a rescue operation. A perfect gift for the age of Trump.” —Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams
“In No More Heroes , Jordan Flaherty upends the world. You might think you understand the issues of sex workers, disaster victims, and the poor, but through this series of personal stories from the front lines of these fights, No More Heroes demonstrates that our best intended assumptions are often wrong. Read this book before your misguided good intentions do more harm to your pet causes than good.” —Lolis Eric Elie, Writer, HBO’s Treme
“From left -wing vanguards, Teach-For-America, and charitable foundations, to the power of military interventions, Jordan Flaherty shows how rhetorics of commercial culture and corporate media re-appear as ‘moral’ arguments to justify domination. This is an original interrogation of destructive control masquerading as ‘help.’” —Sarah Schulman, author of Conflict Is Not Abuse
“Jordan Flaherty is one of America’s most committed journalists writing from below and to the left. His work lifts up voices rarely heard in media as he focuses on the tireless, courageous work of marginalized communities building collective power. At a time when many movements are increasingly aligned with the dangerous neoliberal notion of individual saviors, Jordan reminds us there are no masters in the path to love and liberation.” —Harsha Walia, author of Undoing Border Imperialism
“Compelling and accessible, this book may be challenging for folks with privilege—especially cisgendered straight white men—to read as it demands they ask searing questions that may indict them and their behavior, but Flaherty shows clearly that is exactly what privileged people have to do, because oppressed people stare these realities in the face every day—and when we blink, we die.” —Walidah Imarisha, author of Angels with Dirty Faces
“Jordan Flaherty...has learned through personal experience and from listening to those who are marginalized just how dangerous it can be for would-be superheroes (even those with the best intentions) to take up the cause of justice, absent a real grounding in the solidarity and accountability necessary to bring true liberation. This is a unique and compelling contribution to movement literature, written with a humility that is as powerful as it is genuine.” —Tim Wise, author of White Like Me
“ No More Heroes gives us all another opportunity to do what it will actually take to create liberation in our trust them most impacted, come together across forms of oppression, and most importantly throw away the scarcity-based, fragile individuality that privilege teaches us to defend. Let it go, and embrace the humbling, collective work of getting free.” —Alexis Pauline Gumbs, author of Spill
Praise for No More Heroes
“In this marvelous, enormously instructive book, Jordan Flaherty explores how we too often allow the struggle for change to be undermined by would-be saviors—and how today’s grassroots social movements, led by communities on the frontlines of crisis, are charting a far more powerful path forward.” —Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything
“Part memoir, part history, part political critique, No More Heroes exposes the savior complex for what it really imperialism camouflaged as a rescue operation. A perfect gift for the age of Trump.” —Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams
“In No More Heroes , Jordan Flaherty upends the world. You might think you understand the issues of sex workers, disaster victims, and the poor, but through this series of personal stories from the front lines of these fights, No More Heroes demonstrates that our best intended assumptions are often wrong. Read this book before your misguided good intentions do more harm to your pet causes than good.” —Lolis Eric Elie, Writer, HBO’s Treme
“From left -wing vanguards, Teach-For-America, and charitable foundations, to the power of military interventions, Jordan Flaherty shows how rhetorics of commercial culture and corporate media re-appear as ‘moral’ arguments to justify domination. This is an original interrogation of destructive control masquerading as ‘help.’” —Sarah Schulman, author of Conflict Is Not Abuse
“Jordan Flaherty is one of America’s most committed journalists writing from below and to the left. His work lifts up voices rarely heard in media as he focuses on the tireless, courageous work of marginalized communities building collective power. At a time when many movements are increasingly aligned with the dangerous neoliberal notion of individual saviors, Jordan reminds us there are no masters in the path to love and liberation.” —Harsha Walia, author of Undoing Border Imperialism
“Compelling and accessible, this book may be challenging for folks with privilege—especially cisgendered straight white men—to read as it demands they ask searing questions that may indict them and their behavior, but Flaherty shows clearly that is exactly what privileged people have to do, because oppressed people stare these realities in the face every day—and when we blink, we die.” —Walidah Imarisha, author of Angels with Dirty Faces
“Jordan Flaherty...has learned through personal experience and from listening to those who are marginalized just how dangerous it can be for would-be superheroes (even those with the best intentions) to take up the cause of justice, absent a real grounding in the solidarity and accountability necessary to bring true liberation. This is a unique and compelling contribution to movement literature, written with a humility that is as powerful as it is genuine.” —Tim Wise, author of White Like Me
“ No More Heroes gives us all another opportunity to do what it will actually take to create liberation in our trust them most impacted, come together across forms of oppression, and most importantly throw away the scarcity-based, fragile individuality that privilege teaches us to defend. Let it go, and embrace the humbling, collective work of getting free.” —Alexis Pauline Gumbs, author of Spill
207 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
62 people are currently reading
1315 people want to read
About the author
Jordan Flaherty
8 books20 followersJordan Flaherty is an award-winning journalist, producer, and author. He has appeared as a guest on a wide range of television and radio shows, including CNN Morning, Anderson Cooper 360, CNN Headline News, RT America, the Alan Colmes Show on Fox, and News and Notes on NPR. He is the author of the books No More Heroes: Grassroots Responses to the Savior Mentality and Floodlines: Community and Resistance From Katrina to the Jena Six and has produced television documentaries and news reports for Al Jazeera America, Al Jazeera English, teleSUR, The Laura Flanders Show, and Democracy Now.
