What do you think?
Rate this book
Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Nonfiction (2020)Political activist and social media star Candace Owens explains all the reasons how the Democratic Party policies hurt, rather than help, the African American community, and why she and many others are turning right.
What do you have to lose? This question, posed by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to potential black voters, was mocked and dismissed by the mainstream media. But for Candace Owens and many others, it was a wake-up call. A staunch Democrat for all of her life, she began to question the left’s policies toward black Americans, and investigate the harm they inflict on the community.
In Blackout, social media star and conservative commentator Owens addresses the many ways that liberal policies and ideals are actually harmful to African Americans and hinder their ability to rise above poverty, live independent and successful lives, and be an active part of the American Dream. Weaving in her personal story that brought her from the projects to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, she demonstrates how she overcame her setbacks and challenges despite the cultural expectation that she should embrace a victim mentality.
Owens argues that government assistance is a double-edged sword, that the left dismisses the faith so important to the black community, that Democratic permissiveness toward abortion disproportionately affects the black babies, that the #MeToo movement hurts black men, and much more. Well-researched and intelligently argued, Blackout lays bare the myth that all black people should vote Democrat—and shows why turning to the right will leave them happier, more successful, and more self-sufficient.
What do you have to lose? This question, posed by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to potential black voters, was mocked and dismissed by the mainstream media. But for Candace Owens and many others, it was a wake-up call. A staunch Democrat for all of her life, she began to question the left’s policies toward black Americans, and investigate the harm they inflict on the community.
In Blackout, social media star and conservative commentator Owens addresses the many ways that liberal policies and ideals are actually harmful to African Americans and hinder their ability to rise above poverty, live independent and successful lives, and be an active part of the American Dream. Weaving in her personal story that brought her from the projects to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, she demonstrates how she overcame her setbacks and challenges despite the cultural expectation that she should embrace a victim mentality.
Owens argues that government assistance is a double-edged sword, that the left dismisses the faith so important to the black community, that Democratic permissiveness toward abortion disproportionately affects the black babies, that the #MeToo movement hurts black men, and much more. Well-researched and intelligently argued, Blackout lays bare the myth that all black people should vote Democrat—and shows why turning to the right will leave them happier, more successful, and more self-sufficient.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2020
3807 people are currently reading
15788 people want to read
About the author
Candace Owens
4 books1,053 followersCandace Owens is an American conservative commentator and political activist. She is known for her pro-Trump activism and her criticism of Black Lives Matter and of the Democratic Party. In October 2018, Owens launched the Blexit movement, a campaign to encourage African Americans to abandon the Democratic Party. She worked for the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA between 2017 and 2019. She hosts the Candace Owens Show on PragerU's YouTube channel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,165 reviews
September 28, 2020
Picked this up because I was curious what the hubbub was all about. My beliefs mostly align with liberals, but I was curious to see what her arguments were on why my philosophy on life is bad for Black people.
This book is full of bullshit.
First she agrees that Black people have it worse in many ways (poverty, incarceration, education) but then claims this is not because of systemic oppression? She claims that since Black people mostly vote dem, and these problems still exist, so it must be the dems fault? Totally ignoring the policies implemented by recent Republican presidents that led to many of these problems? And furthermore, ignoring how conservatives block any liberal-ish policy that could potentially help the underprivileged? And conservatives have held the majority of power in the past fifty years in every branch of the government, but somehow its the dems fault.
She also uses the age-old talking point of Lincoln being a Republication and Democrats wanting slavery and relating that to today's parties. But even a cursory glance at history shows that this is wildly misleading.
Then later she claims the Feminism today supports the harassment of men? Is she serious? This is a bullshit talking point that conservatives like to push. Maybe there are some insane people who call themselves a feminist that support that, but the majority just want equality. She claims that women today have equal footing and sexism doesn't exist because women have it easier in the workplace, totally ignoring the fact that even if this was true, it is because of conscious policies made by the employers to make sure women have equal footing.
This book it filled with inaccuracies, misleading facts, and out-right lies.
This book is full of bullshit.
First she agrees that Black people have it worse in many ways (poverty, incarceration, education) but then claims this is not because of systemic oppression? She claims that since Black people mostly vote dem, and these problems still exist, so it must be the dems fault? Totally ignoring the policies implemented by recent Republican presidents that led to many of these problems? And furthermore, ignoring how conservatives block any liberal-ish policy that could potentially help the underprivileged? And conservatives have held the majority of power in the past fifty years in every branch of the government, but somehow its the dems fault.
She also uses the age-old talking point of Lincoln being a Republication and Democrats wanting slavery and relating that to today's parties. But even a cursory glance at history shows that this is wildly misleading.
Then later she claims the Feminism today supports the harassment of men? Is she serious? This is a bullshit talking point that conservatives like to push. Maybe there are some insane people who call themselves a feminist that support that, but the majority just want equality. She claims that women today have equal footing and sexism doesn't exist because women have it easier in the workplace, totally ignoring the fact that even if this was true, it is because of conscious policies made by the employers to make sure women have equal footing.
This book it filled with inaccuracies, misleading facts, and out-right lies.
September 23, 2020
I've read this book, AND...I'm black! So I hope my review offers some objective balance to the nonsense here.
I liked the book and I thought Candace Owens did an admirable job of outlining many -if not all- of the reasons why blacks should have left the Democrat party and the misguided aims of leftism years ago. I in fact, left more than 20 years ago, long before Ms. Owens was even old enough to have a political opinion, and I left for many of the self-same reasons she outlined.
I didn't read this book looking for new ideas, as my political exit from the Democrat plantation was largely influenced by Thomas Sowell and Walter E. Williams. These men are true intellectual giants whose exposition and rational presentation of the problems leftism imposes on black people are what started my shift towards a more conservative outlook when I was in my early 20s. This book stands on the shoulders of those men, but it is written for a newer generation.
I do have a critique. The first is that the book could have been much better with a ruthless editor's pen. I encountered quite a few sentences that could have used the friendship of commas, and even a couple of misspellings, but no more than two or three. One of the issues I have encountered as an editor is that many people's writing mimics their speech. What is perfectly intelligible in the context of a verbal conversation often requires more care when translated into writing. This is why I wish Mrs. Owens had a more ruthless editor.
However, the overarching theme of the book, and the ideas presented are spot on. I agree that more black people should read it. Even if you don't agree fully, there are plenty of areas where a more well-rounded historical education would be helpful to the black community. We've been largely misled by both the education system and the media in the name of Democrat party allegiance, and the results speak for themselves.
Leaving the Democrat party does not mean wholesale embracing of the Republican party. It might, but it may not. We owe it to ourselves to know who our friends really are, and are not. The real truth is that we are our own worst enemy, and we are the only ones who can turn things around for the better in our family and communities.
Whether you love Candace Owens or hate her, at LEAST she's not begging white America (the same white America that is supposedly oppressing her), to harness its collective white guilt and do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
And make no mistake, that is exactly what the democrat party thinks about us. God bless Candace Owens for calling them out for the racist hypocrites that they are.
I liked the book and I thought Candace Owens did an admirable job of outlining many -if not all- of the reasons why blacks should have left the Democrat party and the misguided aims of leftism years ago. I in fact, left more than 20 years ago, long before Ms. Owens was even old enough to have a political opinion, and I left for many of the self-same reasons she outlined.
I didn't read this book looking for new ideas, as my political exit from the Democrat plantation was largely influenced by Thomas Sowell and Walter E. Williams. These men are true intellectual giants whose exposition and rational presentation of the problems leftism imposes on black people are what started my shift towards a more conservative outlook when I was in my early 20s. This book stands on the shoulders of those men, but it is written for a newer generation.
I do have a critique. The first is that the book could have been much better with a ruthless editor's pen. I encountered quite a few sentences that could have used the friendship of commas, and even a couple of misspellings, but no more than two or three. One of the issues I have encountered as an editor is that many people's writing mimics their speech. What is perfectly intelligible in the context of a verbal conversation often requires more care when translated into writing. This is why I wish Mrs. Owens had a more ruthless editor.
However, the overarching theme of the book, and the ideas presented are spot on. I agree that more black people should read it. Even if you don't agree fully, there are plenty of areas where a more well-rounded historical education would be helpful to the black community. We've been largely misled by both the education system and the media in the name of Democrat party allegiance, and the results speak for themselves.
Leaving the Democrat party does not mean wholesale embracing of the Republican party. It might, but it may not. We owe it to ourselves to know who our friends really are, and are not. The real truth is that we are our own worst enemy, and we are the only ones who can turn things around for the better in our family and communities.
Whether you love Candace Owens or hate her, at LEAST she's not begging white America (the same white America that is supposedly oppressing her), to harness its collective white guilt and do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
And make no mistake, that is exactly what the democrat party thinks about us. God bless Candace Owens for calling them out for the racist hypocrites that they are.
July 6, 2021
I agree with the other reviewer's comment. The book is not released yet. Who the heck are giving one star ratings already. So I am giving it a five star to balance the baseless negative reviews.
July 1, 2020
The white folks going gaga over one black person not calling them out.
December 20, 2019
So a book predominantly for us black ppl is being rated/recommended mainly by white ppl for other black people ‘to-read’ simply because they like her. Ok...got it. As Randy from American Idol would say...”its a NO for me dawg!”.... and I’m black. That college dropout will have to earn her money from the same ones recommending us blacks “to-read” it. From there we’ll see just how well the majority of our black community receives this message.
November 26, 2020
What an incredible and strong voice! Candace is truly one of the most brilliant mouthpieces of my generation, and I would love to sit down and have a conversation with her and pick her mind. She has been demonized so much for staying true to her beliefs and upbringing but has never wavered or backed down. That’s definitely something to aspire to. The points she makes are spot on, and she provides the sources for anyone who may doubt their accuracy. Just for how well-written and well-worded this book is, I think it is probably my favorite memoir-type book I’ve ever read. I do wish there was a little more HER in it, as far as learning more about her life, but perhaps she focused on the now to keep her privacy, which I understand.
September 16, 2020
I’ll start by saying that, politically, I’d consider myself a moderate. As such, I try to listen to ideas on both sides and see what makes sense to me. That’s the main reason I picked this one up. I’d heard of Owens before but had never really consumed any of her content. Thus, I was curious to learn more about her here.
Though I don’t agree with everything she says in this book, I do think she presents a fairly legitimate counter view of what’s often fed to us through mainstream media. Her discussions here attempt to change our perspectives on topics such as socialism, handouts, and victimization.
Being a person of privilege, I really can’t say how correct or incorrect she is in her arguments — I can only say they seem logical and well-researched. The one that resonated with me the most was her denouncement of socialism. There, she says our pursuit of it has pushed us to give up our faith in exchange for faith in big government (and that such a pursuit has had large, unintended consequences).
There are many other interesting arguments that she makes here as well, many of which, I think, hold water. Thus, overall, I’ll say I thought this was a refreshing and stimulating book. Moreover, and in that light, I'd recommend it to those on the right or in the middle.
-Brian Sachetta
Author of “Get Out of Your Head”
Though I don’t agree with everything she says in this book, I do think she presents a fairly legitimate counter view of what’s often fed to us through mainstream media. Her discussions here attempt to change our perspectives on topics such as socialism, handouts, and victimization.
Being a person of privilege, I really can’t say how correct or incorrect she is in her arguments — I can only say they seem logical and well-researched. The one that resonated with me the most was her denouncement of socialism. There, she says our pursuit of it has pushed us to give up our faith in exchange for faith in big government (and that such a pursuit has had large, unintended consequences).
There are many other interesting arguments that she makes here as well, many of which, I think, hold water. Thus, overall, I’ll say I thought this was a refreshing and stimulating book. Moreover, and in that light, I'd recommend it to those on the right or in the middle.
-Brian Sachetta
Author of “Get Out of Your Head”
June 11, 2020
Divisive rhetoric based on a slanted and contextually false narrative that the current Democrat Party is the same party as the “Southern Dixiecrats”. The argument about Republican/Democrat policy about slaves during the Civil War becomes problematic when you realize that Lincoln was a Republican & his VP Johnson was a Democrat (and they were elected under the National Union Party which consisted of cross sections of all parties). Anyone who truly wants to learn about the history of our country and how the problems we face today stem from hundreds of years of decisions (both good & bad) should avoid reading anything like this book because it is propaganda intended to mislead the readers with half-truths and blurred context. The damage to the education of US citizens from biased authors hoping to make a dollar is the greatest threat to our society.
September 23, 2020
If you enjoy half truths and opinions masquerading as facts, this is for you otherwise don’t waste your time and money.
December 10, 2019
I agree with the other reviewer's comment. The book is not released from Publishing. Who without reading this book has giving it a "one star rating" already. So I am giving it a Five Star to balance the Baseless Negative Reviews.
September 20, 2019
Typical tripe from a head in the sand “warrior” whose aims are only self serving and trite.
April 17, 2020
What do blacks have to lose by joining the GOP with Trump at the helm?
Well.. based on the statistics for COVID19 and the clusterfv#$ way the Republicans are handling it...AND the debt and the economy...I would say we have our lives to lose.
The problem with books like this one is that they START from a place of disrespect and hinge on that to leverage their position.
That is the white Republican way. You lose us by tenor and verbiage, first.
I saw nothing in the book that was not regurgitated far right diatribe. Some was actually true but HOW a message is delivered matters.
Candace writes in the traditional ugliness that is the GOP. The filthy. GOP cup does not become potable just because black hands proffer it.
Candace channels Hannity, Trump, O'Reilly rt al ad nauseum.
She repackages what has already been said.
Why do whites think this is an effective strategy? Did we gravitate to Clarence Thomas? Condi Rice? Colin Powell?
Heard it all before.
It is like Ms Owens has had a great meal that she really enjoyed and she wants to share it.
Not able to get blacks to her restaurant, she has this great idea to vomit up her own meal and offer it to us.
No thank you. Dogs eat their own vomit. Blacks are not going to swallow this. We are not dogs.
Candace, (like many whites on the right) operates from a certain perspective. In doing so, she either is tone deaf to her roots or has forgotten them.
To dialogue wirh a group, you must try to see their perspective.
Whites lose and so do their pet blacks when you try to convince minorities, one type of white is better than the other.
Most blacks do not buy into the historical evil of Democrats in the past 150 to 100 years while ignoring the modern evils of the Republicans post 1973.
We also have lived in Republican states , worked in Republican owned businesses , waited on Trumpists and Neo cons and have personal anecdotal evidence of white Republican racism...to this day
Every good black momma tells her kids to never trust anyone who elevate themselves by standing on the necks of others.
It is a craven move and a standard Republican tactic.
That is the GOP in a nutshell and Trumpian philosophy. Most blacks...will not read this book.
It starts out ugly. It does not give hope or strategies, it targets, rages, and spits venom. It does not unite, it divides, does not build up it tears down. It is the rage and covetousness the disinfranchised carry for the haves.
Or rather the rage and covetousness demagogues FEED to the disenfranchised.
But it fails to factor in a very anomalous trait of Blacks*
Except there is a disconnect here that Candace has forgotten*
This has been the unfortunate M.O of the Republican party since 1973.
The trajectory is down.
Sadly after years of rolling in the mud and digging themselves philosophically and idealogically into deeper , pedantic holes...the GOP have no idea which way is up.
I have never been a Democrat.
I have never been a Republican either. They both appear deluded and tone deaf to me and I have been voting since 1982.
Always an Independent.
Here is truth:
Though both may mean well, one group wants to save the world/planet by giving to the poor until they destroy it by taking from those willing to work hard for it. Thereby destroying incentive.
A crutch never lets a person learn to stand on their own two feet. It makes them weaker and atrophies greatness.
That is socialism no matter how well meaning.
On the other hand: evil is its own reward. The Republican party under Trump has embraced/reveled in chaos, disruption, elements of graft, treason, corruption, fixed juficiary, potential crimes, intrigue...disrespect, incompetency. Sheer ugliness.
Their goal is not smaller government, it is to have their own way and to never leave power by using government to tyrannize everyone else.
In short, Republicans want everyone to live the Republican version of their lives and to enforce that by laws.
That is tyranny. No matter how well meaning.
What is the GOP end game?
What do blacks have to lose by joining the Republican party?
Maybe self respect. Decency. A moral compass. Compassion. Individuality. Autonomy. Humanity.
..and someone please tell MS Candace that true racial enlightenment comes when I am seen as a person, not a vote, as a person, not a skin color. A person, not a gender. A person. Not a demographic
Stop trying to have domeone who looks like me convince me about politics like I (and othet blacks) are natives in a Tarzan flick.
Stop trying to appeal to me by race and do so by policies..
When I am treated and perceived like everyone else. We can talk.
Until then, I will not entertain all the ish swilling around on the right since 1973.
Hete is enlightenment to any white from either side of the aisle about Black people:
Blacks are NOT a monolith. We come from all types of backgrounds, education and social classes.
*There is one innate trait that runs deep within the black cultural psyche and informs everything from street life to politics:
RESPECT. It is EVERYTHING to a people who on the surface seem to posess little of it and are afforded even less by most races.
So we give ourselves respect. On a level many whites cannot understand.
*Blackdom has its own rules for respect and it is important to understand these unspoken rules to even communicate with most of us.
Respect is the 1 idea no one can take away from a black person.
You cannot buy it. It takes a lot to trick us out of it
We know we each have to throw it away. It is a choice.
Most of us will not sell it to the GOP.
It sustains us as a people when rvetything else seems lost. Many of us will die for it, some of us will kill for it. Only a few of us are willing to sell it.
The price is too high. We see whites paying it. A sort of soul selling/destruction under Trump..
Aretha and most artists sing about it.
It is a current that is behind certain inexplicable behaviors in our race:
A black thug, no matter how gangster RARELY harms his/her parents or his siblings.
Rarely harms their mother. Rarely harms their siblings. By contrast the white race has many examples of patricide, matricide, fratricide... why is that?
Blacks are often killed by police. Sometimes for faiiing to obey an order, or for fighting back, talking back, refusing to kowtow, or bend. Why is that?
Blacks will often circle the wagons around prodigal blacks who get in trouble with the law or media, even if said person has abandoned the black community. Why is that?
Blacks will throw oero cookies at, disrespect, belittle, not support Republican blacks. Why is that?
Black males who would never harm their siblings or mother might harm their gf/spouse or kids. Why is that?
Blacks will not even give the GOP a chance even though in truth, the GOP is RIGHT about the traps of welfare and much of what they say about a plantation mentality and practices. (Except they omit they are also just another mental plantation) Why is that?
Because after 1973, the Republican party began the Southern strategy.
From the David Dukes/Aryan Nation being in the GOP to attack ads using black crime, welfare queens, affirmative action, Willie Horton. Dog whistle ads etc, Minorities pay a price that far exceeds an election.
Because of those ads, every black could be and were often mistreated and the white racist behavior excused because as a black, mistreating us was justified. All year long. Every year.
We do not forgive that easily.
HERE IS WISDOM: What is a tactic during a political contest for whites is an UNFORGIVEABLE SIN to most blacks and other minorities.
Because the damage/perception/maltreatnent due to whites brlieving the ads is longlasting.
We do not forget. We do not forgive. We tell our children about what the GOP has done.
They live it with pictures of nooses and ugly emails, caustic social media, nadty confrontations.
When you mistreat a black icon, blacks as a collective take it personally.
When you trot out a black token, blacks as a collective see it as a dog on your leash.
All the things said and done to the Obamas that played off of ethnicity or race? Blacks as a collective remember and do not forgive the GOP for.
Because to do THAT to one of us impacts all of us.
We see it as symbolic disrespect to all blacks.
