Pardon the Interruption
"Woke" has become a political trigger word recently. Many conservatives who use the word "woke" have even stumbled to define its meaning, such as conservative writer Bethany Mandel in a now viral interview with Briahna Joy Gray.
Google search the term "wokeness" and you'll get a definition from Oxford Languages, "the quality of being alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination." Liberals and progressives have been using the word to address the need for more social equity and equality and raise awareness of racism.
It's a term that has now been hijacked and repurposed by conservatives to call attention to all that is perceived wrong with society and culture, whether it's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), LGBTQ+ issues, library books, feminism, immigration, climate change, etc., etc., etc. Woke has now become a word to express opposition and grievances by the privileged. Many have used woke as a threat to conservative family values.
Best explained by Adam Serwer, "Most of the utility of woke as a political epithet is tied to its ambiguity; it often allows its users to condemn something without making the grounds of their objection uncomfortably explicit."
But as conservative columnist Johnny Luk noted in an opinion piece, "wokeness can also shut down good causes... No systemic problem can be solved without both sides listening. How can we give permission to people to engage in debate without slapping them down for having a different view?"
Source:
https://theweek.com/political-satire/1021115/too-woke
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/6/24/what-is-woke-culture-and-why-has-it-become-so-toxic
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/bethany-mandel-woke-interview-definition/673454/
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/woke-conservatives/story?id=93051138
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