Jordan’s print journalism has been featured in dozens of publications, from the New York Times and Washington Post to ColorLines and the Village Voice. His articles have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic, and published in major publications around the world, including Die Zeit in Germany, Clarin in Argentina, Juventude Rebelde in Cuba, Red Pepper in England, and many more from Lebanon to Paris to New Zealand to South Africa. He has also reported as a correspondent for Agence France Presse, and written for dozens of news websites including Huffington Post, CommonDreams, AlterNet, Counterpunch, and ZNet. He has been a regular correspondent or frequent guest on Democracy Now, Radio Nation on Air America, and many other outlets. As a white southerner who speaks honestly about race, Jordan Flaherty has been regularly published in Black progressive forums such as Black Commentator and Black Agenda Report, and is a regular guest on Black radio stations and programs such as Keep Hope Alive With Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Jordan has produced award-winning fiction films, documentaries, music videos, and news reports, and his reporting and analysis has been published in several anthologies, including the South End Press books Live From Palestine and What Lies Beneath: Katrina, Race and the State of the Nation; the University of Georgia Press book What is a City; the AK Press book Red State Rebels; and Bury The Dead from Cascade Books. He has appeared as an actor in HBO’s television series Treme, playing himself. He produced the fiction film Chocolate Babies, which won best picture awards at South by Southwest and New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
Jordan was the first journalist to bring the case of the Jena Six to a national audience, and he has so far been the only journalist identified as a subject of the New York City Police Department’s spying programs. His journalism awards include awards from New America Media for Best Post-Katrina Reporting in the Ethnic Press, and from the National Headliner Awards for Best Broadcast Environmental Reporting.
Jordan has lectured at dozens of colleges, universities and conferences including Columbia University, Stanford Law School, University of California at Santa Cruz, University of California at Los Angeles, SUNY Stonybrook, American University in Washington DC, Loyola University Chicago, University of Florida, University of Chicago, University of Texas at Austin, Loyola Law School, Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Xavier University, and many others. He is also an editor of The Abolitionist, a bilingual newspaper distributed mostly in prisons in North and South America, and from 2004-2011 he was a part of the editorial collective that published Left Turn Magazine, a publication that reported from progressive and revolutionary movements around the world.
You can see more of his work at jordanflaherty.org, and some of his recent writing at medium.com/@secondlines.
Jordan’s print journalism has been featured in dozens of publications, from the New York Times and Washington Post to ColorLines and the Village Voice. His articles have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic, and published in major publications around the world, including Die Zeit in Germany, Clarin in Argentina, Juventude Rebelde in Cuba, Red Pepper in England, and many more from Lebanon to Paris to New Zealand to South Africa. He has also reported as a correspondent for Agence France Presse, and written for dozens of news websites including Huffington Post, CommonDreams, AlterNet, Counterpunch, and ZNet. He has been a regular correspondent or frequent guest on Democracy Now, Radio Nation on Air America, and many other outlets. As a white southerner who speaks honestly about race, Jordan Flaherty has been regularly published in Black progressive forums such as Black Commentator and Black Agenda Report, and is a regular guest on Black radio stations and programs such as Keep Hope Alive With Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Jordan has produced award-winning fiction films, documentaries, music videos, and news reports, and his reporting and analysis has been published in several anthologies, including the South End Press books Live From Palestine and What Lies Beneath: Katrina, Race and the State of the Nation; the University of Georgia Press book What is a City; the AK Press book Red State Rebels; and Bury The Dead from Cascade Books. He has appeared as an actor in HBO’s television series Treme, playing himself. He produced the fiction film Chocolate Babies, which won best picture awards at South by Southwest and New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
Jordan was the first journalist to bring the case of the Jena Six to a national audience, and he has so far been the only journalist identified as a subject of the New York City Police Department’s spying programs. His journalism awards include awards from New America Media for Best Post-Katrina Reporting in the Ethnic Press, and from the National Headliner Awards for Best Broadcast Environmental Reporting.
Jordan has lectured at dozens of colleges, universities and conferences including Columbia University, Stanford Law School, University of California at Santa Cruz, University of California at Los Angeles, SUNY Stonybrook, American University in Washington DC, Loyola University Chicago, University of Florida, University of Chicago, University of Texas at Austin, Loyola Law School, Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Xavier University, and many others. He is also an editor of The Abolitionist, a bilingual newspaper distributed mostly in prisons in North and South America, and from 2004-2011 he was a part of the editorial collective that published Left Turn Magazine, a publication that reported from progressive and revolutionary movements around the world.
You can see more of his work at jordanflaherty.org, and some of his recent writing at medium.com/@secondlines.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
March 26, 2018
I reeeeallly wanted this book to be more useful and thoughtful than it was. It's not that I disagreed with any of its points (I didn't), but I found the writing to meander between sanctimony and anecdotes (and sanctimonious anecdotes). I was hoping it would be a more thoughtful deconstruction of the oppressive power dynamics that mean people/orgs/systems, particularly white people, bring with them a "savior" mindset to non-profit work that re-enforces hierarchies and systems that result from and perpetuate white supremacy and colonialism. It's a topic WELL worth discussing at length-- and it is essential for those of us who are committed to justice. If folks know that book, let me know!
September 21, 2017
Highly recommend. A powerful lens to see through privilege blinders and how the "hero" myth is insidiously harmful.
This excerpt is a great preview if you're considering reading it: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item...
The author draws on tons of history and current examples that clearly illustrate how we have inherited a deeply-rooted popular conception of “doing good” that really does far more harm.
This excerpt is a great preview if you're considering reading it: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item...
The author draws on tons of history and current examples that clearly illustrate how we have inherited a deeply-rooted popular conception of “doing good” that really does far more harm.
October 30, 2017
This was like a really great literature review - Flaherty pulled together information from a lot of different blog posts/authors/news items to support his premise of the danger of the savior mentality. Kony 2012, Brandon Darby (who I found out now works for Breitbart!), Darfur, the Swedish model, Teach for America in the wake of Katrina, Nicholas Kristof* - all covered with thoughtful theory and interesting updates. I didn't, however, fact check anything he wrote about, so I took some of the facts with a grain of salt. But worth a read for the overall messages.
"Charity is often an expression of belief that current injustices will continue forever." "Paolo Friere - "In order to have the continuedopportunity to express their 'generosity,' the oppressors must perpetuate injustice as well." ... "Author and scholar Janet Poppendieck writes that soup kitchens help a right-wing agenda of shrinking government."
"Instead of asking, 'How can I be the single best white antiracist activist with the sharpest critique, the most specialized language, and the busiest schedule?' Ask, 'How can we find ways to bring more and more people into social justice work, from lots of entry points, to grow vibrant mass movements?'" ... "Instead of shaming people for their mistakes and regulating each others' language, appreciate and lift up principled action and leadership where you see it." (from the Catalyst Project)
"Batman is the perfect capitalist savior hero. He's a wealthy man who uses his wealth to fight the problems of the world one on one. Instead of giving his money away, he spends it on himself and his Batcave and Batmobile, self-assured that he alone is the best solution to the world's problems and that the millions spent on his toys are investments in saving the world."