McCain accused of fathering a black child, Willie Horton held up as "a black man did it", A black welfare queen, Michelle Obama jeered as a man or gorilla...ALL unforgiveable. ALL disrespectful to the black race.
We also SEE and do not forgive the mistreatment of other minorities by white Republicans. Knowing full well what Republicans say and do to one of us they will do to ALL of us. Especially blacks.
We feel this way about whites invading Iraq or targeting hispanics and Muslims too: just rvil, racist Republicans targeting people of color.
Once disrespected. We have beef. That means we do not forgive.
Slavery was something ALL whites benefitted from Borth or South (raw matetials from the South were canned, made into clothing, etc in the North)
Later, white immigrants benefitted. We are not stupid.
Blacks have moved on from most of that.
Excrpt whites haven't. Whites bring it up and the flag they cannot let go of even though it represents treason.
Bringing it up as "Lincoln freed the slaves" while embracing Confederate flags and having the Klan in the GOP is a disconnect , bi polar, and silly.
We do not forget. Every time a Republican conference, politician or policy disrespects or harms blacks...we do not forgive it and it goes on the stack.
Of course a few join your party. They say what you want them to say. "Cooning" is when a black behaves in a certain way usually ignorant, or disingenuous to please certain white people for money or power.
There is no self respect in that.
Those who do these things are viewed as being for sale and get no respect.
Blacks are actually extremely intelligent as a group.
We are also extremely observant.
The one thing that is not for sale is our sense of respect.
You cannot shoot, beat, molest, our children then buy us with 12/hr jobs or convince us with plantation exhortations.
Democrats act like they respect blacks more than Republicans. It may just be an act but they seem more real than the GOP.
Oh. You can buy a few but not many. Because it requires a disrespect of ourselves to dismiss certain actions for money.
It requires a certain perversion of awareness.
Republicans cannot use black tokens to persuade blacks to join their party.
It does not work. Though the pet blacks will never admit that.
Because we disown tokens. We despise them and they despise us.
The very idea that Republicans think that would work is disrespectful.
"MY African American"..."our blacks" like we are back to being property of someone. Disrespectful.
The way certain blacks act/coon might feed the Republican idea of a "good black" because it reinforces stereotypes.
It is disrespectful and those who act like that try to change up when not among whites or have to steer clear of black culture.
Republicans as a political party have no self respect, no sense of honor, no integrity and no dignity. Lost concepts..
I say that, as the party fawns all over Trump who is neither intelligent, decent , honest, or respectful.
Yet Republicans adore him. He embraces and demonstrates some of the ugliest behavior of humanity. Yet Republicans defend, cling to and protect him.
If EVER anyone wonders why blacks do not turn in black criminals, distrust police, or excuses bad behavior look at Trump. What the GOP does for Trump, Blacks do for other blacks in the hood.
Same dysfunction.
Same wagon circling. Same justifications.
So back to Candace. Blacks DESPISE tokens.
Candace is a GOP token.
If the GOP ran a black man or woman for President, most blacks would NOT vote for them**
Most really hate the Republucan party. All the evil of it. The embracing of so much lying, back stabbing, no honor or integrity. Note I said HATE not dislike.
They cannot buy black love. We can take their jobs, benefits, etc and still hate you and vote against you.
Blacks as a group are pretty conservative but most are also Christians. The attitudes, ideology, politics, behavior and mindset of the GOP is antithetical to Christianity.
We are smart people. You cannot claim to be Christlike and harm foreigners, cage children, disrespect the military, disrespect institutions, pathologically lie, coddle terrorists and dictators and win our support.
We want order and decency. Are Republicans decent? We want honor and integrity. Are Republicans honorable? We want loyalty to America? We want honesty.
We understand politicians lie but not all the time. Are Republicans truthful? Trump is not.
We want decorum and respect for all people and institutions...**
See where is this going? From renditions to Trump..the GOP embodies very little of what blacks want.
They think we want money.
Yes we do..but not to the exclusion of decency, order and respect.
Not in a vacuum that disregards our everyday treatment by self proclaimed Republicans.
We understand about Democratic history, we do not need a black token or the GOP to explain it to us.
Thst will not change our alkegiance. Only time and proof can change that.
Most of us DO NOT LIKE what we see in Trump and Republicans acting like craven sycophants to him does not inspire.
We don't want to catch what has currently infected the GOP and will surely lead them to hell
We also SEE what is going on NOW.
We do not like the GOP trying to gaslight us.
Yes. I am a child of the 60s.
I remember very well, the actions, attitudes and behavior of the democratic racists.
I also remember when these same racists migrated to the GOP and helped formed the infrastructure of what is now the party of Trump.
Only the sleeping and the new can be fooled.
I AM WOKE and I ain't new.
Candace would not shill for the GOP if there was not money/prestige in it for her.
I would wish her best of luck but it would be hollow.
To the GOP: may ALL your future victories be pyrrhic and Karma ravage you. May you reap what you sow. ALL OF IT
Now THAT should be a scary thought.
For what you have allowed Trump to do to America may you be cursed and it follow you generations within generations until you admit and repent from this abomination.
**Up until 2018, I often voted for Republicans. I may never do so again.in my lifetime . The filth of Trump and what the Republican party has allowed him to do on the world stage and to our government are unforgiveable and I hold the entire Republican party responsible for Trump as they have enabled him.
Disgusting. I skimmed most of it. Waste of time. Like partaking of leprosy. It can only contaminate. I'm throwing this in the trash.
Have a nice day!!
Well.. based on the statistics for COVID19 and the clusterfv#$ way the Republicans are handling it...AND the debt and the economy...I would say we have our lives to lose.
The problem with books like this one is that they START from a place of disrespect and hinge on that to leverage their position.
That is the white Republican way. You lose us by tenor and verbiage, first.
I saw nothing in the book that was not regurgitated far right diatribe. Some was actually true but HOW a message is delivered matters.
Candace writes in the traditional ugliness that is the GOP. The filthy. GOP cup does not become potable just because black hands proffer it.
Candace channels Hannity, Trump, O'Reilly rt al ad nauseum.
She repackages what has already been said.
Why do whites think this is an effective strategy? Did we gravitate to Clarence Thomas? Condi Rice? Colin Powell?
Heard it all before.
It is like Ms Owens has had a great meal that she really enjoyed and she wants to share it.
Not able to get blacks to her restaurant, she has this great idea to vomit up her own meal and offer it to us.
No thank you. Dogs eat their own vomit. Blacks are not going to swallow this. We are not dogs.
Candace, (like many whites on the right) operates from a certain perspective. In doing so, she either is tone deaf to her roots or has forgotten them.
To dialogue wirh a group, you must try to see their perspective.
Whites lose and so do their pet blacks when you try to convince minorities, one type of white is better than the other.
Most blacks do not buy into the historical evil of Democrats in the past 150 to 100 years while ignoring the modern evils of the Republicans post 1973.
We also have lived in Republican states , worked in Republican owned businesses , waited on Trumpists and Neo cons and have personal anecdotal evidence of white Republican racism...to this day
Every good black momma tells her kids to never trust anyone who elevate themselves by standing on the necks of others.
It is a craven move and a standard Republican tactic.
That is the GOP in a nutshell and Trumpian philosophy. Most blacks...will not read this book.
It starts out ugly. It does not give hope or strategies, it targets, rages, and spits venom. It does not unite, it divides, does not build up it tears down. It is the rage and covetousness the disinfranchised carry for the haves.
Or rather the rage and covetousness demagogues FEED to the disenfranchised.
But it fails to factor in a very anomalous trait of Blacks*
Except there is a disconnect here that Candace has forgotten*
This has been the unfortunate M.O of the Republican party since 1973.
The trajectory is down.
Sadly after years of rolling in the mud and digging themselves philosophically and idealogically into deeper , pedantic holes...the GOP have no idea which way is up.
I have never been a Democrat.
I have never been a Republican either. They both appear deluded and tone deaf to me and I have been voting since 1982.
Always an Independent.
Here is truth:
Though both may mean well, one group wants to save the world/planet by giving to the poor until they destroy it by taking from those willing to work hard for it. Thereby destroying incentive.
A crutch never lets a person learn to stand on their own two feet. It makes them weaker and atrophies greatness.
That is socialism no matter how well meaning.
On the other hand: evil is its own reward. The Republican party under Trump has embraced/reveled in chaos, disruption, elements of graft, treason, corruption, fixed juficiary, potential crimes, intrigue...disrespect, incompetency. Sheer ugliness.
Their goal is not smaller government, it is to have their own way and to never leave power by using government to tyrannize everyone else.
In short, Republicans want everyone to live the Republican version of their lives and to enforce that by laws.
That is tyranny. No matter how well meaning.
What is the GOP end game?
What do blacks have to lose by joining the Republican party?
Maybe self respect. Decency. A moral compass. Compassion. Individuality. Autonomy. Humanity.
..and someone please tell MS Candace that true racial enlightenment comes when I am seen as a person, not a vote, as a person, not a skin color. A person, not a gender. A person. Not a demographic
Stop trying to have domeone who looks like me convince me about politics like I (and othet blacks) are natives in a Tarzan flick.
Stop trying to appeal to me by race and do so by policies..
When I am treated and perceived like everyone else. We can talk.
Until then, I will not entertain all the ish swilling around on the right since 1973.
Hete is enlightenment to any white from either side of the aisle about Black people:
Blacks are NOT a monolith. We come from all types of backgrounds, education and social classes.
*There is one innate trait that runs deep within the black cultural psyche and informs everything from street life to politics:
RESPECT. It is EVERYTHING to a people who on the surface seem to posess little of it and are afforded even less by most races.
So we give ourselves respect. On a level many whites cannot understand.
*Blackdom has its own rules for respect and it is important to understand these unspoken rules to even communicate with most of us.
Respect is the 1 idea no one can take away from a black person.
You cannot buy it. It takes a lot to trick us out of it
We know we each have to throw it away. It is a choice.
Most of us will not sell it to the GOP.
It sustains us as a people when rvetything else seems lost. Many of us will die for it, some of us will kill for it. Only a few of us are willing to sell it.
The price is too high. We see whites paying it. A sort of soul selling/destruction under Trump..
Aretha and most artists sing about it.
It is a current that is behind certain inexplicable behaviors in our race:
A black thug, no matter how gangster RARELY harms his/her parents or his siblings.
Rarely harms their mother. Rarely harms their siblings. By contrast the white race has many examples of patricide, matricide, fratricide... why is that?
Blacks are often killed by police. Sometimes for faiiing to obey an order, or for fighting back, talking back, refusing to kowtow, or bend. Why is that?
Blacks will often circle the wagons around prodigal blacks who get in trouble with the law or media, even if said person has abandoned the black community. Why is that?
Blacks will throw oero cookies at, disrespect, belittle, not support Republican blacks. Why is that?
Black males who would never harm their siblings or mother might harm their gf/spouse or kids. Why is that?
Blacks will not even give the GOP a chance even though in truth, the GOP is RIGHT about the traps of welfare and much of what they say about a plantation mentality and practices. (Except they omit they are also just another mental plantation) Why is that?
Because after 1973, the Republican party began the Southern strategy.
From the David Dukes/Aryan Nation being in the GOP to attack ads using black crime, welfare queens, affirmative action, Willie Horton. Dog whistle ads etc, Minorities pay a price that far exceeds an election.
Because of those ads, every black could be and were often mistreated and the white racist behavior excused because as a black, mistreating us was justified. All year long. Every year.
We do not forgive that easily.
HERE IS WISDOM: What is a tactic during a political contest for whites is an UNFORGIVEABLE SIN to most blacks and other minorities.
Because the damage/perception/maltreatnent due to whites brlieving the ads is longlasting.
We do not forget. We do not forgive. We tell our children about what the GOP has done.
They live it with pictures of nooses and ugly emails, caustic social media, nadty confrontations.
When you mistreat a black icon, blacks as a collective take it personally.
When you trot out a black token, blacks as a collective see it as a dog on your leash.
All the things said and done to the Obamas that played off of ethnicity or race? Blacks as a collective remember and do not forgive the GOP for.
Because to do THAT to one of us impacts all of us.
We see it as symbolic disrespect to all blacks.
McCain accused of fathering a black child, Willie Horton held up as "a black man did it", A black welfare queen, Michelle Obama jeered as a man or gorilla...ALL unforgiveable. ALL disrespectful to the black race.
We also SEE and do not forgive the mistreatment of other minorities by white Republicans. Knowing full well what Republicans say and do to one of us they will do to ALL of us. Especially blacks.
We feel this way about whites invading Iraq or targeting hispanics and Muslims too: just rvil, racist Republicans targeting people of color.
Once disrespected. We have beef. That means we do not forgive.
Slavery was something ALL whites benefitted from Borth or South (raw matetials from the South were canned, made into clothing, etc in the North)
Later, white immigrants benefitted. We are not stupid.
Blacks have moved on from most of that.
Excrpt whites haven't. Whites bring it up and the flag they cannot let go of even though it represents treason.
Bringing it up as "Lincoln freed the slaves" while embracing Confederate flags and having the Klan in the GOP is a disconnect , bi polar, and silly.
We do not forget. Every time a Republican conference, politician or policy disrespects or harms blacks...we do not forgive it and it goes on the stack.
Of course a few join your party. They say what you want them to say. "Cooning" is when a black behaves in a certain way usually ignorant, or disingenuous to please certain white people for money or power.
There is no self respect in that.
Those who do these things are viewed as being for sale and get no respect.
Blacks are actually extremely intelligent as a group.
We are also extremely observant.
The one thing that is not for sale is our sense of respect.
You cannot shoot, beat, molest, our children then buy us with 12/hr jobs or convince us with plantation exhortations.
Democrats act like they respect blacks more than Republicans. It may just be an act but they seem more real than the GOP.
Oh. You can buy a few but not many. Because it requires a disrespect of ourselves to dismiss certain actions for money.
It requires a certain perversion of awareness.
Republicans cannot use black tokens to persuade blacks to join their party.
It does not work. Though the pet blacks will never admit that.
Because we disown tokens. We despise them and they despise us.
The very idea that Republicans think that would work is disrespectful.
"MY African American"..."our blacks" like we are back to being property of someone. Disrespectful.
The way certain blacks act/coon might feed the Republican idea of a "good black" because it reinforces stereotypes.
It is disrespectful and those who act like that try to change up when not among whites or have to steer clear of black culture.
Republicans as a political party have no self respect, no sense of honor, no integrity and no dignity. Lost concepts..
I say that, as the party fawns all over Trump who is neither intelligent, decent , honest, or respectful.
Yet Republicans adore him. He embraces and demonstrates some of the ugliest behavior of humanity. Yet Republicans defend, cling to and protect him.
If EVER anyone wonders why blacks do not turn in black criminals, distrust police, or excuses bad behavior look at Trump. What the GOP does for Trump, Blacks do for other blacks in the hood.
Same dysfunction.
Same wagon circling. Same justifications.
So back to Candace. Blacks DESPISE tokens.
Candace is a GOP token.
If the GOP ran a black man or woman for President, most blacks would NOT vote for them**
Most really hate the Republucan party. All the evil of it. The embracing of so much lying, back stabbing, no honor or integrity. Note I said HATE not dislike.
They cannot buy black love. We can take their jobs, benefits, etc and still hate you and vote against you.
Blacks as a group are pretty conservative but most are also Christians. The attitudes, ideology, politics, behavior and mindset of the GOP is antithetical to Christianity.
We are smart people. You cannot claim to be Christlike and harm foreigners, cage children, disrespect the military, disrespect institutions, pathologically lie, coddle terrorists and dictators and win our support.
We want order and decency. Are Republicans decent? We want honor and integrity. Are Republicans honorable? We want loyalty to America? We want honesty.
We understand politicians lie but not all the time. Are Republicans truthful? Trump is not.
We want decorum and respect for all people and institutions...**
See where is this going? From renditions to Trump..the GOP embodies very little of what blacks want.
They think we want money.
Yes we do..but not to the exclusion of decency, order and respect.
Not in a vacuum that disregards our everyday treatment by self proclaimed Republicans.
We understand about Democratic history, we do not need a black token or the GOP to explain it to us.
Thst will not change our alkegiance. Only time and proof can change that.
Most of us DO NOT LIKE what we see in Trump and Republicans acting like craven sycophants to him does not inspire.
We don't want to catch what has currently infected the GOP and will surely lead them to hell
We also SEE what is going on NOW.
We do not like the GOP trying to gaslight us.
Yes. I am a child of the 60s.
I remember very well, the actions, attitudes and behavior of the democratic racists.
I also remember when these same racists migrated to the GOP and helped formed the infrastructure of what is now the party of Trump.
Only the sleeping and the new can be fooled.
I AM WOKE and I ain't new.
Candace would not shill for the GOP if there was not money/prestige in it for her.
I would wish her best of luck but it would be hollow.
To the GOP: may ALL your future victories be pyrrhic and Karma ravage you. May you reap what you sow. ALL OF IT
Now THAT should be a scary thought.
For what you have allowed Trump to do to America may you be cursed and it follow you generations within generations until you admit and repent from this abomination.
**Up until 2018, I often voted for Republicans. I may never do so again.in my lifetime . The filth of Trump and what the Republican party has allowed him to do on the world stage and to our government are unforgiveable and I hold the entire Republican party responsible for Trump as they have enabled him.
Disgusting. I skimmed most of it. Waste of time. Like partaking of leprosy. It can only contaminate. I'm throwing this in the trash.
Have a nice day!!
September 29, 2020
Owens is in full blame mode the entire book. Her clear and primary goal is to appease folks that already believe what she is saying, and they just need a black friend to say it with them. She goes in to no detail regarding how conservatives are making things better, what they (or her) can offer in terms of goals, strategies, or even positive advice.
Try harder. Get a father. That's all the advice she has to offer.
At the beginning of the book, Owens declares that we need respect and manners, to stop being victims, and have faith. That's what her Grandpa taught her. At the end of the book, she declares that we need Trump, because he doesn't respect anyone and that's what we need. Nevermind his own struggles with victim mentality and obvious lack of faith.
Owens is articulate and educated, which leads me to wonder, why did she write this book? I have to admit that 3/4 of the way through, I decided to finish because maybe she was saving her advice or at least give us a glimpse into what her and other conservatives are doing to help.
Rest assured, she offers nothing of substance, a literal talking head.
This book is composed of her using a statistic she found, then directly attacking the liberals, or lying outright and claiming that the modern Dems are the very same slave owners and kkk of the past. What I did learn from this book is that she is not willing to offer actual, useful information or support for improving this country for anyone. Attack without evidence, shut down the conversation, profit.
I guess.
Try harder. Get a father. That's all the advice she has to offer.
At the beginning of the book, Owens declares that we need respect and manners, to stop being victims, and have faith. That's what her Grandpa taught her. At the end of the book, she declares that we need Trump, because he doesn't respect anyone and that's what we need. Nevermind his own struggles with victim mentality and obvious lack of faith.
Owens is articulate and educated, which leads me to wonder, why did she write this book? I have to admit that 3/4 of the way through, I decided to finish because maybe she was saving her advice or at least give us a glimpse into what her and other conservatives are doing to help.
Rest assured, she offers nothing of substance, a literal talking head.
This book is composed of her using a statistic she found, then directly attacking the liberals, or lying outright and claiming that the modern Dems are the very same slave owners and kkk of the past. What I did learn from this book is that she is not willing to offer actual, useful information or support for improving this country for anyone. Attack without evidence, shut down the conversation, profit.
I guess.
