The Fundamentals of Being “Woke”, Good or Bad, Why? (1 Viewer)

[Huntn]

To be "woke" politically in the Black community means that someone is informed, educated and conscious of social injustice and racial inequality, Merriam-Webster Dictionary states

What does 'woke' mean and why are some conservatives using it?

Conservatives are using ‘woke,’ a term coined by Black Americans, against progressive ideals of social justice during this midterm election cycle.

abcnews.go.com

Republicans are crusading against 'wokeness'

Yet lawmakers and operatives who spoke to NBC News varied in how they define the idea, while others said they didn't know much about "wokeness" at all.

www.nbcnews.com

By definition “Woke” means awareness, awareness of social injustice and racial inequality. More importantly in my mind as a fiscally moderate Caucasian who leans liberal on social issues, it is vital that we live up to the standards as put into place by our Founding Fathers, equality before the law, equal rights, and equal opportunity, in essence a level playing field for all, the right not to be discriminated against in the public market place or in public education. Btw, by standing by these principles, does this make me a conservative or a liberal?

So why are Conservatives at war against being woke And why ban it in the classroom? How can being educated about our past and social injustice be bad? Is it because:

• This stuff is all made up?
• Well it happened but don’t feel comfortable acknowledging it?
• It is still happening?
• I don’t want to be blamed for it?
• It will be used to take away personal advantages?
• Or it is going to cost me money?

Imo, the real issue here racial inequality and injustice is that not only is it not made up, it’s not in our past either. It is ongoing and we need face this responsibly.

 

[MT15]

and from right wing new sources
======================

There are countless videos on TikTok and Twitter depicting woke individuals who are generally problematic. Generally, they are seen as loud, outspoken and irrational. Furthermore, it seems that an actual study done by Pew in 2020 states that liberals have a higher tendency to have mental illness.

According to WIBC, a study discovers that individuals identifying as conservatives are notably less likely to receive diagnoses for mental health issues. This is in comparison to those identifying as either liberal or “very liberal.”

Disturbingly, young white women are facing the most severe impact. Among white women between 18-29, liberals are receiving mental health diagnoses from medical professionals at a staggering rate of 56.3%. Following that, moderates are experiencing it at a rate of 28.4%, and conservatives a rate of 27.3%.

End Wokeness, a growing and popular movement on Twitter states that this political ideology is a mental health crisis. Furthermore, another Twitter user posts a conservative’s definition of woke. It states that these people are unintelligible people seeking for the injustice happening everywhere else except for their own behavior..........

MSN

This is heinous. I already blocked the first account a while ago, the one replying is a new block for me. The only good thing about this is pointing out the idiots who need blocking.

 

[MT15]

This is one of my newer followers on Twitter. He is important because if the Evangelicals can be turned away from their lurch to the far right politically, there will have to be voices from within the movement willing to defend “woke” and DIE:

 

[coldseat]

This is an excellent opinion piece by Perry Bacon Jr. on what he's calling anti-woke centrism and how Chris Licht really doomed CNN with it. He's absolutely right, as I've seen this often on this board and elsewhere.

In a roughly 15,000-word profile published last week by the Atlantic, CNN chief executive Chris Licht, who has complained that the network’s journalists were too opinionated when Donald Trump was president, gave a lot of, well, opinions.

He expressed skepticism about defunding the police and about using trans-inclusive language when referring to people who give birth to children. He implied people of color with Harvard degrees don’t add diversity to newsrooms and suggested that the news media should have more reporters who are religious, who own guns and who lived on food stamps as kids. He speculated that covid-19 deaths might have been overcounted by public officials. He said journalists should not “virtue signal” and that it’s hard to have “difficult conversations without being demonized or labeled.”

After the firestorm created by the Atlantic article, Licht is now stepping down from his post. But all of the harsh criticism is a bit unfair to Licht. In particular, his skepticism of left-wing causes, and his view that people who don’t agree with the left are constantly attacked and shamed, isn’t some outlier stance. These ideas are regularly expressed in many of the nation’s most prominent news outlets. If you spend a lot of time talking to White men in Democratic politics, as I do, you have to nod along as comments like Licht’s are made, even if you don’t agree with them, to signal that you are a reasonable person worth talking to.

Licht’s comments embody an anti-woke centrism that is increasingly prominent in American media and politics today, particularly among powerful White men who live on the coasts and don’t identify as Republicans or conservatives. It’s deeply flawed, and it’s pushing some important U.S. institutions to make bad decisions.

