Hi Jonathan, I read your description of woke this morning after reading about it from the against-woke group that asked you to define it.
I don’t agree with your definition. My main reason is that you are NOT defining woke. You are describing people who may want to think they are woke but who are in fact exclusionary and self-congratulating.
I have a problem with making political (and other) decisions based on terms like woke and anti-woke. Often these groups are pushing something that has nothing to do with wokeness/anti-wokeness and are instead promoting divisive, reactionary and sometimes flat out extremisism (on all sides). Take care
You can certainly disagree with the definition all you like, but the thing about language is that it's alive and words take on the meaning of frequent and popular usage over time. I'd say he's pretty spot on, since the individuals you refer to as people who "think they are woke" define themselves thusly, in the loudest of ways, and as such, they are the ones who are now thought of when the word "woke" is used in common discourse.
Sort of like how the words "liberal" and "feminist" have now also been tainted. People are now claiming they are "moderate" or "classical" liberals, though the new faux-progressivism has nothing to do with liberal or even progressive principles, being against free speech and equality under the law. Feminism has been a hive of quackery since the 3rd wave, however, and I have no hopes of reclaiming that particular word. Many former feminists are now saying they are womanists, and I think that's fine.
I do agree that there is some increasing extremism on "both sides", which is somewhat concerning, but this is how human societies tend to be so I'm not sure what can be done about that other than encouraging a more civil discourse in the culture. I'm not optimistic about this, though!
Is Marxism but with race
For an expanded view on this including Jonathan Kay's explanation:
https://blueprintforcanada.ca/woke_ideology.html
Hi Jonathan, I read your description of woke this morning after reading about it from the against-woke group that asked you to define it.
I don’t agree with your definition. My main reason is that you are NOT defining woke. You are describing people who may want to think they are woke but who are in fact exclusionary and self-congratulating.
I have a problem with making political (and other) decisions based on terms like woke and anti-woke. Often these groups are pushing something that has nothing to do with wokeness/anti-wokeness and are instead promoting divisive, reactionary and sometimes flat out extremisism (on all sides). Take care
Louise, since you do not care for Jon’s definition of “Woke”, how would you define the word?
You can certainly disagree with the definition all you like, but the thing about language is that it's alive and words take on the meaning of frequent and popular usage over time. I'd say he's pretty spot on, since the individuals you refer to as people who "think they are woke" define themselves thusly, in the loudest of ways, and as such, they are the ones who are now thought of when the word "woke" is used in common discourse.
Sort of like how the words "liberal" and "feminist" have now also been tainted. People are now claiming they are "moderate" or "classical" liberals, though the new faux-progressivism has nothing to do with liberal or even progressive principles, being against free speech and equality under the law. Feminism has been a hive of quackery since the 3rd wave, however, and I have no hopes of reclaiming that particular word. Many former feminists are now saying they are womanists, and I think that's fine.
I do agree that there is some increasing extremism on "both sides", which is somewhat concerning, but this is how human societies tend to be so I'm not sure what can be done about that other than encouraging a more civil discourse in the culture. I'm not optimistic about this, though!