Fear and What Follows

The Violent Education of a Christian Racist, A Memoir

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Men&, Discrimination & Race Relations, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Fear and What Follows by Tim Parrish, University Press of Mississippi
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Tim Parrish ISBN: 9781617038679
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi Publication: August 16, 2013
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi Language: English
Author: Tim Parrish
ISBN: 9781617038679
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication: August 16, 2013
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Language: English

Fear and What Follows is a riveting, unflinching account of the author's spiral into racist violence during the latter years of desegregation in 1960s and 1970s Baton Rouge. About the memoir, author and editor Michael Griffith writes, "This might be a controversial book, in the best way--controversial because it speaks to real and intractable problems and speaks to them with rare bluntness."

The narrative of Parrish's descent into fear and irrational behavior begins with bigotry and apocalyptic thinking in his Southern Baptist church. Living a life upon this volatile foundation of prejudice and apprehension, Parrish feels destabilized by his brother going to Vietnam, his own puberty and restlessness, serious family illness, and economic uncertainty. Then a near-fatal street fight and subsequent stalking by an older sociopath fracture what security is left, leaving him terrified and seemingly helpless.

Parrish comes to believe that he can only be safe by allying himself with brute force. This brute influence is a vicious, charismatic racist. Under this bigot's terrible sway Parrish, turns to violence in the street and at school. He is even conflicted about whether he will help commit murder in order to avenge a friend. At seventeen he must reckon with all of this as his parents and neighbors grow increasingly afraid that they are "losing" their neighborhood to African Americans. Fear and What Follows is an unparalleled story of the complex roots of southern, urban, working-class racism and white flight, as well as a story of family, love, and the possibility of redemption.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Fear and What Follows is a riveting, unflinching account of the author's spiral into racist violence during the latter years of desegregation in 1960s and 1970s Baton Rouge. About the memoir, author and editor Michael Griffith writes, "This might be a controversial book, in the best way--controversial because it speaks to real and intractable problems and speaks to them with rare bluntness."

The narrative of Parrish's descent into fear and irrational behavior begins with bigotry and apocalyptic thinking in his Southern Baptist church. Living a life upon this volatile foundation of prejudice and apprehension, Parrish feels destabilized by his brother going to Vietnam, his own puberty and restlessness, serious family illness, and economic uncertainty. Then a near-fatal street fight and subsequent stalking by an older sociopath fracture what security is left, leaving him terrified and seemingly helpless.

Parrish comes to believe that he can only be safe by allying himself with brute force. This brute influence is a vicious, charismatic racist. Under this bigot's terrible sway Parrish, turns to violence in the street and at school. He is even conflicted about whether he will help commit murder in order to avenge a friend. At seventeen he must reckon with all of this as his parents and neighbors grow increasingly afraid that they are "losing" their neighborhood to African Americans. Fear and What Follows is an unparalleled story of the complex roots of southern, urban, working-class racism and white flight, as well as a story of family, love, and the possibility of redemption.

More books from University Press of Mississippi

Cover of the book Mary Wickes by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Reconsidering Laura Ingalls Wilder by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Faulkner and the Ecology of the South by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Charles Burnett by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Ainâ??t That a Knee-Slapper by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Drawing from Life by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Father of the Comic Strip by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Mary Wickes by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book The Souls of White Folk by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book A Trumpet around the Corner by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Grady Baby by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Inside the Whimsy Works by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Wolf Tracks by Tim Parrish
Cover of the book Perils of Protection by Tim Parrish
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy