Errant Thoughts…

A site for me to share my thoughts, travels or whatever else might be on my mind…

I Just Don’t Understand “Anti-Woke”

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Dave

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The whole Anti-Woke sentiment and movement really leaves me confused and a bit frustrated.  I have looked at numerous sources for a definition of “Woke”, including Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, Oxford, and Wikipedia, and while they may vary slightly, I think it is fair for me to define “Woke” as “an awareness and concern over social issues including racism, sexism, the marginalizing of various entities, and inequality in general.”  Considering this definition, I struggle to understand why anyone would want to oppose it, let alone actively campaign against it.  Yet, there is a very strong anti-woke movement and some see it as a term you would only use to insult someone else.  Let’s look at some examples:

  • Nikki Haley has campaigned on a slogan of “Strong and proud, not weak and woke.” She has also stated that “wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic, hands down.”
  • Vivek Ramaswamy has referred to it as a symbol of our nation’s identity crisis and as a “cultural cancer”. He wrote a book called Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.  Finally, he has described wokeness as “obsessing about race, gender, and sexual orientation.  Maybe climate change too.”  Not exactly sure how he added in climate change…
  • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared in his January 2023 inaugural address that, “We will never surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die.”  He supported and enacted the “Individual Freedom Act”, which is commonly known as the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act (Stop WOKE Act for short), which regulates instructional content in Florida schools and in the workplace.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not so blind that I don’t recognize that some who claim to be concerned about social issues are talking out of both sides of their mouth.  The clothing designer that supports civil-rights activism… while exploiting workers abroad.  The company that advertises their donations and support to social programs, while offering sub-standard wage and benefit packages.  The individual of authority who presents themselves as being above reproach… while abusing their position for their own benefit.  But this sort of abuse is nothing new; we have always had grifters, carpetbaggers, and unscrupulous opportunists who take advantage of a good cause, or a sad situation, for their personal gain.  If you are going to argue that being “woke” is bad because there are some really bad actors out their hiding under a woke umbrella, then I would challenge you to find anything that you could claim to be good (religion, military, police, physicians, etc.???).  As Thomas Aquinas said, “…evil cannot exist without good.”  I am all for exposing the bad actors and holding them accountable, but this does not justify opposing greater focus on the needs and the good.  It does not justify bastardizing the term “Woke” and making it a scapegoat to be used in supporting someone’s agenda, political or otherwise.

Consider this: Jesus called out self-righteous priests, scribes and pharisees and referred to them as hypocrites.  This did not cause him to question the Old Testament, the prophets or his faith.  In addition, in Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”, as recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew, he said “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied… Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Bottom line, it sounds to me like Jesus was, and is, Woke…

16 responses to “I Just Don’t Understand “Anti-Woke””

  1. Okay I will bite. I am an independent so the right thinks I am a Democrat and the left thinks I am Republican. First I would say this would be a better use of time if it centered on actual policies rather than these cable news topics but as I said I will bite.

    Woke is not another term for progressive and anti woke is not another term for racist. Woke to me refers to those who catalog people into identity buckets rather than seeing the person. Woke are those small group of people who attempt to bend others to their will. They are not the kind or the just and they are not Democrats. No doubt the politicians on the right will hype it for votes. It works because there is some truth to it. I always loved our industry Dave because we were always focused on the person not the disability. It was always about helping that person achieve as much independence as possible. No matter where you went in the world those in complex Rehab acted the same. Politics, color, religion etc didn’t matter.

    These discussions usually just send people to their corners, rarely does anything to change minds. Would love to see discussions around specific issues. Immigration as an example. If you were writing the laws what would you recommend? Open border, number allowed per year, build a bigger wall etc. Same with Transgender athletes, income inequality, abortion, criminal Justice, homelessness and so on. Don’t tell me how bad the other guy is what do people recommend? So far I have only seen demonization of imagined politics.

    Woke is the dumbest term I have heard in awhile. Hate is hate.

    Next subject.

    • Mark, thanks so much for reading my blog and for your thoughts. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a big fan of the term “woke”. Frankly, I see it as one more step toward the elimination of clarity for the sake of brevity. For example, if we replaced the word “woke” with a phrase like “concern for racial, social and sexual injustice that exists in the world” I would doubt that anyone would step up to demonize it… or bastardize it to insult others. That being said, I still get frustrated when anyone bastardized a word or phrase and / or misuse it for their own personal gain.