"In most cases, failure never even slows saviors down. They are experts in "failing up." Though they may leave wreckage in their wake, they win praise and jobs as analysts and advisors... In the social circles of entrepreneurs, failing means that you take risks... When poor people or people of color fail, they are confirming expectations."
*The stuff on Nicholas Kristof was especially fun and validating to read, as I'd done my undergrad thesis in part on his white-saviory writing about microfinance.
"Charity is often an expression of belief that current injustices will continue forever." "Paolo Friere - "In order to have the continuedopportunity to express their 'generosity,' the oppressors must perpetuate injustice as well." ... "Author and scholar Janet Poppendieck writes that soup kitchens help a right-wing agenda of shrinking government."
"Instead of asking, 'How can I be the single best white antiracist activist with the sharpest critique, the most specialized language, and the busiest schedule?' Ask, 'How can we find ways to bring more and more people into social justice work, from lots of entry points, to grow vibrant mass movements?'" ... "Instead of shaming people for their mistakes and regulating each others' language, appreciate and lift up principled action and leadership where you see it." (from the Catalyst Project)
"Batman is the perfect capitalist savior hero. He's a wealthy man who uses his wealth to fight the problems of the world one on one. Instead of giving his money away, he spends it on himself and his Batcave and Batmobile, self-assured that he alone is the best solution to the world's problems and that the millions spent on his toys are investments in saving the world."
"In most cases, failure never even slows saviors down. They are experts in "failing up." Though they may leave wreckage in their wake, they win praise and jobs as analysts and advisors... In the social circles of entrepreneurs, failing means that you take risks... When poor people or people of color fail, they are confirming expectations."
*The stuff on Nicholas Kristof was especially fun and validating to read, as I'd done my undergrad thesis in part on his white-saviory writing about microfinance.
March 3, 2020
"I'm feeling bad and I want to be able to take some action and alleviate that bad feeling. So then the goal becomes not alleviating suffering for others but alleviating one's own suffering."
Thus is born the White savior, who has watched too many Hollywood movies where "when it comes to teaching inner city minorities, you don't need books and you don't need rules. All you need is a nice white lady." Where you have been "raised in privilege and taught implicitly or explicitly that (they) possess the answers and skills most needed to rescue others, no matter the situation. . . you want to help others but are not open to guidance from those you want to help." I had to do a lot of soul searching as I read this book. I have made a lot of mistakes - I have much to learn. I want to commit myself to continuing to learn.
I totally understand now why Teach For America has such a bad rap - paying no attention to what the needs are but totally top downing it - deciding from the outside that inexperienced white privileged kids have got to be better than the existing teachers. In places where teachers were available throwing kids who were not only not trained as teachers, but had no cultural competency or understanding or appreciation in to "teach" these "poor inner city children" just couldn't have been a more condescending and hurtful mess. It does sound like over the years, because a few TFA realized that older teachers had something to teach them, that they needed to learn about their students' lives and dreams, that they needed to listen to the voices of the community, the TFA program has made some adjustments.
I also learned a great deal about sex workers, and the fact that "at least 80% of labor trafficking is related not to sex work but to other forms of labor, like farm work or restaurant work." Again, we need to stop being white (primarily male) saviors and stop deciding what is best for others and start asking people what they want, how we can help, what they need. Arresting sex workers to "save them" is insane. If women are choosing to enter sex work because it is the best paying option for them, why do we blame and shame women instead of asking what is wrong with our system that this is the best option available to way too many women?
Basically the message of the entire book is to be more like anthropologists :-) a message I can get behind. "The best way to combat the savior mentality is to act collectively for systemic change in a way that is accountable to the communities affected." It is critical to hear the voices of the people you are trying to help-they are not helpless people without ideas. Use your privilege to amplify their voices, not yours. "If you're the loudest voice in the room, create space for other voices, literally and figuratively. The people facing the most oppression are already fighting back. They don't need you to tell them what to do." Get out of the way. Listen, learn, acknowledge. This is not about you and your need to feel better. This is not about your need to look good on social media with pictures of you doing "good things" in foreign countries, surrounding by little black and brown children as props. Ouch. This was a tough read. As a teacher of course I have to check myself and know I have made mistakes and need to work harder and making sure I don't fall into this trap. It is a seductive trap.
He leaves us with Black Lives Matter as a terrific example of an organization that is "intersectional, nonhierarchical, and led by those most affected by our unjust system." Critical of the traditional nonprofit world where 93% of CEOs are white, 92% of boards and 82% of staff are white. There is room for everyone to work to ensure Black Lives Matter - but it is not up to me, and old white lady, to decide how best to reach that goal. My job is only to listen, to learn, to see how I can use my privilege to amplify the voices of others, to see how others can best use my help - not how I think I can help, not for me to lead, to save, to decide what is best. The least I can do is to make sure I don't make things worse.
Thus is born the White savior, who has watched too many Hollywood movies where "when it comes to teaching inner city minorities, you don't need books and you don't need rules. All you need is a nice white lady." Where you have been "raised in privilege and taught implicitly or explicitly that (they) possess the answers and skills most needed to rescue others, no matter the situation. . . you want to help others but are not open to guidance from those you want to help." I had to do a lot of soul searching as I read this book. I have made a lot of mistakes - I have much to learn. I want to commit myself to continuing to learn.
I totally understand now why Teach For America has such a bad rap - paying no attention to what the needs are but totally top downing it - deciding from the outside that inexperienced white privileged kids have got to be better than the existing teachers. In places where teachers were available throwing kids who were not only not trained as teachers, but had no cultural competency or understanding or appreciation in to "teach" these "poor inner city children" just couldn't have been a more condescending and hurtful mess. It does sound like over the years, because a few TFA realized that older teachers had something to teach them, that they needed to learn about their students' lives and dreams, that they needed to listen to the voices of the community, the TFA program has made some adjustments.
I also learned a great deal about sex workers, and the fact that "at least 80% of labor trafficking is related not to sex work but to other forms of labor, like farm work or restaurant work." Again, we need to stop being white (primarily male) saviors and stop deciding what is best for others and start asking people what they want, how we can help, what they need. Arresting sex workers to "save them" is insane. If women are choosing to enter sex work because it is the best paying option for them, why do we blame and shame women instead of asking what is wrong with our system that this is the best option available to way too many women?
