My fellow white people, when friends, family, co-workers, pastors, pundits & elected officials drop "woke" as a term of derision, know that what's being voiced in your presence is white supremacist terror rhetoric. Don't sit still for it. We become what we sit still for.
Sometimes. But it is also sometimes a criticism of the thought-policing on the Left that completely invalidates any internal dissent within progressive movements. As a left-leaning individual, I use “woke” in conversations to refer to people who will emotionally flail out at the mention of keywords while simultaneously leaving absolutely no room for nuanced views. “Woke” is yet another example of white people doing what they (we) do best - taking a movement from minorities and then wrecking it for self-actualization.
Maybe as white people we shouldn't use the word woke to mean something different than the original meaning? It's a word that was stolen from POC and redefined by white supremacy.
Its a word that a black movement used for themselves that white liberals stole, which white conservatives then antagonized. Thats my understanding. The term was stolen and changed long before it became a Fox News buzzword.
I do apologize for both delay and brevity as time and mental resources are currently limited.
Regarding "thought policing" in particular, I think the conversation around JK Rowling makes an excellent example. Rowling has gone to rather great lengths to lay out her position on what aspects of the trans rights movement concern her, and why, in regards to providing adequate protection to cis-gendered (and actually even trans) women. She has done thorough research, lays out her point with nuance, and has stated on countless occasions her support for actual trans people and her understanding for the hell they have to go through. But because her end conclusions differ from the body of the Leftist idea of how you are "supposed" to respond to all matters related to trans issues, that whole side of the political spectrum has decided to label her as a hateful transphobe using deceptively polite wording. Any attention for her actual intentions and for where her heart is at go out the window in the light of any conclusion that doesn't cater to a more marginzalized group without question - nuance be damned. That anybody could dare think to defend her character is itself a transphobic crime in many circles. An environment has been bred such that taking the time to see her as anything short of a hyper-abbreviated version of her final conclusions is a transphobic hate-crime rooted in fascism. Perhaps "though policing" may not land what I'm trying to express, which is the death of nuance in favor of conforming. It's the very factor that turns movements into cults - the removal of any pluralistic views.
Regarding woke being adopted by white liberals before being antagonized by white conservatives - here are a few links. And an except from the first:
"This sketch very accurately sums up what mainstream white society thinks of people who use woke. It’s a superficial focus on speaking the right language, and that’s it. No connection at all to the actual “work.” It’s this way to hold the moral high ground just by speaking the right words and saying the right words."
I think this pretty accurately sums up a lot of people's feelings on this word - not just hyperconservative fear-mongering asswipes on Fox News. And it seems worth noting that this criticism is also levied from a left-leaning media source in the case of the Slate link.
It will be a few days before I am able respond again. Happy to dig up more sources on "woke" but I am very confident about hearing it thrown around on the left far within white liberal-leaning circles in my own daily life before I ever heard it leveraged by conservative news.
Amen to this David!
Absolutely true! Thanks David!
Thank you, John.
Wrote something on Woke that you may be interested in...
https://www.homelessguide.com/2023/07/why-do-we-resist-being-woke.html
Thank you David. I encourage some to watch The Green Book movie.
Marilyn French07
Sometimes. But it is also sometimes a criticism of the thought-policing on the Left that completely invalidates any internal dissent within progressive movements. As a left-leaning individual, I use “woke” in conversations to refer to people who will emotionally flail out at the mention of keywords while simultaneously leaving absolutely no room for nuanced views. “Woke” is yet another example of white people doing what they (we) do best - taking a movement from minorities and then wrecking it for self-actualization.
Maybe as white people we shouldn't use the word woke to mean something different than the original meaning? It's a word that was stolen from POC and redefined by white supremacy.
Its a word that a black movement used for themselves that white liberals stole, which white conservatives then antagonized. Thats my understanding. The term was stolen and changed long before it became a Fox News buzzword.
What evidence can you provide for that claim? Please feel free to throw in an explanation of "thought policing on the Left" if you have time.
I do apologize for both delay and brevity as time and mental resources are currently limited.
Regarding "thought policing" in particular, I think the conversation around JK Rowling makes an excellent example. Rowling has gone to rather great lengths to lay out her position on what aspects of the trans rights movement concern her, and why, in regards to providing adequate protection to cis-gendered (and actually even trans) women. She has done thorough research, lays out her point with nuance, and has stated on countless occasions her support for actual trans people and her understanding for the hell they have to go through. But because her end conclusions differ from the body of the Leftist idea of how you are "supposed" to respond to all matters related to trans issues, that whole side of the political spectrum has decided to label her as a hateful transphobe using deceptively polite wording. Any attention for her actual intentions and for where her heart is at go out the window in the light of any conclusion that doesn't cater to a more marginzalized group without question - nuance be damned. That anybody could dare think to defend her character is itself a transphobic crime in many circles. An environment has been bred such that taking the time to see her as anything short of a hyper-abbreviated version of her final conclusions is a transphobic hate-crime rooted in fascism. Perhaps "though policing" may not land what I'm trying to express, which is the death of nuance in favor of conforming. It's the very factor that turns movements into cults - the removal of any pluralistic views.
Regarding woke being adopted by white liberals before being antagonized by white conservatives - here are a few links. And an except from the first:
"This sketch very accurately sums up what mainstream white society thinks of people who use woke. It’s a superficial focus on speaking the right language, and that’s it. No connection at all to the actual “work.” It’s this way to hold the moral high ground just by speaking the right words and saying the right words."
I think this pretty accurately sums up a lot of people's feelings on this word - not just hyperconservative fear-mongering asswipes on Fox News. And it seems worth noting that this criticism is also levied from a left-leaning media source in the case of the Slate link.
https://slate.com/culture/2021/06/woke-critical-race-theory-definition-history-meaningless.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/06/06/what-does-woke-even-mean-how-a-decades-old-racial-justice-term-became-co-opted-by-politics/?sh=66c06371513d
It will be a few days before I am able respond again. Happy to dig up more sources on "woke" but I am very confident about hearing it thrown around on the left far within white liberal-leaning circles in my own daily life before I ever heard it leveraged by conservative news.