Find Conditional Citizens: On Belonging In America Depicted By Laila Lalami Shown As Textbook

Rating:.stars

Conditional citizenship is characterized by the burden of having to educate white Americans about all the ways in which one is different from them.


Laila Lalami, a naturalized citizen of the United States, talks about how immigrants are treated as second class citizens in the country, An interesting take on institutionalised racism, citizenship and sexism in her home country, Brownie points for the well thought, well written points,

However, the book is pretty much US centric and talks about racism in the West, especially in the US, hence not a completefrom my side.


Read for the Quarterfinals of the Booktube Prize, this one made it to the Semifinals,

Rankingth out ofbooks

For more insight, please watch the video on my YT channel Lalami is an excellent and convincing writer.
She made great points throughout this book about race, citizenship, gender, and wealth, Id probably give this book,/. The only reasons it gets marks off because it felt disjointed at some moments, but mainly just because I felt I didnt really learn any new information.
She presented her points well, dont get me wrong, and this shortcoming is actually probably more to do with my own preawareness of the issues she spoke about.
Ive taken several classes and read numerous books that discussed points she brought up, so much of what she said was not new info to me personally.
She summarized this info well, though, which I enjoyed, and I appreciated her weaving in her own life stories, I think personal narratives can provide a deeply human touch to conversations about this books material, I think this book would excel at educating someone specifically white people who havent ever talked with an immigrant or person of color about the racist, sexist, classist issues that permeates our society.
Also, it would be a great required reading for high school or college to make sure every American youth has foundational knowledge of these issues, By far the best book I've read about race, gender, privilege, etc, It deals with the multiple factors creating American society, both historically and in the present, I learned so much. Lalami is quickly taking a space in my list of favorite authors, Conditional Citizens is a beautifully written, clear and concise look at what it is to be a naturalised American citizen whose relationship with her adopted country is fraught, interspersed with some truthtelling about the ways in which the racism and gender discrimination embedded in contemporary U.
S. society makes citizenship conditional for so many, I can't help but feel that the kinds of people who most need to read this book are, however, the least likely to do so, Admittedly, I wanted to abandon this book after the first chapter, Ms. Lalami and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum regarding religious, political, and social issues, However, I try to read books that stretch and challenge my thinking, Although my religious, political, and social views did not change by the end of the book, I gained a great appreciation for the author's knowledge and insights into her experiences as a nonwhite, American citizen.


My heart hurt for her as she shared some of the awful ways she's been spoken to and treated by fellow Americans, and I cannot argue nor take those experiences away from her.
However, I would not draw the same conclusions or recommend the same solutions to the issues she addressed,

Although this is not an excuse, I would argue most, if not all, other countries have issues relating to assimilation, border control, and poverty.
America is "different", but they are also the same: a nation comprised of broken people, and therefore broken governments/nations, Rather than expressing discontentment, and perhaps even anger, towards America, I would rather address the problem of the human condition, We all have faults, so I would expect our governments and nations to have faults as well, I do hope we can remedy these things, but my hope is not in a government or movement of people, My faith in Christ leads me to believe that we do have a problem sin, and our solution and hope is Jesus, sitelinkblog sitelinkthestorygraph sitelinkletterboxd sitelink tumblr sitelinkkofi

Drawing from her own experiences as a Moroccan immigrant living in the States, in Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America Laila Lalami presents us with an impassioned and thoughtful social commentary.
With piercing clarity, she touches upon Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, and sexism, She reflects on the many flaws and conditions of citizenship, specifically American citizenship, and on the many ways, it fails people, I truly appreciated the way she discusses topical and oh so important social issues, and the lucidity of her arguments: from discussing the way citizenship is equated with whiteness, white privilege and white fragility, racial profiling, borders, racist rhetorics and the vilification of immigrants, inhumane legislations, the notion of assimilation, belonging, etc.
Throughout this collection of essays, Lalami raises many thoughtprovoking points and makes many illuminating observations, While Lalami does discuss other peoples experiences, often providing statistics or citing specific incidents/events, her own personal experiences inform much of her writing, which makes it all the more affecting.
I admired the way she would attempt to relate to the kind of people I personally would write off as cnts while also fully acknowledging how frustrating a position she is often made to be in that of educating bigoted people.

While she does write about subjects that are American specific, such as applying for citizenship in America, the issues underlying her essays should not concern exclusively an American readership.
Although I did gain insight into processes I am not familiar with, throughout this collection Lalami delves into topics that will undoubtedly resonate with many readers outside of the States.


My only quibble is that some of her essays could have integrated a more intersectional approach, For instance, while Lalami does

include 'asides' discussing gender inequality and metoo, she barely acknowledges lgbtq related issues,
Curiously enough this is another case where I find myself liking the nonfictional work of an author whose fiction I lowkey did not get on withI would definitely recommend this one and I am determined to read and hopefully like Lalami's The Moor's Account.
I didn't really learn anything new to me here, But I'm rounding this memoir/meditation on identity and belonging to abecause I felt so seen by the author, Reading this felt good to my soul, A gripping and accessible look at the way people are treated in America based on their citizenship status, their race, their gender, and more, woven together with personal details of Lalami's own experience.
Despite the nature of the subject matter, I couldn't put this book down, Lalami's writing style swept me through it in two breathtaking sittings, Listened to the audiobook.

I wanted to like this so badly, I think its great that there are so many facts laced in her memoir, Its a very well researched book, But man, theres was very very little touching on the privilege the author had in her path to citizenship, My hold on this came in and so I snagged it to listen to on my walks and man, is it good, Very insightful and honest. Definite recommended reading if you're at all interested in an immigrant's perspective on becoming American, And since so many people equate "immigrant" with "illegal immigrant", this book discusses what it means to be an immigrant, an outsider, an "other" even when they do everything right and become a citizen legally.


It was a fascinating and blunt look at the ways that America chooses who it is, and who it wants to be, who is allowed to be part of it, and all of that curation is often cruelly counter to the stated exceptionalism that we claim.


Another highly recommended book, A fantastic essay collection, highly recommend, Shoutout to my sister for her great taste in Christmas gifts,stars

Usually, when a book compels me to shed tears, I do it for characters unknown, for faraway lands I will never get to see, for invented lives.
When I cried during Laila Lalami's book, I wept for something personal, I shed tears for my parents reaching for an impossible and mythic dream, uncles deported, and I wept for my own story, I saw myself in this book, which rarely happens, I am only one of a sea of immigrants in this country and, yet, we have all somehow experienced this collective grief: a nation and a people that recognize us but prefer to keep us at arm's length.


Conditional Citizens is a poignant look at how white Americans treat nonwhite Americans/immigrants, The author also expertly points out white supremacy's ability to shape our view of citizenship, identity, illegality, and borders, Although I did not learn anything fundamentally new, and I do have a few other criticisms, the author's ability to synthesize and weave her narrative within each chapter is impressive.
I would recommend this short collection of essays if you are looking for a new perspective on what it means to be a foreignborn U, S. citizenstars

I'm really impressed with how concise and wellstructured this book is, Each chapter circles a different aspect of immigration borders, assimilation, caste and combining research and personal narrative, Lalami expertly explains the nuance and complicated nature of coming to America.
I continue to be astounded by how little white people here of all political persuasions understand about the immigration process, You do not just pop over, answer some questions, and obtain citizenship! It often takes years, decades, and even after that, expectations of immigrants are high and they often face injustices that make it hard to succeed, hard not to still feel othered.


Because of my background, much of this wasn't new to me, but it's necessary reading for everyone, This book makes me significantly more "woke, " It offers lots of perspectives regarding race, gender, culture, and class when it comes to the cultural melting pot that is America and what it means to "belong" in this country.
Highly recommended for friends who have ever been in the US, not necessarily citizens, especially international friends and POC, You are guaranteed to find at least a piece of your own experience here, .