Basically the message of the entire book is to be more like anthropologists :-) a message I can get behind. "The best way to combat the savior mentality is to act collectively for systemic change in a way that is accountable to the communities affected." It is critical to hear the voices of the people you are trying to help-they are not helpless people without ideas. Use your privilege to amplify their voices, not yours. "If you're the loudest voice in the room, create space for other voices, literally and figuratively. The people facing the most oppression are already fighting back. They don't need you to tell them what to do." Get out of the way. Listen, learn, acknowledge. This is not about you and your need to feel better. This is not about your need to look good on social media with pictures of you doing "good things" in foreign countries, surrounding by little black and brown children as props. Ouch. This was a tough read. As a teacher of course I have to check myself and know I have made mistakes and need to work harder and making sure I don't fall into this trap. It is a seductive trap.
He leaves us with Black Lives Matter as a terrific example of an organization that is "intersectional, nonhierarchical, and led by those most affected by our unjust system." Critical of the traditional nonprofit world where 93% of CEOs are white, 92% of boards and 82% of staff are white. There is room for everyone to work to ensure Black Lives Matter - but it is not up to me, and old white lady, to decide how best to reach that goal. My job is only to listen, to learn, to see how I can use my privilege to amplify the voices of others, to see how others can best use my help - not how I think I can help, not for me to lead, to save, to decide what is best. The least I can do is to make sure I don't make things worse.
February 19, 2017
While I had been critical of the way various "foundations" were manipulating other people's money, no other books had shown me the underlying problem as clearly as this one. I suspect that there are many people who are uncomfortable with the content of the book as it challenges the comfort and status quo even of many progressives, esp. with those with "privileges". But until we are ready to accept such a challenge, we will not be able to change the tide.
I think that the following four paragraphs from the book summarize the author's point very well:
"The savior mentality means that you want to help others but are not open to guidance from those you want to help. Saviors fundamentally believe they are better than the people they are rescuing. Saviors want to support the struggle of communities that are not their own, but they believe they must remain in charge. The saviors always wants to lead, never to follow. When the people they have chosen to rescue tell them they are not helping, they think those people are mistaken. It is almost taken as evidence that they need more help.
The savior mentality is not about individual failings. It is the logical result of a racist, colonialist, capitalist, heteropatriachal system setting us against each other. And being a savior is not a fixed identity. Under the struggle to survive within capitalism, most of us are forced into decisions that contradict our ideals. Many people are involved in liberation movements in their free time while their day job is at a charity or other nonprofit that does not challenge the status quo. We can be a savior one day and an ally the next.
The savior mentality always looks for solutions by working within our current system, because deeper change might push us out of the picture. This focus on quick fixes is also partly a product of an outrage-oriented media. We pay attention to an issue for one day, and we want to hear that someone will be fired or arrested. If that happens, we move on.
Saviors adopt trendy labels such as social entrepreneur or change agent. They preach the religion of kinder capitalism, the idea that you can get rich while also helping others, that the pursuit of profit, described with buzzwords like engagement, innovation, and sharing economy, will improve everyone's lives through efficiency. However, I stand with nineteenth-century novelist Honoré de Balzac, who wrote that behind every fortune is a concealed crime. I don't believe you can get rich while doing good--wealth and justice are mutually exclusive. The more wealth exists in the world, the less justice."
The author carefully explores several topics relevant to his point.
Although the majority of people initially supported the War on Terror without really understanding the underlying issues, I think many have realized the reality by now. This topics is touched upon at various points.
The majority of people still do not seem to understand what is really behind the War on Drugs. But more and more materials are showing up to expose the current issues and the source of the problem. This topics is also visited, but not in detail. But I had learned a lot from "Chasing the Scream," "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts," and "The Globalization of Addiction."
The book details more about the education issues after Hurricane Katrina, especially in connection to the problem with Teach for America, and War on Sex Trafficking. These are two areas I was not really aware of until reading this book.
The author singles out the saviorism mentality underlying all of these topics and discusses a more fruitful approach. I recommend this book highly. By the way, the book begins with a very appropriate forward by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, the author of "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States," which is highly recommended as well.
I think that the following four paragraphs from the book summarize the author's point very well:
"The savior mentality means that you want to help others but are not open to guidance from those you want to help. Saviors fundamentally believe they are better than the people they are rescuing. Saviors want to support the struggle of communities that are not their own, but they believe they must remain in charge. The saviors always wants to lead, never to follow. When the people they have chosen to rescue tell them they are not helping, they think those people are mistaken. It is almost taken as evidence that they need more help.
The savior mentality is not about individual failings. It is the logical result of a racist, colonialist, capitalist, heteropatriachal system setting us against each other. And being a savior is not a fixed identity. Under the struggle to survive within capitalism, most of us are forced into decisions that contradict our ideals. Many people are involved in liberation movements in their free time while their day job is at a charity or other nonprofit that does not challenge the status quo. We can be a savior one day and an ally the next.
The savior mentality always looks for solutions by working within our current system, because deeper change might push us out of the picture. This focus on quick fixes is also partly a product of an outrage-oriented media. We pay attention to an issue for one day, and we want to hear that someone will be fired or arrested. If that happens, we move on.
Saviors adopt trendy labels such as social entrepreneur or change agent. They preach the religion of kinder capitalism, the idea that you can get rich while also helping others, that the pursuit of profit, described with buzzwords like engagement, innovation, and sharing economy, will improve everyone's lives through efficiency. However, I stand with nineteenth-century novelist Honoré de Balzac, who wrote that behind every fortune is a concealed crime. I don't believe you can get rich while doing good--wealth and justice are mutually exclusive. The more wealth exists in the world, the less justice."
The author carefully explores several topics relevant to his point.
Although the majority of people initially supported the War on Terror without really understanding the underlying issues, I think many have realized the reality by now. This topics is touched upon at various points.
The majority of people still do not seem to understand what is really behind the War on Drugs. But more and more materials are showing up to expose the current issues and the source of the problem. This topics is also visited, but not in detail. But I had learned a lot from "Chasing the Scream," "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts," and "The Globalization of Addiction."
