The War on Wokeness

[calamity]

If one ignores what the term actually means in a public policy context and instead gets sucked into the marketing aspect of the term, yes, I suppose it could seem that way.

lol...NatM lecturing me on getting sucked into something. Mexico pay for that wall yet?

 

[Lutherf]

Let me get this straight. The common definition of "woke" would be being aware, conscious of things happening around you. In other words, woke is the opposite of being asleep at the wheel.

So, why would woke be a pejorative?

Are there really people out there who believe being aware is bad? I guess that explains the old saying, "ignorance is bliss."

That might be your definition. Mine is more along the lines of, "Spending every waking hour seeking out reasons to be pissed off at the world and then ensuring that the whole world knows that you are the most pissed off person on the planet". Being woke is what we used to call "self centered, obnoxious asshole" back in the day.

 

[calamity]

That might be your definition. Mine is more along the lines of, "Spending every waking hour seeking out reasons to be pissed off at the world and then ensuring that the whole world knows that you are the most pissed off person on the planet". Being woke is what we used to call "self centered, obnoxious asshole" back in the day.

Do you really not see that the bold is exactly what defines a White Grievance Trumper?

 

[NatMorton]

lol...NatM lecturing me on getting sucked into something. Mexico pay for that wall yet?

Just because others fall for a sales pitch doesn't mean you don't.

 

[KevinKohler]

I associate wokeness with SJWs. And keyboard warriors. People who are quick to virtue signaling, but when it comes time to actually sacrifice for what they claim to believe...to do more than just talk and grandstand...they're the first to bow out.

 

[Steve N]

No. It's just a fact. Resistance to wokeness is racist.

Facts can be proven. Now prove this fact.

 

[NatMorton]

While Calamity does not appear to be interested in an honest presentation (or discussion) about what "woke" means, FWIW, I think Wiki has a good summary:

Woke (/ˈwoʊk/ WOHK) is a term that refers to awareness of issues that concern social justice and racial justice.[4] It is sometimes used in the African-American Vernacular English expression stay woke. Woke resurfaced in 2014, during the Black Lives Matter movement, as a label for vigilance and activism concerning racial inequalities[5] and other social disparities such as discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, women, immigrants and other marginalized populations.[6]

Woke has also been the subject of memes, ironic usage and criticism.[7]

And as Calam's later posts clearly demonstrate, those who advocate for this particular brand of concern aren't interested in a real conversation about it. They're interested in you nodding your head or being branded a racist for doing anything less.

 

[calamity]

While Calamity does not appear to be interested in an honest presentation (or discussion) about what "woke" means, FWIW, I think Wiki has a good summary:

lol...wiki is only good for facts. It sucks on opinions, as your citation proves.

 

[NatMorton]

lol...wiki is only good for facts. It sucks on opinions, as your citation proves.

Follow Wiki's cites, sport.

 

[calamity]

Follow Wiki's cites, sport.

I make sure not to follow anything recommended by a dude with a screen name signifying Nationalist.

 

[NatMorton]

I make sure not to follow anything recommended by a dude with a screen name signifying Nationalist.

In other words, you choose to remain ignorant.

I do find your honesty refreshing, though.

 

[calamity]

In other words, you choose to remain ignorant.

No, I chose knowledge over propaganda. That's how I avoid being a brainwashed nationalist.

I do find your honesty refreshing, though.

Try it. Though, it might take a little time for you to figure out how to find out.

 

[NatMorton]

No, I chose knowledge over propaganda. That's how I avoid being a brainwashed nationalist.

Yes, that notorious right wing propaganda site, Merriam and Webster..

You're falling all over yourself on this one. Best give it a rest.

 

[calamity]

Yes, that notorious right wing propaganda site, Merriam and Webster..

M&W defines woke as:
aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)

You're falling all over yourself on this one.

lol...judging by the definition I provided above, you have greatly exceeded my efforts on that one.

 

[uptower]

Let me get this straight. The common definition of "woke" would be being aware, conscious of things happening around you. In other words, woke is the opposite of being asleep at the wheel.

So, why would woke be a pejorative?

Are there really people out there who believe being aware is bad? I guess that explains the old saying, "ignorance is bliss."

It's just the millennial word for politically correct, and with it a new bugbear for right wingers to cry about. Their whining about woke is just the latest version of "Why can't I yell n****r in a crowded theater anymore!"

 

[NatMorton]

M&W defines woke as:
aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)

Here's the cite you acknowledged you ignored:



... and the link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/woke-meaning-origin

Wrong again, Calamity.

 

[calamity]

It's just the millennial word for politically correct

Actually, it's more a word signifying awareness than it is PC. Woke means not burying one's head in the sand on matters of racial and social injustice.

My thread on the indigenous boarding schools would be a good example of wokeness. It's not so much to lecture, just to inform.

and with it a new bugbear for right wingers to cry about. Their whining about woke is just the latest version of "Why can't I yell n****r in a crowded theater anymore!"

Yep

 

[calamity]

Here's the cite you acknowledged you ignored:

View attachment 67335420

... and the link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/woke-meaning-origin

Wrong again, Calamity.

lol...you found yourself reaching down to example number four. My definition came from the top.

Woke: aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)

Now, if you choose to remain inattentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice), that's your problem. After all, the right to choose ignorance is a strong tenet of Freedumb.

 

[COTO]

Isn't it strange how the woke people, people who supposed to be aware of things like race, women/gender and religion are asleep at the wheel when it comes to:

The murders in Chicago, St Louis, Detroit, New Orleans and Baltimore

The treating of women as second class citizens south of our border and the rapes and sexual abuse of migrants trying to come here

The genocide of Muslims in China

And how gays are thrown off buildings in certain countries.


The woke people never seem to want to talk about those things.

True enough, but none of these issues has shown any indication of changing as a result of progressive complaining. One might argue that progressives ignore them because they know nobody is listening.

 

[poweRob]

While Calamity does not appear to be interested in an honest presentation (or discussion) about what "woke" means, FWIW, I think Wiki has a good summary:



And as Calam's later posts clearly demonstrate, those who advocate for this particular brand of concern aren't interested in a real conversation about it. They're interested in you nodding your head or being branded a racist for doing anything less.

You know your wiki link states that the term "woke" has strong African American racial roots right? Making the mocking of said term rooted in race baiting.

You are basically arguing against all the other cons in here by acknowledging that mocking "woke" is about mocking African Americans.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Let me get this straight. The common definition of "woke" would be being aware, conscious of things happening around you. In other words, woke is the opposite of being asleep at the wheel.

So, why would woke be a pejorative?

Are there really people out there who believe being aware is bad? I guess that explains the old saying, "ignorance is bliss."

Why?
Human nature, that's why.

Why?
Sensationalism, that's why.

“The fundamental cause of the trouble in the modern world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”—Bertrand Russell

Six or seven years ago when my young daughter posted a "WokeAF" meme on her social media, I knew what she meant.
It meant that she really cared, she really was conscious about things happening all around her.
She was studying the world she lived in, seeing injustices and she wanted to do something to help.

Today her views are still much the same for the most part but now she lives in Portland and she's seen a side of "wokeness" that annoys the crap out of her.
No, NOT the black flagger types downtown, that's a nuisance that's been a fixture up there since (AT LEAST) before Reagan, and they basically hate everyone outside their little circle.

There is a kind of "inner fascist" inside some people and, as another DP-er pointed out quite correctly to me (more of a reminder actually) it can be found on both extreme ends of the political spectrum.
**To be sure, some of "THE MOST WOKE SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS YOU'VE EVER SEEN" WILL indeed find their way to the OTHER END of the spectrum in short order.

**
"What? Checkers, what the Hell are you on about now, with this 'other end of the spectrum' theme?"

Simple, folks like Elliott Abrams, Michael Ledeen, Irving Kristol, maybe HALF of the Reaganite inner circle consists of "WOKE LEFTISTS" who suddenly took a hard turn to the Right.
They annoyed the shit out of their liberal friends and associates to the point where they wore out their welcome with their extremism, so they just switched sides and found a home with the extremists on the Right instead.
It's the Horseshoe Theory played out to its ultimate conclusion.
Extremists are extremists, period.
Doesn't really matter which side they end up on because fundamentalism demands you shut off critical thinking whether you're on the Left OR the Right, and those are the folks who own the woke bullhorn now, and they ARE INDEED exercising a kind of fundamentalist style inner fascist that demands total fealty to their extremism and preaches destruction to anyone who dares to question anything they say.