September 22, 2025
Edit: I now want to preface this review with saying I no longer support Candace. I think she turned WAY too conspiracy theorist causing hurtful drama for no reason other than to try and stay relevant and monetize any situation as possible. The girl is f*n nuts now. HOWEVER, she wrote this book before all that and I still think it is a solid read.
--------------
This book was an amazing read and was actually hard to put down, in my opinion. Candace Owens is a very well spoken individual so it's absolutely no surprise that this was a very well written book! And, of course, I can hear the whole book in her voice.
She touches on so many important topics these days and has such good points. And a lot of facts in her book are supported as she made a list of sources in back so you can look them up yourself. I always appreciate when people do that.
I love her chapter Feminism. I'm very much against it myself and have gotten into a lot of conversations about why I'm against it and how dangerous the "Believe All Women" saying actually is. And the chapter Slavery was probably the most shocking to me. There was a lot of info in there I didn't know!
Great great book. I would recommend everyone to read it!
--------------
This book was an amazing read and was actually hard to put down, in my opinion. Candace Owens is a very well spoken individual so it's absolutely no surprise that this was a very well written book! And, of course, I can hear the whole book in her voice.
She touches on so many important topics these days and has such good points. And a lot of facts in her book are supported as she made a list of sources in back so you can look them up yourself. I always appreciate when people do that.
I love her chapter Feminism. I'm very much against it myself and have gotten into a lot of conversations about why I'm against it and how dangerous the "Believe All Women" saying actually is. And the chapter Slavery was probably the most shocking to me. There was a lot of info in there I didn't know!
Great great book. I would recommend everyone to read it!
April 22, 2021
tl;dr This book is dishonest, hypocritical, and filled with sparse evidence and logical fallacies.
I’m a progressive American (raised Republican), and I read this book as an attempt to broaden my perspective and add depth to my understanding of issues. However, what I found was another “us vs them” narrative in which one party is the hero while the other is the villain. Frankly, any narrative that presents either party as pure good and the other as pure evil is extremely biased and shallow—not to mention divisive and harmful.
The great thing about books is that they don’t have to work in absolutes. Books give you tons of space and time to delve into issues and develop ideas, to provide numerous perspectives and add nuance to arguments. The problem with this book is that it does none of that. Blackout is a divisive piece of Republican propaganda that takes complex issues and reduces them into a dichotomy of extremes fighting extremes, often grossly misrepresenting and/or oversimplifying any counterarguments.
But before I go on, let me talk about some positive takeaways I got from reading this book:
1. Society is unfairly harsh toward Black conservatives. Challenging beliefs is healthy, but we need to stop judging and attacking people for thinking differently than we do.
2. Our country has a history of not coming through when it comes to Black Americans, and there’s no reason to assume it will start now—so Owens has a point here: “We cannot rely on a hopelessly inefficient and burdensome government to fix what we ourselves refuse to do.” (However, her take on this view is problematic in that she frowns on activism to push for systemic change, instead exclusively favoring the individual narrative. More on this later.)
3. Reading this book also gave me first-hand experience as to what it’s like to have your beliefs completely misrepresented at a large scale. This is a problem that occurs on BOTH sides of the aisle, and I know I’ve accidentally done it myself (thank you to my well-intentioned conservative friends who have pointed out when I’ve misrepresented their beliefs). But basically what Blackout does is take a collection of crazy, extreme “left” beliefs (no matter if anyone actually holds these beliefs), combine them into a single Frankenstein’s monster–like platform, and ascribe it to over half the United States population. The problem is, no one in this country actually believes everything Owens thinks that the entire “left” community believes, so the opponent she attacks throughout this whole book doesn’t actually exist.
Political discussions aren’t ever going to go anywhere if we keep misrepresenting each other’s arguments. They also aren’t ever going to go anywhere if we keep viewing each other as opponents instead of collaborators bringing different ideas to the table. Blackout adeptly demonstrates the toxicity in the two-party system in America and why it’s so difficult for us to make progress.
Now for some critique:
1. The “Persuasive” Writing
Remember that Candace Owens’s audience is specifically Black Democrats. She wants to help them see that they’re being blinded and manipulated by White Democrats and to encourage them to hop over to the Republican party instead. This means that her book needs to be strongly persuasive, and to do so, she needs to reach out and meet her target audience where they are and then carefully guide them toward her way of thinking.
The problem is, her book is written in such a way that the only people who will like it are people who already think what Owens thinks. She misrepresents the other side’s beliefs, attacks “straw man” arguments, irresponsibly uses studies and statistics, and fails to address any of the real reasons that people choose to vote Democrat, instead insulting the intelligence of the Black community with quotes like “In essence, black Americans were certainly not becoming more oppressed but were instead being transformed into pawns for smarter men in the pursuit of power.”
Rule number 1 of good persuasive writing: Don’t insult your audience!
In sum: This is not a persuasive book, it’s a Republican battle cry.
2. The Conservative-Biased Hypocrisies
-Owens is obsessed with accusing Democrats of victimizing Black Americans through discussions about systemic racism, yet her whole argument is based on the fact that she believes Black Americans are victims of Democrats who manipulate them for votes in order to further their sinister, racist agenda.
-Owens laughs at Democrats for challenging systemic racism, yet she gets completely on board with systemic racism that favors Republican ideals. For example, she expertly points out the concentrated placement of Planned Parenthood locations near Black neighborhoods (no discussion about the fact that Planned Parenthood is meant to serve individuals with limited access to healthcare) and how it targets Black babies, yet she is unable to recognize how the different criminal treatment of crack vs cocaine (two forms of the same drug, used predominately by Black or White Americans, respectively) targets Black men. Additionally, she’s quick to blame schools for failing to educate about individuality (a systemic failure that aligns with Republican ideals) but cannot recognize how the way we fund our schools results in lower quality education for people living in poor neighborhoods (a systemic failure that aligns with Democrat ideals). The system is not the enemy—unless, of course, a systemic argument benefits Republicans.
-She claims that Democrats were responsible for slavery, the KKK, and Jim Crow without any deeper look at the way that parties evolve over time. Yes, freed slaves were Republicans because of Lincoln. Yes, southern slaveowners were Democrats. However, she then talks about how the Democrats wooed Black voters to their party with welfare, but she ignores the transformation of southern Democrats into Republicans. Democrat and Republican had completely different meanings and completely different platforms in 1860 than they do in 2021 (go figure), so attempts to associate modern parties with past parties without discussing the complexities of party switching is dishonest and irresponsible.
-She accuses the media of believing that “Democrats are inherently blame-free and Republicans are incapable of virtue,” when the reverse is literally what this book suggests.
-She attacks “the left” for pointing out racism where it is not and claims that that’s a large reason why racism persists. However, after mocking Black people for complaining about microaggressions, she calls out Clinton and Biden as racists for talking about hot sauce and using the word “ain’t.” Now I’ll agree with her about Clinton and Biden; both of those instances were problematic. But you can’t decide that microaggressions are only valid to talk about when they’re instigated by Democrats. Basically, she calls out A LOT of people for being racist in this book, and every last one of them is a Democrat. Seems pretty party-biased to me.
-She criticizes “the left” for using statistics out of context, and in the same breath, she herself uses statistics out of context. She brings up the fact that Black men are disproportionately incarcerated when compared to White men as an example of a statistic “the left” uses out of context, and then she tries to rebut it in two sentences by telling us that Black men also commit a disproportionate number of homicides. I don’t know what “the left” she’s talking about, but entire books have been written on this topic—like The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, which is literally three times longer than Owens’s entire book. So much for “stats out of context.”
3. The Dichotomies
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, Owens regularly takes complex arguments and reduces them into simple dichotomies of two extremes. While it is certainly possible that Owens herself doesn’t actually believe all these dichotomies in real life, a meaningful book would add nuance to the discussion of different topics and develop creative solutions that do not sit at either extreme. This book does not do that. It presents one extreme, Owens’s opinion, and the other extreme, Owens’s perception of “the left” (which may or may not be fair).
Here’s a brief sampling of the dichotomies of Candace Owens as presented in Blackout:
You’re either Republican OR Democrat (AKA good OR bad)
Owens talks about a lot of people and policies in this book, but she NEVER criticizes Republicans and she NEVER praises Democrats. The reality is that both parties are deeply flawed and that every issue needs to be looked at individually and not through a party lens. She’s not wrong that Democrats have broken lots of party promises and have espoused platforms that hurt the Black community, but she’s wrong to claim that that’s evidence that Republicans aren’t just as (or more!) harmful to the Black community than Democrats are.
Republicans and Democrats BOTH have flawed platforms. Neither is purely right and neither is purely wrong.
Either you believe all women OR you believe all men
In response to metoo and the exposure of the frequency of sexual harassment and assault, Candace Owens finds it necessary to come to the defense of men. Obviously, there are problems with the “believe all women” narrative, in that it makes it very easy for women who regret a sexual encounter or who simply want to retaliate against a man to “ruin his life” by falsely accusing him of rape.
However, Owens’s discussion of the subject talks exclusively about how metoo hurts men, and even shares a handful of stories about men who have been falsely accused. Where are the stories about the women whose lives were ruined by men before they were accused of lying about their trauma—ESPECIALLY given the fact that this is a far more common problem than men being falsely accused?
A meaningful discussion on the metoo movement would absolutely take into account both sides of the coin. It would talk about the danger of false accusations, and it would talk about the repercussions of not believing women. It would search for a middle ground that would allow for women to be believed and given resources they need to cope with traumatic experiences while not risking confining innocent men. Because, ultimately, if you leave women out of the discussion and talk only about the damage that believing women does to men, you’re advocating for always taking the man’s side and letting rape culture persist.
Either you're a victim OR you’re empowered
Owens’s mindset (as presented in this book) is that if you choose to be a victim, you decide you have no power over your own destiny and you passively let life happen to you. On the other hand, if you choose not to be a victim, you can take power over your own life and not let anyone hold you back.