The book details more about the education issues after Hurricane Katrina, especially in connection to the problem with Teach for America, and War on Sex Trafficking. These are two areas I was not really aware of until reading this book.
The author singles out the saviorism mentality underlying all of these topics and discusses a more fruitful approach. I recommend this book highly. By the way, the book begins with a very appropriate forward by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, the author of "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States," which is highly recommended as well.
January 29, 2021
My thoughts about this book are perfectly captured by another reviewer already:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just want to add that I felt quite strange reading this book in 2021, since so much grassroots activities have happened from when the book was published (2017). I think the topic of ‘hero mentality’ could really benefit from being updated to address topics such as:
- Trump, ‘Q’, and other figureheads that inspire grassroots far-right nationalist activities
- How some corporates have embraced the BLM message, and the extent to which this supports or dilutes the BLM movement
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just want to add that I felt quite strange reading this book in 2021, since so much grassroots activities have happened from when the book was published (2017). I think the topic of ‘hero mentality’ could really benefit from being updated to address topics such as:
- Trump, ‘Q’, and other figureheads that inspire grassroots far-right nationalist activities
- How some corporates have embraced the BLM message, and the extent to which this supports or dilutes the BLM movement
December 16, 2016
This was a great read! While I do not agree with all of Flaherty's viewpoints, I found his arguments to be very well-supported and well-written. The book sometimes presents extreme ideas, but I still feel that they are useful and constructively thought-provoking regardless of the reader’s privilege, career, and background. Personally, it inspired me to learn more about various political ideologies and how we can all work together to create a more just society.
August 27, 2017
Significantly adjusted the way I think about issues like NGOs, charities, community organizing, etc.
Read
March 3, 2019Broadly, Flaherty's argument is that top-down approaches led by those outside the affected community have a low chance of succeeding in helping anyone, and are likely to do more harm then good.
The chapters follow many cautionary examples of harm wrought by self-appointed saviors (e.g. a powerful chapter on TFA) and positive counterexamples, like the Movement for Black Lives.
I found the overall argument extremely compelling, and it buttresses well the points made in Witnessing Whiteness and some other work I'm reading. However, this relatively slim volume covers many movements, issues, and historical moments and often relies on arguments that are not sourced nor supported in the text. For example, that the US's involvement in Serbia in 1995 was bad and morally equivalent to actions taken in Iraq in 2003-- I don't know as much about the campaign in Serbia as I do about Iraq, but I certainly don't share that view.
I'll probably re-read this again before giving a star rating, but I can certainly say I've never gotten more out of a book when disagreeing so often with the author's line of argumentation.
The chapters follow many cautionary examples of harm wrought by self-appointed saviors (e.g. a powerful chapter on TFA) and positive counterexamples, like the Movement for Black Lives.
I found the overall argument extremely compelling, and it buttresses well the points made in Witnessing Whiteness and some other work I'm reading. However, this relatively slim volume covers many movements, issues, and historical moments and often relies on arguments that are not sourced nor supported in the text. For example, that the US's involvement in Serbia in 1995 was bad and morally equivalent to actions taken in Iraq in 2003-- I don't know as much about the campaign in Serbia as I do about Iraq, but I certainly don't share that view.
I'll probably re-read this again before giving a star rating, but I can certainly say I've never gotten more out of a book when disagreeing so often with the author's line of argumentation.
July 5, 2021
I found this book super informative in terms of recognizing white saviorship. When white activists get the most media attention, it's easy for me, as an ally who is white, to want to replicate that experience because it's what I know. This was a good education in catching the problematic results from good intentioned activism and how to look towards the people actually doing the grassroots organizing and actually experiencing the problems for the best solutions to fit them.
December 22, 2020
A well-researched overview and argument for decentralized grassroots organizing. It’s also a great jumping off point on topics from prison abolition to Teach for America.
August 26, 2023
A must-read for anyone working in the non-profit, social justice, advocacy space. And probably a must-read for all white people regardless!
July 23, 2024
fantastic. Principled and precise writing from a white comrade that has clearly been devoted to the deep study and deep practice of better worlds
March 28, 2017
I was expecting this to be another book about the movement written by an over-analyzing intellectual who has never seen the front lines of anything. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find a thoughtful series of essays written by an activist with actual life experience. Flaherty has published a number of books and articles, was the first reporter to bring the Jena Six case to a national audience, and is the only journalist identified as a subject in the NYPD's spying programs. It's obvious from his writing that he has more at stake than just the prospect of a nice paycheck.
No More Heroes, using many examples from around the world, breaks down and dissects the savior mentality, a problem committed disproportionately, or almost exclusively, by white people in activist communities. Flaherty drives home the point that white people, when joining a cause, need to learn how to be a part of something and take our cues from people whose lives are being directly affected, without the declawing that comes with white guilt. As he says it: “The prototypical savior is a person who has been raised in privilege and taught implicity or explicitly (or both) that they possess the answers and skills needed to rescue others, no matter the situation.”
Brandon Darby in New Orleans is used as one of the multiple, concrete examples of the white savior complex. Darby is someone who wasn't from New Orleans, but went to help after Katrina. Although providing necessary resources, he thought he was there to teach people who had grown up in the struggle how to get shit done. He was made such a hero by his fellow white people that the allegations of him sexually assaulting multiple women were able to be swept under the rug.
Among the many other examples, the one that stands out the most to me is when Mario Van Peebles was attempting to make the movie “Panther.” He was told by studio executive after studio executive that he needed a white lead. One exec even suggested that he focus on a white person who would meet some black youth and teach them to stand up for themselves. These men would later become the Black Panthers. The importance of having a white lead (even if the main character was a person of color in real life) plays right into creating and maintaining the white savior complex.
The last few essays focused more on what white people can do to be good accomplices. The main idea I drew from this portion of the book is that “Support means using whatever privilege and access you have to influence the systems that have power over the lives of others.”
No More Heroes, using many examples from around the world, breaks down and dissects the savior mentality, a problem committed disproportionately, or almost exclusively, by white people in activist communities. Flaherty drives home the point that white people, when joining a cause, need to learn how to be a part of something and take our cues from people whose lives are being directly affected, without the declawing that comes with white guilt. As he says it: “The prototypical savior is a person who has been raised in privilege and taught implicity or explicitly (or both) that they possess the answers and skills needed to rescue others, no matter the situation.”
