McGarvey contends that intersectionality activists have oversimplified any debate over what constitutes privilege and oppression and who is affected by it. From the point of McGarvey’s class-based argument, this oversimplification has resulted in the term ‘working class’ becoming a “synonym for ‘white male’” (p.159). As far as McGarvey is concerned, the result is that intersectionality denies the inclusion of the disadvantaged white working-class voice within the present social justice discourse. People from deprived communities all around Britain feel misunderstood and unheard. Darren McGarvey aka Loki gives voice to their feelings and concerns, and the anger that is spilling over. Anger he says we will have to get used to, unless things change.

Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey | Waterstones Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey | Waterstones

The first half is an interesting enough account of life in deprivation and the role of state institutions and public policy but then comes the political messaging that we shouldnt get too preoccupied with the economicy and overthrowing capitalism but focus on what poverty does to the mind, body and soul, to quote "As if somehow these day-to-day problems are less consequential to the poor than the musings of Karl Marx." And then he goes on to say "Well, I suppose we could start by being honest: There will be no revolution. Not in your lifetime. This system will limp on and so must we." He then has some advice for people on the left "the question is no longer how do we radically transform the system, but also how do we radically transform ourselves". Some good things - the critique on the left for the most part was facts, cancel culture is dead out (not about it), facts poverty is not properly analysed and the part stress plays in all aspects of life. There is lots that I really enjoyed here, but the structure proved somewhat frustrating: it is only until the second half of the book, and really, the very last chapter that McGarvey seems to really spell out his most important point (and the most important lesson he’s learnt for his own life): that of taking personal responsibility. A blistering analysis of the issues facing the voiceless and the social mechanisms that hobble progress, all wrapped up in an unput-downable memoir. Denise MinaAt first glance, Poverty Safari may seem an unusual choice of book for an educational psychologist (EP) to read. It’s not obviously about psychology; it initially appears far more relevant to disciplines such as sociology, economics, politics, or geography. It's difficult to condense the main points of 'Poverty Safari', because it approaches its topic from such a variety of directions: class, economics, built environment, politics, mental health, food, and education, among others. The chapters link together neatly to create an original and profound examination of poverty in Scotland, and Britain in general. It's tempting as is for me, and likely many others who've never experienced real poverty either, to carelessly blame Tory policies since Thatcher for its persistence. McGarvey refuses to be so reductive: McGarvey also wants those who seek to understand poverty within the UK to actually listen to those who live within it. To listen not only to their frustrations, but to also listen to and empower the solutions that they advocate rather than continue with the well-intentioned (or self-serving) patronisation of these communities from the outside. Darren McGarvey very openly explores his own struggles with addictions. Could Poverty Safari be read as a guide on how to deal with addiction?

Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey | Goodreads Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey | Goodreads

The welfare system is strongly criticised because McGarvey regards it as a punitive system for the poor and vulnerable devised by people with no real comprehension of what it is to be poor. The shadow of austerity also looms large within McGarvey’s safari tour. He lauds those instances where real grassroots community action occurs within disadvantaged areas, but laments that these efforts are simultaneously hindered because they do not fit with the preconceived ideas and preferences of the powerbrokers, those individuals and organisations that provide funding and a public voice for such local community projects. There is a warning to well intentioned 'middle-class' campaigners who might rely too heavily on academic or specialist language from their own particular area of interest that alienate the wider community, although there are a few passages of this book where the author could benefit from his own advice, because they read like he's trying to impress his sociology tutor.McGarvey is able to connect with his students because his own life has been shaped by the dual forces of poverty and violence. He grew up in Pollok, a poor, working-class neighborhood on the southside of Glasgow. In the early nineties, when McGarvey was a child, this area often ranked as one of the most economically deprived places in Europe. Has Poverty Safari changed or challenged any of your presumptions regarding either Britain’s ‘underclass’ or middle class?

Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain’s Books: Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain’s

As well as white male privilege, intersectionality should allow us to better understand the phenomenon of affluent students on the campuses of elite western universities attempting to control how the rest of us think and discuss our own experiences, claiming to speak on our behalf while freezing us out of the conversation.” There's no way someone like me would have been given the opportunity to write a book like this had I not draped it, at least partially, in the veil of a misery memoir. Okay then, first, we need to create the illusion of objectivity. It seems the most effective way to do this would be to completely dehumanise my family and me, to look at our experience through a statistical lens. It is often said that statistics are human beings with the tears wiped away. Halfway through Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain’s Underclass, the first book by the Scottish rapper, writer, and columnist Darren McGarvey, the author provides us with some statistics. Sometimes I wonder why I seem to swim against the tide of popular opinion about some books. With Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey, I'm swimming against a tsunami of praise that suggests the author is some kind of generational spokesman. I really object to the praise heaped upon this book is that it feels like a whole lot of misplaced middle-class projection. I pretty much lost interest in the book when this happened... McGarvey goes to a school for problem kids. Two boys are particularly troubled. He's going to meet with them to try to set them straight. He is a kind of social worker / rapper / icon.Worst of all, after a while it all seems normal. It becomes hard to imagine a lifestyle where there isn’t always the imminent threat of violence. As we’ll see in the next blink, we’ll explore how this feeling is expressed in the world outside of Pollok. Some critiques - erased all aspects of female experience WHOLLY. I think women and girls got one cursory mention. Also as per usual only quote male references a la Akala. He used intersectionality and his critique of it to further his own arguments but the way he described it made me think he didn’t quite get it - as he misses off class that Kimberly Crenshaw would kmt at. She literally includes class in her analysis and he says she doesn’t which is a bit :/ also the chapters where he discusses racism made me just about cringe and die inside although I thinkkkkk I understand where he’s coming from…