      As for discussions around specific issues, I hear you, and I certainly have my own strong opinions, but I am fearful that discussing any subject without having a full understanding of the variables and complexities wouldn’t produce any viable solutions and could lead to angst and animosity. One of the most mentally challenged (how’s that for a politically correct description) once told me, “It’s easy to argue in ignorance”.

      As for some of the items you actually identified: immigration, abortion, homelessness, income inequality, etc. I just wish I had any solutions that would address all of the variables, (with faith, versus finances, versus political agendas being some of the challenges). If you’d like to chat one on one regarding any of these just let me know.

      Thanks again!

      Dave

      • Agree. The issues do require lots of nuance and context. Maybe we can chat one of these days live. Always enjoy reasoned debate and I always learn something.

        • Mark, I would welcome the chance to chat with you more. I got your information via Messenger and will be reaching out over the next couple of days.

  2. Hey Dave,
    Any term that is used to marginalize and dismiss a group of people is offensive to me. The terms that the left use to describe the right as well as the term the right uses to describe the left. Both sides of the isle are guilty.

    Woke, Trumpers, Libs, Dems, Haters, identifying anyone who is concervative as a potential terrorist. We are marginalizing and isolating each other in order to attack and vilify those who don’t agree with us.

    • Hi Martie! Thanks so much for reading my blog and for your comments. I completely agree with you, it seems that our society has move to a position of: You’re either with me or your against me, and if you’re against me… you’re the enemy. Everything is black or white… while I still see most things in shades of gray. I mourn for the days when folks could have different political opinions but discuss them openly and without fear of insulting and / or angering another person. Maybe I was just too young and naive, but I seem to remember a time when being a Republican, Democrat, Independent, etc. was treated similarly to being a Cub fan or a Cardinal fan. It was a rivalry that could still end with the shaking of hands… and maybe going out for a beer.

      I also must say that I don’t particularly care for the word “woke”. It would be far harder for anyone to misunderstand your position if you said “I am concerned about racial, sexual and social injustice that exists in the world.” This said, I still can’t abide anyone bastardizing a term for their own interest or agenda. It is the way that individuals have abused the terms: woke, liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, etc. that is wrong. It is also insulting that those who abuse these terms are relying upon the people they are trying to appeal to being uninformed.

      Once again, thanks and I hope you keep reading and sharing!

      Dave

  3. To me, it is a term “catch-phrase” that Politicians use to identify with anything they think is wrong in the world. They seem to change its intent to fit whatever bandwagon they are supporting.

  4. Thanks Dave. Your points are well taken.

    I’ve always thought the term “woke” was ill-conceived. For example, woke vs. asleep…or unconscious perhaps? How about woke vs. “asleep at the switch”?

    Finally, your biblical reference reminded me of the story when Jesus left the disciples briefly to pray. He returned to find them sleeping. Jesus said to Peter, “So, you men couldn’t stay awake with me one hour?” Again, in this case, I’d think it would be preferable to be counted with the guys who were awake…or woke.

    I guess I’m saying the terminology doesn’t really fit the social circumstance folks are attempting to describe.

    • I agree that I don’t particularly care for the term “woke” and I think that other terms or phrases could be better and more broadly understood. That having been said, my frustration is lies in bastardizing the term to imply it is somehow wrong or evil when it actually represent something I would consider good and noble.

      I am reminded of the legendary story of the 1982 Senate race between Claude Pepper and George A. Smathers. While the following quote has now been determined to be a myth it still seems to sum up the method of using words incorrectly to support an agenda with individuals that aren’t aware of the words real meaning: ”Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law and he has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper, before his marriage, habitually practiced celibacy.”

  5. Dave – 1. I agree with everything you said. You must, however, consider the source.
    2. The anti-Woke crowd haven’t a clue what the term really means, and they don’t care. They have appropriated it to describe all that is wrong with liberal thought. People like DeSantis would have you believe “woke-ism” is worship of the devil, polluting the minds of our children, and leading to the destruction of our country. It is a single syllable, easy to use, and makes a great rallying cry for those people who do not want to be confused with facts. As I’ve been known to say, “you can’t cure stupid”.
    Dan

    • No worries! I’m not saying that I particularly like the word “woke”, and I think that there are a lot of other words / phrases that could be used just as effectively, like empathetic, aware of social issues and injustices, etc. However, let’s not bastardize the term to imply that it is evil or dangerous.