Brandon Darby in New Orleans is used as one of the multiple, concrete examples of the white savior complex. Darby is someone who wasn't from New Orleans, but went to help after Katrina. Although providing necessary resources, he thought he was there to teach people who had grown up in the struggle how to get shit done. He was made such a hero by his fellow white people that the allegations of him sexually assaulting multiple women were able to be swept under the rug.
Among the many other examples, the one that stands out the most to me is when Mario Van Peebles was attempting to make the movie “Panther.” He was told by studio executive after studio executive that he needed a white lead. One exec even suggested that he focus on a white person who would meet some black youth and teach them to stand up for themselves. These men would later become the Black Panthers. The importance of having a white lead (even if the main character was a person of color in real life) plays right into creating and maintaining the white savior complex.
The last few essays focused more on what white people can do to be good accomplices. The main idea I drew from this portion of the book is that “Support means using whatever privilege and access you have to influence the systems that have power over the lives of others.”
December 19, 2021
I am having a lot of emotional turmoil when writing this review. Earlier this week I was absolutely engaged and fascinated; the first two chapters are brilliant, showing how the hero-attitude is spread in time and space, from the crusades, to the military interventions, to voluntourism, to NGOs, to internet activism. Unfortunately, after a while the author ran out of steam and became - or turned out to be - exactly the type of savior he criticizes. In a book that’s very much against the ego of the helper, Jordan Flaherty doesn’t hesitate to list all the protests he’s taken part in, movements he participated in and organized; he also allows his beef with Nicholas Kristof take the front page, and soon it becomes obvious that Jordan Flaherty is very biased, and also very manipulative is his very subjective portrayal of the reality.
Especially problematic are the chapters about the sex work, that the author seems to be dangerously glamorizing. Don’t get me wrong: current approach of vilifying, arrest, or church-led repentance programs is absolutely wrong. But Jordan Flaherty sees, or worse, wants to see, only what confirms his bias. He sees sex work as mostly consensual - in his own words, sex trafficking is only a tiny fraction of the whole human trafficking issue, I don’t know what kind of argument is that, shall we ignore it then? Flaherty gives examples of sassy, entrepreneurial women who treat sex as source of income and either isn’t aware of or ignores the dark web, the drugs, the kidnappings. It is more important to look woke and not like others instead of really tackling the issue, oh irony.
It could have been an important book, but Jordan Flaherty’s ego was more important.
Especially problematic are the chapters about the sex work, that the author seems to be dangerously glamorizing. Don’t get me wrong: current approach of vilifying, arrest, or church-led repentance programs is absolutely wrong. But Jordan Flaherty sees, or worse, wants to see, only what confirms his bias. He sees sex work as mostly consensual - in his own words, sex trafficking is only a tiny fraction of the whole human trafficking issue, I don’t know what kind of argument is that, shall we ignore it then? Flaherty gives examples of sassy, entrepreneurial women who treat sex as source of income and either isn’t aware of or ignores the dark web, the drugs, the kidnappings. It is more important to look woke and not like others instead of really tackling the issue, oh irony.
It could have been an important book, but Jordan Flaherty’s ego was more important.
Read
August 22, 2016From left-wing vanguards, Teach-For-America, and charitable foundations, to the power of military interventions, Jordan Flaherty shows how rhetorics of commercial culture and corporate media re-appear as "moral" arguments to justify domination. This is an original interrogation of destructive control masquerading as "help." A personal and eclectic analysis with interesting background and helpful information.
January 12, 2018
Fantastic book for organizers of any type, but especially for white organizers or organizers in a different community than the one they are organizing in. This was a great analysis of how many times, this "savior mentality" is actually hurting people, not helping, and gives simple advise like "Listen to the people around you who are actually from that community." I especially appreciated the author's perspective on Africa and how many people who are trying to "save" Africans really think that they can come in and make a difference and that Africans just don't know what they're doing (Bill Gates comes to mind) but then they actually make things worse because they have no clue what the real problems are.
I've always been suspicious of these giant charity non-profits and this book has made me distrust every one of them even more. My eyes have also been opened to Hollywood's obsession with white saviors and I don't think I can ever watch a movie the same way again. The stories of nonprofits that are "helping" sex workers by getting them arrested and judging them, and taking their money, were really enlightening as well.
I appreciated the author's perspective and insight from being involved in many movements, and that the author was not timid in any way when it came to calling out this behavior, but at the same time had very constructive things to say about how to change it and have effective change coming from those who were actually involved.
I was tempted to join Teach for America at some point, and I am incredibly glad I did not follow that path, because it seems like a terribly condescending organization that is just taking advantage of cheap post-college labor to further destroy our public education system.
This book was a great one to read right after Hal Draper's "the Two Souls of Socialism," because essentially they are both coming at the same topic from different angles - if you are of the socialism-from-above mindset, you are also coming from the "white savior" or "hero" mindset, while the socialism-from-below mindset is all about mass movements from below, radical democracy from those who seek to gain from changes, and getting rid of the "white savior" mindset is all about this grassroots organizing.
In the portion about mass incarceration, I was glad the author said that it has to move beyond "nonviolent offenders" to include all prisoners, because no human life is worth discarding. This was one thing I felt was lacking in "the New Jim Crow" - it still seemed like she was only against the War on Drugs and the mass incarceration which followed from that, not that she actually wanted every prisoner to be emancipated.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get into some kind of charity work or anyone who is involved in organizing. It will open your eyes to many organizations' failures (like the Red Cross) and perhaps even your own, and even better, it gives concrete advice on how to learn from these failures, and provides examples of organizations that have more inclusive structures.
I've always been suspicious of these giant charity non-profits and this book has made me distrust every one of them even more. My eyes have also been opened to Hollywood's obsession with white saviors and I don't think I can ever watch a movie the same way again. The stories of nonprofits that are "helping" sex workers by getting them arrested and judging them, and taking their money, were really enlightening as well.
I appreciated the author's perspective and insight from being involved in many movements, and that the author was not timid in any way when it came to calling out this behavior, but at the same time had very constructive things to say about how to change it and have effective change coming from those who were actually involved.