The problem with this mindset is that it treats victimhood as a choice, and it makes “victim” a dirty word and a personal failing. Being a victim is something we have no control over, and there is absolutely no shame in it. And recognizing that you’re a victim does not mean that you have to roll over and give up.
Teaching people that they can get on their feet and take charge of their destiny is empowering. But teaching them that they have to deny how the system is stacked against them is harmful. Too often, people suffering from Owens’s mindset see recognition of victimhood as a weakness. They see activists looking for systemic change as having a “victim complex.” This narrative teaches people that they have to pretend life is fair and that anywhere they don’t succeed is because they’re weak, which is just as dangerous as the extreme Owens is pushing against.
But the truth is, you can fight against injustice AND take charge of your own individual destiny. You can recognize that you have more obstacles than someone else AND resolve to not let them hold you back. You don’t have to choose!
You’re either a man-hater OR an anti-feminist
There are certainly issues with how feminism is sometimes practiced today. But a meaningful discussion would recognize that the ultimate goal of feminism is equality, and then go from there to explore how specific practices actually detract from that goal.
But what really isn’t up for debate is that our world is still heavily male-biased. Owens may make the claim that sexism against women is gone—and that the system, in fact, is biased in favor of women—but she does so without bothering to tackle the barrage of data catalogued so damningly in books like Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, making her baseless claim quite meaningless in the larger scheme of things. Additionally, her reduction of feminists into crazy man-haters denies the existence of the much larger group of feminists who, like me, just want to see more female representation in government and the workplace (along with equal compensation).
You’re either fully capitalist OR fully socialist
Owens talks about communism vs socialism and how they’re actually the same thing. Then she goes on to use Venezuela as an example of how socialism destroys a country. This is problematic because communism, socialism, and democratic socialism are vastly different ideologies, and their implementations look vastly different in various countries. In fact, the US is already proof that socialism is a continuum. Libraries, public school, and road construction are some very basic examples of US socialism, and one can push for universal health care, welfare, and universal housing without wanting the US to be the new USSR.
Either you’re a pure victim OR you’re not a victim
Owens seems to believe that “the left” thinks that all disadvantaged groups are perfect, pure victims. What she doesn’t realize is that you can be a victim even if you aren’t perfect and pure.
Her attempted “gotcha” discussion near the end of the book about how Indigenous groups performed human sacrifice is proof of this. Obviously, human sacrifice is an abhorrent activity. However, just because a group performed human sacrifice does not justify another group slaughtering them and stealing their land for personal gain. This kind of dangerous narrative—that only pure, perfect people can be victims—is what sends people combing through the pasts of victims of violent crimes to see if they are “worthy” of being considered a victim, the way Owens does repeatedly with George Floyd.
No one’s perfect. We all suck, actually. That doesn’t give us an excuse to harm each other.
Takeaway
If you’re a progressive like me who is looking for a meaningful discussion of issues from a conservative perspective, I advise you to skip this one. But if you've got a recommendation of a fairer conservative-leaning book, let me know!
I’m a progressive American (raised Republican), and I read this book as an attempt to broaden my perspective and add depth to my understanding of issues. However, what I found was another “us vs them” narrative in which one party is the hero while the other is the villain. Frankly, any narrative that presents either party as pure good and the other as pure evil is extremely biased and shallow—not to mention divisive and harmful.
The great thing about books is that they don’t have to work in absolutes. Books give you tons of space and time to delve into issues and develop ideas, to provide numerous perspectives and add nuance to arguments. The problem with this book is that it does none of that. Blackout is a divisive piece of Republican propaganda that takes complex issues and reduces them into a dichotomy of extremes fighting extremes, often grossly misrepresenting and/or oversimplifying any counterarguments.
But before I go on, let me talk about some positive takeaways I got from reading this book:
1. Society is unfairly harsh toward Black conservatives. Challenging beliefs is healthy, but we need to stop judging and attacking people for thinking differently than we do.
2. Our country has a history of not coming through when it comes to Black Americans, and there’s no reason to assume it will start now—so Owens has a point here: “We cannot rely on a hopelessly inefficient and burdensome government to fix what we ourselves refuse to do.” (However, her take on this view is problematic in that she frowns on activism to push for systemic change, instead exclusively favoring the individual narrative. More on this later.)
3. Reading this book also gave me first-hand experience as to what it’s like to have your beliefs completely misrepresented at a large scale. This is a problem that occurs on BOTH sides of the aisle, and I know I’ve accidentally done it myself (thank you to my well-intentioned conservative friends who have pointed out when I’ve misrepresented their beliefs). But basically what Blackout does is take a collection of crazy, extreme “left” beliefs (no matter if anyone actually holds these beliefs), combine them into a single Frankenstein’s monster–like platform, and ascribe it to over half the United States population. The problem is, no one in this country actually believes everything Owens thinks that the entire “left” community believes, so the opponent she attacks throughout this whole book doesn’t actually exist.
Political discussions aren’t ever going to go anywhere if we keep misrepresenting each other’s arguments. They also aren’t ever going to go anywhere if we keep viewing each other as opponents instead of collaborators bringing different ideas to the table. Blackout adeptly demonstrates the toxicity in the two-party system in America and why it’s so difficult for us to make progress.
Now for some critique:
1. The “Persuasive” Writing
Remember that Candace Owens’s audience is specifically Black Democrats. She wants to help them see that they’re being blinded and manipulated by White Democrats and to encourage them to hop over to the Republican party instead. This means that her book needs to be strongly persuasive, and to do so, she needs to reach out and meet her target audience where they are and then carefully guide them toward her way of thinking.
The problem is, her book is written in such a way that the only people who will like it are people who already think what Owens thinks. She misrepresents the other side’s beliefs, attacks “straw man” arguments, irresponsibly uses studies and statistics, and fails to address any of the real reasons that people choose to vote Democrat, instead insulting the intelligence of the Black community with quotes like “In essence, black Americans were certainly not becoming more oppressed but were instead being transformed into pawns for smarter men in the pursuit of power.”
Rule number 1 of good persuasive writing: Don’t insult your audience!
In sum: This is not a persuasive book, it’s a Republican battle cry.
2. The Conservative-Biased Hypocrisies
-Owens is obsessed with accusing Democrats of victimizing Black Americans through discussions about systemic racism, yet her whole argument is based on the fact that she believes Black Americans are victims of Democrats who manipulate them for votes in order to further their sinister, racist agenda.
-Owens laughs at Democrats for challenging systemic racism, yet she gets completely on board with systemic racism that favors Republican ideals. For example, she expertly points out the concentrated placement of Planned Parenthood locations near Black neighborhoods (no discussion about the fact that Planned Parenthood is meant to serve individuals with limited access to healthcare) and how it targets Black babies, yet she is unable to recognize how the different criminal treatment of crack vs cocaine (two forms of the same drug, used predominately by Black or White Americans, respectively) targets Black men. Additionally, she’s quick to blame schools for failing to educate about individuality (a systemic failure that aligns with Republican ideals) but cannot recognize how the way we fund our schools results in lower quality education for people living in poor neighborhoods (a systemic failure that aligns with Democrat ideals). The system is not the enemy—unless, of course, a systemic argument benefits Republicans.
-She claims that Democrats were responsible for slavery, the KKK, and Jim Crow without any deeper look at the way that parties evolve over time. Yes, freed slaves were Republicans because of Lincoln. Yes, southern slaveowners were Democrats. However, she then talks about how the Democrats wooed Black voters to their party with welfare, but she ignores the transformation of southern Democrats into Republicans. Democrat and Republican had completely different meanings and completely different platforms in 1860 than they do in 2021 (go figure), so attempts to associate modern parties with past parties without discussing the complexities of party switching is dishonest and irresponsible.
-She accuses the media of believing that “Democrats are inherently blame-free and Republicans are incapable of virtue,” when the reverse is literally what this book suggests.
-She attacks “the left” for pointing out racism where it is not and claims that that’s a large reason why racism persists. However, after mocking Black people for complaining about microaggressions, she calls out Clinton and Biden as racists for talking about hot sauce and using the word “ain’t.” Now I’ll agree with her about Clinton and Biden; both of those instances were problematic. But you can’t decide that microaggressions are only valid to talk about when they’re instigated by Democrats. Basically, she calls out A LOT of people for being racist in this book, and every last one of them is a Democrat. Seems pretty party-biased to me.
-She criticizes “the left” for using statistics out of context, and in the same breath, she herself uses statistics out of context. She brings up the fact that Black men are disproportionately incarcerated when compared to White men as an example of a statistic “the left” uses out of context, and then she tries to rebut it in two sentences by telling us that Black men also commit a disproportionate number of homicides. I don’t know what “the left” she’s talking about, but entire books have been written on this topic—like The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, which is literally three times longer than Owens’s entire book. So much for “stats out of context.”
3. The Dichotomies
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, Owens regularly takes complex arguments and reduces them into simple dichotomies of two extremes. While it is certainly possible that Owens herself doesn’t actually believe all these dichotomies in real life, a meaningful book would add nuance to the discussion of different topics and develop creative solutions that do not sit at either extreme. This book does not do that. It presents one extreme, Owens’s opinion, and the other extreme, Owens’s perception of “the left” (which may or may not be fair).
Here’s a brief sampling of the dichotomies of Candace Owens as presented in Blackout:
You’re either Republican OR Democrat (AKA good OR bad)
Owens talks about a lot of people and policies in this book, but she NEVER criticizes Republicans and she NEVER praises Democrats. The reality is that both parties are deeply flawed and that every issue needs to be looked at individually and not through a party lens. She’s not wrong that Democrats have broken lots of party promises and have espoused platforms that hurt the Black community, but she’s wrong to claim that that’s evidence that Republicans aren’t just as (or more!) harmful to the Black community than Democrats are.
Republicans and Democrats BOTH have flawed platforms. Neither is purely right and neither is purely wrong.
