At first, Isabel Wilkerson's book, Caste, reminded me of Rene Girard's Scapegoat, but once Caste became personal, I fell under its spell. Wilderson proves her point. The USA has a caste system and black Americans are the lowest caste.
Just about all the examples she gives, I remember. I also remember my indifference to the events and the people involved in them--I am ashamed to say. The most powerful chapter in the book is the last two chapters; she ends with a bang.
"The Heart Is the Last Frontier," and the "Epilogue: A World Without Caste," meant the most to me. I learned that regarding people as people gives one empathy for each other and that knocks down preconceptions. Wilkerson waxes dreamily of a world without bias, where we enjoy everyone's talents and we are one people looking out for each other. (Didn't Jesus say that?)
Personally, I think the solution is intermarriage. If everyone has DNA from Asians, Africans, etc., and everyone has someone in their family who is gay or trans, etc., only then will everyone be free of prejudices.
But that's a reach, no?
However, I also remember from Girard's Scapegoat, that the human being needs to blame someone. The most common question asked when anything happens is, "WHO did this?", not "How do we fix this?"
Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. Who's going to get blamed next?