I was tempted to join Teach for America at some point, and I am incredibly glad I did not follow that path, because it seems like a terribly condescending organization that is just taking advantage of cheap post-college labor to further destroy our public education system.
This book was a great one to read right after Hal Draper's "the Two Souls of Socialism," because essentially they are both coming at the same topic from different angles - if you are of the socialism-from-above mindset, you are also coming from the "white savior" or "hero" mindset, while the socialism-from-below mindset is all about mass movements from below, radical democracy from those who seek to gain from changes, and getting rid of the "white savior" mindset is all about this grassroots organizing.
In the portion about mass incarceration, I was glad the author said that it has to move beyond "nonviolent offenders" to include all prisoners, because no human life is worth discarding. This was one thing I felt was lacking in "the New Jim Crow" - it still seemed like she was only against the War on Drugs and the mass incarceration which followed from that, not that she actually wanted every prisoner to be emancipated.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get into some kind of charity work or anyone who is involved in organizing. It will open your eyes to many organizations' failures (like the Red Cross) and perhaps even your own, and even better, it gives concrete advice on how to learn from these failures, and provides examples of organizations that have more inclusive structures.
January 16, 2025
As others have mentioned, No More Heroes isn’t as useful as one might hope. Personally, I walked away feeling more confused about how to engage in ethical grassroots, social, or nonprofit action than I was before picking it up. That said, I acknowledge that’s partially on me—I have more work to do in that area.
However, this book did expand my understanding of privilege, sex trafficking, and the deeply entrenched institutionalized racism and sexism in our society. The chapter on issues in Hollywood, in particular, stood out. For me, seeing all the examples laid out in one cohesive narrative—as opposed to piecemeal over time—was eye-opening.
Unfortunately, the book’s greatest shortcoming lies in its lack of citations and sources, which undermines its credibility. It’s hard to overlook this, as it makes much of the content feel unsubstantiated. The lack of editorial oversight only compounds this problem, leaving the book feeling rough around the edges.
Here are just a few glaring examples:
Pg. 14: (3 pages into the main content, excluding the prologue) The author makes claims about Pope Urban II and the launch of the Crusades but provides no sources.
Pg. 20: A near-verbatim quote of Frederic Jameson about imagining "the end of the world before the end of capitalism" appears without citation. (For context, this quote is properly cited in Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher—a book I highly recommend: Goodreads link).
Pg. 24: The following quote made me pause: “Poppendeick writes that in NYC there were thirty emergency food providers in 1979, and more than fifteen times as many just eight years later. By 1991 that number had climbed to 730, and by 1997 nearly a thousand.” The lack of consistency and clarity here is jarring, and the failure to properly cite Poppendeick is inexcusable.
These are just a handful of examples from the first 20 pages—this pattern persists across the book’s remaining ~200 pages.
That said, there are still moments of brilliance.
My one takeaway quote:
“…privilege [is] seeing your dominance as simultaneously nonexistent and as the normal deserving order… the self-deceived premise that one’s power is acquired by being deserved and has no machinery of enforcement.”
— Sarah Schulman, as quoted in No More Heroes
However, this book did expand my understanding of privilege, sex trafficking, and the deeply entrenched institutionalized racism and sexism in our society. The chapter on issues in Hollywood, in particular, stood out. For me, seeing all the examples laid out in one cohesive narrative—as opposed to piecemeal over time—was eye-opening.
Unfortunately, the book’s greatest shortcoming lies in its lack of citations and sources, which undermines its credibility. It’s hard to overlook this, as it makes much of the content feel unsubstantiated. The lack of editorial oversight only compounds this problem, leaving the book feeling rough around the edges.
Here are just a few glaring examples:
Pg. 14: (3 pages into the main content, excluding the prologue) The author makes claims about Pope Urban II and the launch of the Crusades but provides no sources.
Pg. 20: A near-verbatim quote of Frederic Jameson about imagining "the end of the world before the end of capitalism" appears without citation. (For context, this quote is properly cited in Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher—a book I highly recommend: Goodreads link).
Pg. 24: The following quote made me pause: “Poppendeick writes that in NYC there were thirty emergency food providers in 1979, and more than fifteen times as many just eight years later. By 1991 that number had climbed to 730, and by 1997 nearly a thousand.” The lack of consistency and clarity here is jarring, and the failure to properly cite Poppendeick is inexcusable.
These are just a handful of examples from the first 20 pages—this pattern persists across the book’s remaining ~200 pages.
That said, there are still moments of brilliance.
My one takeaway quote:
“…privilege [is] seeing your dominance as simultaneously nonexistent and as the normal deserving order… the self-deceived premise that one’s power is acquired by being deserved and has no machinery of enforcement.”
— Sarah Schulman, as quoted in No More Heroes
May 27, 2019
Jordan Flaherty is a columnist- activist and offers a valuable critique of many well-meaning people of privilege who seek to do good in particularly oppressed communities but who unwittingly many times bring a savior mentality to their work. He gives numerous examples from Christian missions to Teach for America to media icons like Batman. He shows how in many social movements well-meaning people of privilege often try to turn events in ways that make them feel good and comfortable but don't address underlying injustice. He addresses many movements including Occupy, Black Lives Matter and the Sex Workers legalization movement. While at many points I felt pushed, it was a good push. However, his two chapters on the rights of sex workers not to be "rescued" seemed a bit too far. He seemed to be pitting sexism against individual rights. While I can appreciate many women don't care to be "rescued and are not really trafficked, I think Flaherty mises the complexity of the situation. However, he does make the valid point that the real issue with the sex trade is most often poverty and not immorality. He ends the book with some practical guidelines for people of privilege who want to work for justice but not fall into a savior mentality. Overall a good and challenging book for all to read.
March 11, 2024
I think the issues Flaherty brought up were important, and the voices he elevated throughout were critical to the purpose of this book. However, I found Flaherty falling into the savior mentality he himself was fighting against. He was the one who was choosing which voices to elevate, which voices were the most important to hear. While I agree it is the privileged’s duty to seek out, listen to, and uplift the voices of marginalized leaders, I don’t think this book follows those principles. Recommend books, articles, essays, research, movements, etc. by marginalized folks. I don’t find it necessary to have a white cis man write a book arguing against saviorism, when he could have just shared resources created by marginalized folks that argue his points. I’d much rather read those.