--Yeah, maybe I need to drink more coffee so I can remember the name of my rightie friend who reminded me of this yesterday on DP in one of our threads.
That DP-er also reminded me that being a real liberal is hard.
It's hard because to be a real liberal, you have to maintain an open mind, even if it means being open minded about hearing some conservative ideas here and there.
And vice versa, of course.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I think Bill Maher put it best a while ago.





Bill Maher:
"Is this really who we want to become? A society of phony, clenched-asshole avatars walking on eggshells, always looking over your shoulder about getting ratted out for something that actually has nothing to do with your character or morals?"

 

[calamity]

...
“The fundamental cause of the trouble in the modern world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”—Bertrand Russell

Ain't that the truth.

Six or seven years ago when my young daughter posted a "WokeAF" meme on her social media, I knew what she meant.
It meant that she really cared, she really was conscious about things happening all around her.
She was studying the world she lived in, seeing injustices and she wanted to do something to help.

The core definition. Yes.

Today her views are still much the same for the most part but now she lives in Portland and she's seen a side of "wokeness" that annoys the crap out of her.

I call that "Woke gone bad." It's when simple awareness gets replaced by silly insistences, like "Don't call me by a pronoun."

No, NOT the black flagger types downtown, that's a nuisance that's been a fixture up there since (AT LEAST) before Reagan, and they basically hate everyone outside their little circle.

Sadly, I attribute that to a reaction to the extremist Right living just outside the city limits, for hundreds of miles around. Oregon is one of the most racist states in the nation, worse even than the former slave states.

There is a kind of "inner fascist" inside some people and, as another DP-er pointed out quite correctly to me (more of a reminder actually) it can be found on both extreme ends of the political spectrum.
**To be sure, some of "THE MOST WOKE SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS YOU'VE EVER SEEN" WILL indeed find their way to the OTHER END of the spectrum in short order.

**
"What? Checkers, what the Hell are you on about now, with this 'other end of the spectrum' theme?"

Simple, folks like Elliott Abrams, Michael Ledeen, Irving Kristol, maybe HALF of the Reaganite inner circle consists of "WOKE LEFTISTS" who suddenly took a hard turn to the Right.
They annoyed the shit out of their liberal friends and associates to the point where they wore out their welcome with their extremism, so they just switched sides and found a home with the extremists on the Right instead.
It's the Horseshoe Theory played out to its ultimate conclusion.
Extremists are extremists, period.
Doesn't really matter which side they end up on because fundamentalism demands you shut off critical thinking whether you're on the Left OR the Right, and those are the folks who own the woke bullhorn now, and they ARE INDEED exercising a kind of fundamentalist style inner fascist that demands total fealty to their extremism and preaches destruction to anyone who dares to question anything they say.

Well, in a sense, the first "woke" person was the one in Rome whining about how poorly Christians are being treated. It's all relative. And, yeah. Once the whine gained traction, the opportunists stepped in to exploit it.

--Yeah, maybe I need to drink more coffee so I can remember the name of my rightie friend who reminded me of this yesterday on DP in one of our threads.
That DP-er also reminded me that being a real liberal is hard.
It's hard because to be a real liberal, you have to maintain an open mind, even if it means being open minded about hearing some conservative ideas here and there.
And vice versa, of course.

We used to be able to cross over to the other side. I could vote for Reagan and then Bush as well as Clinton. Now? I doubt I can support anything a conservative says anymore, even if I suspect that may not be 100% wrong.

 

[Linuxcooldude]

Ah, it's the old "if you disagree with me you're a racist" argument. Tell me, why do you think wokeness pertains to only race? Why is the left constantly hyper focused on race?

Because that's how they pander to the minority voter. Make up a racist agenda for votes. Another is to shut down opposing opinion or be called a racist. Another overused Democrat trick.

 

[calamity]

Because that's how they pander to the minority voter...

No, Dems attract the votes of people of color by not being racists like Trump supporting Republicans. Blacks aren't dumb. They know which Party is full of racists today.