Either you believe all women OR you believe all men
In response to metoo and the exposure of the frequency of sexual harassment and assault, Candace Owens finds it necessary to come to the defense of men. Obviously, there are problems with the “believe all women” narrative, in that it makes it very easy for women who regret a sexual encounter or who simply want to retaliate against a man to “ruin his life” by falsely accusing him of rape.
However, Owens’s discussion of the subject talks exclusively about how metoo hurts men, and even shares a handful of stories about men who have been falsely accused. Where are the stories about the women whose lives were ruined by men before they were accused of lying about their trauma—ESPECIALLY given the fact that this is a far more common problem than men being falsely accused?
A meaningful discussion on the metoo movement would absolutely take into account both sides of the coin. It would talk about the danger of false accusations, and it would talk about the repercussions of not believing women. It would search for a middle ground that would allow for women to be believed and given resources they need to cope with traumatic experiences while not risking confining innocent men. Because, ultimately, if you leave women out of the discussion and talk only about the damage that believing women does to men, you’re advocating for always taking the man’s side and letting rape culture persist.
Either you're a victim OR you’re empowered
Owens’s mindset (as presented in this book) is that if you choose to be a victim, you decide you have no power over your own destiny and you passively let life happen to you. On the other hand, if you choose not to be a victim, you can take power over your own life and not let anyone hold you back.
The problem with this mindset is that it treats victimhood as a choice, and it makes “victim” a dirty word and a personal failing. Being a victim is something we have no control over, and there is absolutely no shame in it. And recognizing that you’re a victim does not mean that you have to roll over and give up.
Teaching people that they can get on their feet and take charge of their destiny is empowering. But teaching them that they have to deny how the system is stacked against them is harmful. Too often, people suffering from Owens’s mindset see recognition of victimhood as a weakness. They see activists looking for systemic change as having a “victim complex.” This narrative teaches people that they have to pretend life is fair and that anywhere they don’t succeed is because they’re weak, which is just as dangerous as the extreme Owens is pushing against.
But the truth is, you can fight against injustice AND take charge of your own individual destiny. You can recognize that you have more obstacles than someone else AND resolve to not let them hold you back. You don’t have to choose!
You’re either a man-hater OR an anti-feminist
There are certainly issues with how feminism is sometimes practiced today. But a meaningful discussion would recognize that the ultimate goal of feminism is equality, and then go from there to explore how specific practices actually detract from that goal.
But what really isn’t up for debate is that our world is still heavily male-biased. Owens may make the claim that sexism against women is gone—and that the system, in fact, is biased in favor of women—but she does so without bothering to tackle the barrage of data catalogued so damningly in books like Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, making her baseless claim quite meaningless in the larger scheme of things. Additionally, her reduction of feminists into crazy man-haters denies the existence of the much larger group of feminists who, like me, just want to see more female representation in government and the workplace (along with equal compensation).
You’re either fully capitalist OR fully socialist
Owens talks about communism vs socialism and how they’re actually the same thing. Then she goes on to use Venezuela as an example of how socialism destroys a country. This is problematic because communism, socialism, and democratic socialism are vastly different ideologies, and their implementations look vastly different in various countries. In fact, the US is already proof that socialism is a continuum. Libraries, public school, and road construction are some very basic examples of US socialism, and one can push for universal health care, welfare, and universal housing without wanting the US to be the new USSR.
Either you’re a pure victim OR you’re not a victim
Owens seems to believe that “the left” thinks that all disadvantaged groups are perfect, pure victims. What she doesn’t realize is that you can be a victim even if you aren’t perfect and pure.
Her attempted “gotcha” discussion near the end of the book about how Indigenous groups performed human sacrifice is proof of this. Obviously, human sacrifice is an abhorrent activity. However, just because a group performed human sacrifice does not justify another group slaughtering them and stealing their land for personal gain. This kind of dangerous narrative—that only pure, perfect people can be victims—is what sends people combing through the pasts of victims of violent crimes to see if they are “worthy” of being considered a victim, the way Owens does repeatedly with George Floyd.
No one’s perfect. We all suck, actually. That doesn’t give us an excuse to harm each other.
Takeaway
If you’re a progressive like me who is looking for a meaningful discussion of issues from a conservative perspective, I advise you to skip this one. But if you've got a recommendation of a fairer conservative-leaning book, let me know!
April 21, 2020
Another 5 star to try and combat the bs reviews. Wish there was a report button. The review from around April 19th has to be complete fabrication since the book won't be released until August now. It seems to me the critic wrote up this really long negative review and put a date in their calendar of when to post it claiming to have read it or skimmed it. I believe publication was originally scheduled for April. If you are going to be a troll at least try and verify release dates before posting what is obviously non-sense to those of us with a brain in our skulls.
January 15, 2022
Candace Owens makes some really fine points about what is happening in America. She cites statistics and studies that confirm that black Americans have made little progress. She blames the fact that we have allowed families to disintegrate and the children receive the backlash of being in poverty.
In general, it is a sad telling of the lifestyle being forced onto black people by the leaders that they are encouraged to vote for again and again with no results that benefit them.
Promises are easily broken and lives are never bettered by broken promises.
In general, it is a sad telling of the lifestyle being forced onto black people by the leaders that they are encouraged to vote for again and again with no results that benefit them.
Promises are easily broken and lives are never bettered by broken promises.
April 22, 2021
I will only say here that I wish everyone who was...upset...at my review of White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism would simply read this.
The book is a sober, open, factual account of MS. Owens experiences and what she has learned from them.
Please don't be mislead by that, I don't mean it's a biography. I'm simply saying that she speaks of what she knows.
Look as I've asked before, just please read it and try to read it with an open mind.
Please
Recommended.
The book is a sober, open, factual account of MS. Owens experiences and what she has learned from them.
Please don't be mislead by that, I don't mean it's a biography. I'm simply saying that she speaks of what she knows.
Look as I've asked before, just please read it and try to read it with an open mind.
Please
Recommended.
Want to read
April 25, 2020I didn't read any of this book and someone wrote a review using my name. That's why I leave no stars.
I listen to Candace and I'm going to read her book. Her background is of growing up in the projects, poor, and with a single parent. She voted for Barack Obama the first time and everyone, white or black, needs to hear her simply because she is a black woman who has paid attention and observed from her black perspective. You may not agree with her observations but hear her out first. I'm hearing more and more people of color who are coming to the same conclusions as she has. What have you got to lose?
I listen to Candace and I'm going to read her book. Her background is of growing up in the projects, poor, and with a single parent. She voted for Barack Obama the first time and everyone, white or black, needs to hear her simply because she is a black woman who has paid attention and observed from her black perspective. You may not agree with her observations but hear her out first. I'm hearing more and more people of color who are coming to the same conclusions as she has. What have you got to lose?
October 14, 2020
Hi, yes. This book is awful. I read it to understand the arguments for claims that I knew I disagreed with. I wanted to understand how Owens gets to her conclusions.
Turns out, her arguments are a collection of things like straw men, ad hominems, and changing definitions of terms midstream.
There may be redeemable things about the book. But if one is evaluating it based on the quality of its arguments, It is - and I cannot stress this enough - terrible.
Turns out, her arguments are a collection of things like straw men, ad hominems, and changing definitions of terms midstream.
There may be redeemable things about the book. But if one is evaluating it based on the quality of its arguments, It is - and I cannot stress this enough - terrible.
April 10, 2022
"Throughout the rest of this book, I will detail just why I believe the Democrat Party's policies have led to erosion of the black community by fostering a persistent victim mentality. I will explain how a radicalized push for feminism is both emasculating ad criminalizing men who are needed to lead strong families, and I will reveal the fallacy of socialism . . . " -- the author, on page 10
In reference to the above quote, Ms. Owens does that and more in her respectfully opinionated conservative political piece and memoir-ish Blackout. I'm not certain I even want to try to review her work since 1.) a number of harsh one-star diatribes appear to stem from those who haven't read it at all and just disagree with her leanings and/or 2.) a GR member - not a friend or follower, but also someone I never had any interaction with before that I know of - left a pointed comment when I had simply posted that I was reading it. [Sigh] As for me, I liked Owens' presentation here, and also agreed with a fair amount of her observations and criticisms. She offers (I think) a common sense approach or stance in her thoughts and does not come across as hateful, just mystified that some folks stay in a lockstep mindset when certain things are tired, outdated, or clearly not working.
In reference to the above quote, Ms. Owens does that and more in her respectfully opinionated conservative political piece and memoir-ish Blackout. I'm not certain I even want to try to review her work since 1.) a number of harsh one-star diatribes appear to stem from those who haven't read it at all and just disagree with her leanings and/or 2.) a GR member - not a friend or follower, but also someone I never had any interaction with before that I know of - left a pointed comment when I had simply posted that I was reading it. [Sigh] As for me, I liked Owens' presentation here, and also agreed with a fair amount of her observations and criticisms. She offers (I think) a common sense approach or stance in her thoughts and does not come across as hateful, just mystified that some folks stay in a lockstep mindset when certain things are tired, outdated, or clearly not working.
November 27, 2020
Well researched, historically factual treatise, addressing issues relevant to America today.
January 21, 2022
What do you have to lose?
Those words brought Candace Owens to exit the democratic party. What she found was freedom. When you are played the victim, you are enslaved to the promises. There is no moving forward and Donald's Trumps words of what do you have to lose is the catalyst of a movement. She gives you stats for you to check on the plight of the black community under the rule of the democrat party and the steps that the current administration has done to not give a hand out but a hand up. I want to be clear that Candace is not blind to how Trump is but she is also clear that he is exactly what this country needs to get back the freedoms we are losing each day. The freedom of speech and worship the most valuable of all. Without those freedoms, we are done.
Owen's own family story is credible. No victim being played. Always moving forward. Some interesting insights that you can grab on to as well is the plight of family. She used Frederick Douglas account of his family background. When he was told about the death of his mother, a mother he was separated from due to the evils of slavery, he had no remorse. Think on that for a moment. Now think about families today whether black or white. When the responsibility of family is not valued there is a disconnect. The problems of anger, violence, drugs, and children growing up without fathers or mothers is so detrimental. We need to reform family. Not have a government reward when family is not valued. See the pattern of slavery here! It is real!