He also had a lot of personal anecdotes he used as citations. For example, he claimed that social media/Twitter played no role in the Arab Spring. When I looked at his citation for that claim, it was his own personal retelling of what he’d heard at one specific event in 2011. I’ve studied the Arab Spring through the lens of social media, and wholeheartedly disagree that it didn’t play a role.
Anyway, it was an okay book.
He also had a lot of personal anecdotes he used as citations. For example, he claimed that social media/Twitter played no role in the Arab Spring. When I looked at his citation for that claim, it was his own personal retelling of what he’d heard at one specific event in 2011. I’ve studied the Arab Spring through the lens of social media, and wholeheartedly disagree that it didn’t play a role.
Anyway, it was an okay book.
October 30, 2020
Did I start this book 3 years ago and just now finally finish it? Yes. Is that a reflection on the quality of the book? Not at all! Am I going to rate it even though I can’t remember the beginning? I sure am.
What I learned from this book is more the minutia of specific movements, which I found very interesting, and less the larger ideas around decentering privilege and the importance of movement building. I already agreed with the larger perspectives so there was no need to convince me.
I wish that I had read this book earlier in my life because I remember reading Half of the Sky years ago and, although taking issue with some of the things that were said and maybe having a yucky feeling about the overall tone, I also appreciated the breadth of the book and probably recommended it to a couple of people.
I would absolutely recommend this book though and I think that it should be mandatory reading for everyone in the social work and social justice fields.
What I learned from this book is more the minutia of specific movements, which I found very interesting, and less the larger ideas around decentering privilege and the importance of movement building. I already agreed with the larger perspectives so there was no need to convince me.
I wish that I had read this book earlier in my life because I remember reading Half of the Sky years ago and, although taking issue with some of the things that were said and maybe having a yucky feeling about the overall tone, I also appreciated the breadth of the book and probably recommended it to a couple of people.
I would absolutely recommend this book though and I think that it should be mandatory reading for everyone in the social work and social justice fields.
January 22, 2018
The core lesson of this book is that we must listen to those most affected by issues and follow their lead. Anyone who really cares about positive social change must understand this. Otherwise, we end up not really helping, as the book details in its examples.
"We can ask who are the people from this community we wish to support that are already doing the work of resistance. Finding these leaders takes more effort, because they are often working without grants or media attention, but this work helps to build a stronger movement.
...
'If you want a new society, you need to figure out a strategy where the people in leadership are the ones who have the most at stake in changing the society. The ones who are going to be the least satisfied by little victories.'"
"We can ask who are the people from this community we wish to support that are already doing the work of resistance. Finding these leaders takes more effort, because they are often working without grants or media attention, but this work helps to build a stronger movement.
...
'If you want a new society, you need to figure out a strategy where the people in leadership are the ones who have the most at stake in changing the society. The ones who are going to be the least satisfied by little victories.'"
October 2, 2017
Such an important and smart book! Flaherty really delves into the phenomenon of the saviour mentality by historically and culturally contextualising it - from hero films to journalists like Nicholas Kristof. His more recent examples - the best of which are post-Katrina New Orleans and Teach for America - explore the subject with an in-depth view of each subject. The writing is solid and engaging. The only chapter that is a bit lacking is the one on the Occupy Wall Street movement, which attempts to cover too much too quickly. Flaherty's conclusion is optimistic, but a bit too much so, perhaps, if you're reading this in the Trump era.
March 6, 2021
A major perspective-shifting read for me, giving example after example of how charity work often props up systems of oppression, making it difficult to address the root causes of the problems the charity is trying to trim back. I'm sure other authors have done as well or better at talking about these issues (a few passages seem a bit overstated or unnecessarily caustic), but for me it was so helpful, so important, and I'm thankful for the serendipity that put this book on my list. Honestly ... I won't ever see the world the same way again.
February 25, 2022
I wish this book included more information about the work that people are doing for the better, instead of chapters and chapters about what is wrong with the way that people have acted out the savior mentality in the past. Though I think it is important to learn from mistakes, a lot of this book was devoted to the wrongs that have been done. The last few chapters and the acknowledgements highlight people and organizations that are striving for a more equitable future, both socially and politically. I wish that had been expanded on and given more space to.
September 8, 2018
Fantastic book, strongly recommend. Everyone involved in activism should take the time to read this and make an evaluation of how they listen and contribute to those they are trying to help.
Jordan, through this book, explains very well how certain people are doing more harm than help due to a Savior Mentality. He helps you understand/recognize the problem, how to address it, how to do better, and more.
Jordan, through this book, explains very well how certain people are doing more harm than help due to a Savior Mentality. He helps you understand/recognize the problem, how to address it, how to do better, and more.
August 30, 2020
This is a great book that goes through real-life examples of how the ‘savior mentality’ shows ip in many different ways in our culture and how engrained it is in our country’s DNA. The only piece missing (and maybe it’s not intended in this book) is more concrete ideas/strategies to avoid and/or break away from the savior mentality. However, I highly recommend this book for anyone with privilege who wants to be a part of any movements for social change!
May 22, 2018
I really wanted to like this book, and thoroughly appreciate the first chapter. But after that, it became a consistent refrain of judgement and negativity and what seemed to be his self-righteousness. Further, in the end, he becomes exactly what he was judging so many others for being throughout this book.
Disappointing
Disappointing
September 26, 2020
-Integrative Capstone Seminar, MSW, Tulane University
- This a really interesting examination of the various types relief work done in the U.S. and globally. It critiques the "savior" mentality while also examining the manner in which the state and corporate interests manipulate it. It was enjoyable and informative read. I highly recommend it.
- This a really interesting examination of the various types relief work done in the U.S. and globally. It critiques the "savior" mentality while also examining the manner in which the state and corporate interests manipulate it. It was enjoyable and informative read. I highly recommend it.
January 21, 2018
An excelent compilation of experiences which certainly demonstrate the potential dangerous consecuences of social action without taking into account people's view. Nevertheless, the argument gets obscured by lot of poetry and romanticization of social fight and bottom to top movements.
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