Wtf is “woke” ? It’s seems like there’s no agreeable explanation ? What is “woke” to you ?

5 comments

1. “Woke” originally meant that you were aware of what you perceive to be racial injustice in American society, then evolved to include other forms of discrimination. “Woke” has now kind of become a pejorative used to accuse people of being too far to the left on these issues. What different people consider to be “too far” pretty widely varies

2. It turned into a pejorative term meaning “going too far on social (esp. racial) issues, or only cares about them in a performative sense” with the slight complication that “too far” is a different threshold for different people, so it covers everything from firing a voice actor for being the wrong skin color to bail reform to not automatically suspending black students for the same offenses white and Asian students get suspended to having to lay off ethnic minority teachers last (minneapolis for the last two)

3. “Woke” was originally derived from woken up (the idea being that ‘woke’ people were ware of the problems in society that others missed).

   It refers to the socially progressive movement in the country which attempts (much debate over whether it succeeds) to improve society by protecting the rights and fealings of those they see as marginalized. This is done by both improving awareness of their situation and passing laws to protect them.

   The typical groups they see as marginalized are ethnic minorities (especially African Americans), and sexual minorities. The ‘woke’ movement argues that ethnic minorities face unfair discrimination in employment, and are unfairly treated by police. They also claim that sexual minorities are often forced to repress by a society that doesn’t accept them the way they should.

   Critics of the ‘woke’ movement accuse them of demonizing police, and making martyrs out of actual criminals. They argue that the chief problems the African Americans face are high crime rates, and single parent families, not societal discrimination. They also argue that the push to protect sexual minorities ends up exposing young children in school into sexual situations they aren’t mature enough to deal with.

   Lastly, there has been a lot of backlash against what is seen as ‘woke’ entertainment. This is mainly claimed when a woman or minority is recast into a role that was previously held by a white male. It is also claimed as an increasing amount of movies lecturing to audiences on why they aren’t ‘woke’ enough.

4. Woke is an insult used by far right conservatives, and a signal of membership of youre far left.

   I don’t think people in the middle really know or care what it means?

5. “Woke,” as the word, gives me the same headache “basic” does–whatever meaning it started with, its now a catch-all term stretched beyond the point of usefulness to convey concepts. You wind up having to deduce the meaning of the specific use by context…and often there is no meaning except to express dislike, and/or avoid silence.