Another insight that seems to be trending is Columbus Day. The evils of colonization. People know your history. Do we want to live in a community that the tribe with the most violence rules. Baby sacrifice (we still have that today in abortion) and human cannibalism. (wait we have that in in social media). Do we want to live in those horrors? What are the democrats defending? Facts vs emotionalism, we seem to use emotionalism and not the truth.
I enjoyed getting to know Candace, her story and her insight. What do you have to lose?
Those words brought Candace Owens to exit the democratic party. What she found was freedom. When you are played the victim, you are enslaved to the promises. There is no moving forward and Donald's Trumps words of what do you have to lose is the catalyst of a movement. She gives you stats for you to check on the plight of the black community under the rule of the democrat party and the steps that the current administration has done to not give a hand out but a hand up. I want to be clear that Candace is not blind to how Trump is but she is also clear that he is exactly what this country needs to get back the freedoms we are losing each day. The freedom of speech and worship the most valuable of all. Without those freedoms, we are done.
Owen's own family story is credible. No victim being played. Always moving forward. Some interesting insights that you can grab on to as well is the plight of family. She used Frederick Douglas account of his family background. When he was told about the death of his mother, a mother he was separated from due to the evils of slavery, he had no remorse. Think on that for a moment. Now think about families today whether black or white. When the responsibility of family is not valued there is a disconnect. The problems of anger, violence, drugs, and children growing up without fathers or mothers is so detrimental. We need to reform family. Not have a government reward when family is not valued. See the pattern of slavery here! It is real!
Another insight that seems to be trending is Columbus Day. The evils of colonization. People know your history. Do we want to live in a community that the tribe with the most violence rules. Baby sacrifice (we still have that today in abortion) and human cannibalism. (wait we have that in in social media). Do we want to live in those horrors? What are the democrats defending? Facts vs emotionalism, we seem to use emotionalism and not the truth.
I enjoyed getting to know Candace, her story and her insight. What do you have to lose?
November 29, 2020
I finished the audiobook and I feel like I deserve a medal for making it to the end. It was an infuriating and frustrating listen. I disagreed with almost everything she said but that's not why I'm rating the book poorly. I knew going into it that would probably be the case. I had hoped she would make a strong argument for her positons but she did not. Just a few of my issues
1) She never once in this whole book says how republican policies of the past or that have been proposed have/would help black communities. She instead spends the book criticizing the democratic party(who she mostly calls leftists socialist marxist) for being bad for the black community. She basically ignores the fact that we've have non democrat presidents and other people in Washington.
2) She talks a lot about how the black community has been tricked into being loyal to the democratic party because they've bought into the idea welfare as being a good thing. But she speaks about our welfare system as if only blacks utilize it,but i looked it up and 40% of welfare recipients are white... A lot of her statistics seemed like they may have been taking out ocontext and i couldn't look them up myself with the audiobook version.
3. She would make statements that I wish she would flesh out but she would jsut let it hang so i was left wondering what her position on it was. ex. she seemed to be against the media attention of murdered transgender individuals but then the chapter just ended and I was left wondering what exactly she was trying to say..which part was she against?
4. The book was a bit all over the place and i don't think the examples were strong. She'd be telling a story like about her actress friend and then all of the sudden be ranting about socialism.
5. She said a lot of really negative things about black culture and work ethic and their gullibility (though she doens't use that term)that didn't ring true to me,but I had to wonder given that she's black if she was lumping herself in with the rest of the black community or somehow saying she's an exception because she's more woke. Did she really deserve her degree or any of the jobs she's gotten or did she get them because of affirmative action...?
I could go on but i'll stop. The whole thing is just a fingerpointing extravagaanza that offers no actual solutions. My take away was something like don't believe democrats,or women, especially black women because they have a track record for lying. The democratic party is bad for black communites. Black people are really gullible and have been tricked by the media and democrats into thinking welfare is good and racism exists and that they don't have to take responsiblity for their own lives because of past oppresion. Ack!
1) She never once in this whole book says how republican policies of the past or that have been proposed have/would help black communities. She instead spends the book criticizing the democratic party(who she mostly calls leftists socialist marxist) for being bad for the black community. She basically ignores the fact that we've have non democrat presidents and other people in Washington.
2) She talks a lot about how the black community has been tricked into being loyal to the democratic party because they've bought into the idea welfare as being a good thing. But she speaks about our welfare system as if only blacks utilize it,but i looked it up and 40% of welfare recipients are white... A lot of her statistics seemed like they may have been taking out ocontext and i couldn't look them up myself with the audiobook version.
3. She would make statements that I wish she would flesh out but she would jsut let it hang so i was left wondering what her position on it was. ex. she seemed to be against the media attention of murdered transgender individuals but then the chapter just ended and I was left wondering what exactly she was trying to say..which part was she against?
4. The book was a bit all over the place and i don't think the examples were strong. She'd be telling a story like about her actress friend and then all of the sudden be ranting about socialism.
5. She said a lot of really negative things about black culture and work ethic and their gullibility (though she doens't use that term)that didn't ring true to me,but I had to wonder given that she's black if she was lumping herself in with the rest of the black community or somehow saying she's an exception because she's more woke. Did she really deserve her degree or any of the jobs she's gotten or did she get them because of affirmative action...?
I could go on but i'll stop. The whole thing is just a fingerpointing extravagaanza that offers no actual solutions. My take away was something like don't believe democrats,or women, especially black women because they have a track record for lying. The democratic party is bad for black communites. Black people are really gullible and have been tricked by the media and democrats into thinking welfare is good and racism exists and that they don't have to take responsiblity for their own lives because of past oppresion. Ack!
February 24, 2020
To Diana White, the new America is color blind. I'm color blind. We should all be color blind. The biggest lie perpetrated by the left is that we are different. That somehow what a woman writes isn't for men, or what a black person writes isn't for white people. That doesn't mean we don't have differences, wonderful differences that we should celebrate. We are all unique individuals, with our food, hair, clothes preferences, with our various cultures and beliefs, these are wonderful things that we should relish and share with others, but for the things that matter, access to work, food, a good education, housing, who we work with, whether what we have to say is important or not, our world needs to be color blind. It doesn't matter what race or sex we are, it matters who we are. Do we have the characters that matter, the skills that matter to do the job. When I see a highly intelligent, articulate, thoughtful, strong and challenging person willing to take head on the manipulative lies of the left and bare them apart for all to see, who is willing to be her own person and think for herself, it doesn't matter if she is black or white, I say wow! She is an amazing person and I want to read her book. Some of the most amazing orators and writers of all time have been black, does that mean I can't learn from them or they don't apply to me because they are black. Does it mean they were amazing because they were black? I am sure their experiences shaped them, but nonetheless, they were amazing because they were amazing. Lets stop this "we are different" narrative. It will be better for me (white), and you (black) if we can realize that and just learn from each other as people. People with differences, sure, but each of us with something to share with others. When people like Malik below essentially write off everything Candace has to say in a dismissive, derogatory, diatribe, they are simply adding to the victim narrative and effectively demeaning both black people and women. Lets not help them do that to us. You (black) and we (women) are strong, worthy to be heard, intelligent and able to have a say in this world of ours, because our world IS color blind. Lets keep it that way. We should stop trying to make differences between us, and when we see others making differences, we speak up. I say go Candace! Keep talking and keep writing, the world needs you. Thank you for your inspiration.
September 20, 2020
Owens is savage like a chainsaw on the topic of Democrats' pandering relationship to Black Americans-her writing is sharp, aimed and convincing, even if at times it is suffused with too much hyperbole. I would love to read a point by point response to her major claims, which are really just popularizations of the great intellectual giant Thomas Sowell, whom I have yet to see properly engaged by leftist thinkers given towards identitarian narratives on race. Unlike other books in this genre (like Kendi's How to Be An Antiracist or Tisbys Color of Compromise) which have an autobiographical aspect amidst the data/policy arguments, Owen's own bits of autobiograpy in Blackout are actually interesting and believeable, precisely because she believes in individuals/personal responsibility, while those other books just mentioned, explicitly and implicitly, deny the primacy of personal responsibility and render their own experiential reflections moot in a narrative of communal oppression which occludes their pathos or believability. I'm interested in these type of books for survival in my workplace, and more importantly, because I'm finding common themes in Christian circles related these discussions, which are making me more and more troubled (F.E. the common pitting of communal identity vs. Individualism, the latter being particularly demonized, even though the binary should itself be analyzed further before accepting). Much to talk about there. Worth your time, especially if you fit her audience!
Also, fascinating side note: my book came with gunk smeared all over the front and back cover. Appears to be petroleum jelly or something. I didn't think anything of it until I saw Owen's twitter, where it appears atleast a thousand or so folks have received damaged books. The assumption is that Amazon workers did it, considering its clear that the marks are made by fingers. Wild!
Also, fascinating side note: my book came with gunk smeared all over the front and back cover. Appears to be petroleum jelly or something. I didn't think anything of it until I saw Owen's twitter, where it appears atleast a thousand or so folks have received damaged books. The assumption is that Amazon workers did it, considering its clear that the marks are made by fingers. Wild!
May 30, 2020
So dumb that people are rating a book that’s not even out (says the guy leaving a 5 star review) love what she is doing so trying to give her book a fair start by counterbalancing some 1 stars. Go Owens!
Read
December 7, 2019 Reading about her sell out of the NAACP after they helped her win a lawsuit indicates her self-serving and grifter nature. She is delusional, uninformed, a complete con. Runs after the money!
June 12, 2020
I love Candace. Anyone who disagrees with what she says is an uneducated follower. #candace2024
July 8, 2020
People who are giving her 1 star are so petty and childish.
I'm so excited to read it!
I'm so excited to read it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,165 reviews