By anti-woke, what I mean is skepticism of progressive causes and ideas, especially on issues of gender, race and sexuality. The term “woke” is vague and imprecise. But I think it does capture the movements toward greater equality such as Black Lives Matter that have gained strength and prominence over the past decade, particularly since the protests after the killing of George Floyd.

What I am describing is softer than the outright opposition on the political right to ideas such as critical race theory. Licht, for example, did not say he wants to see racial diversity initiatives at workplaces overturned or to ban gender-affirming care.

You might call this centrism — and, to some extent, it is. But this is not the centrism of say, President Biden, who opposes some left-wing causes but doesn’t spend a lot of time deriding people who support them. Anti-woke centrism is really about emphasizing differences with progressives, who are inaccurately cast as Twitter-obsessed college graduates who constantly use terms like Latinx and are out of touch with ordinary Democratic voters.

Also, this kind of centrism isn’t usually described with that term by the people who practice it. Instead, they cast themselves as nonideological and neutral, while arguing that those who criticize them are dogmatic and nonobjective. Licht repeatedly referred to those who don’t share his journalism vision as looking to do “advocacy.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/06/anti-woke-centrism-cnn-chris-licht-atlantic-profile/

 

[Optimus Prime]

first time hearing about the 'anti-woke online marketplace' - like amazon but only for freedom and liberty loving patriots
===============================================

An 'anti-woke' online marketplace says it has nearly doubled its number of users since consumers started to boycott Bud Light for its promotional tie-in with transgender social medial star.

On Tuesday it emerged that sales of Bud Light had continued to fall, as PublicSq, which markets itself as a patriotic, America-first alternative to Amazon, said its engagement had soared.

It recorded slightly more than one million active consumers on May 31, according to data submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, compared with about 560,000 on March 31.

The Bud Light boycott began in early April.

Michael Seifert, founder and chief executive of PublicSq, said: 'The past few months have shown that tens of millions of Americans are eager for companies that share their values.

'PublicSq connects freedom-loving Americans with businesses that respect them.'

The San-Diego company launched nationwide seven months ago and now hosts more than 55,000 'patriotic' vendors.

And it has drawn in conservative heavyweights like Donald Trump Jr., who is an investor and an adviser, and former Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters.

Their aim is to build a 'parallel economy' where consumers do not have to buy anything from vendors whose political values don't align with their own........

MSN

 

[Bigdaddysaints]

I wonder if any of the emplee's here are gonna Boycott their on workplace for thier company being woke? I got this email this morning..

 

[Huntn]

first time hearing about the 'anti-woke online marketplace' - like amazon but only freedom and liberty loving patriots
===============================================

An 'anti-woke' online marketplace says it has nearly doubled its number of users since consumers started to boycott Bud Light for its promotional tie-in with transgender social medial star.

On Tuesday it emerged that sales of Bud Light had continued to fall, as PublicSq, which markets itself as a patriotic, America-first alternative to Amazon, said its engagement had soared.

It recorded slightly more than one million active consumers on May 31, according to data submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, compared with about 560,000 on March 31.

The Bud Light boycott began in early April.

Michael Seifert, founder and chief executive of PublicSq, said: 'The past few months have shown that tens of millions of Americans are eager for companies that share their values.

'PublicSq connects freedom-loving Americans with businesses that respect them.'

The San-Diego company launched nationwide seven months ago and now hosts more than 55,000 'patriotic' vendors.

And it has drawn in conservative heavyweights like Donald Trump Jr., who is an investor and an adviser, and former Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters.

Their aim is to build a 'parallel economy' where consumers do not have to buy anything from vendors whose political values don't align with their own........

MSN

Wow, freedom and liberty loving patriots against being awake. Some hard core redefining of labels going on here (not by you). Not only sad, but onerous.

 

[Optimus Prime]

guess this can go here

this was quickly walked back but definitely overkill in my opinion, it is one of the most famous photographs of all time






.......The photo "depicts a non-consensual act" that is "inconsistent with the VA's no-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and assault," Nelson said in the memo.

She said employees should "promptly" remove the photo and find replacements that "honor our history and veterans in a manner consistent with our values."..........

Is the VA banning iconic WWII kiss photo? Secretary McDonough says photo will stay

A VA official told USA TODAY the memo was sent out and should not have been, and has been rescinded.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Taurus]

guess this can go here

this was quickly walked back but definitely overkill in my opinion, it is one of the most famous photographs of all time






.......The photo "depicts a non-consensual act" that is "inconsistent with the VA's no-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and assault," Nelson said in the memo.

She said employees should "promptly" remove the photo and find replacements that "honor our history and veterans in a manner consistent with our values."..........

Is the VA banning iconic WWII kiss photo? Secretary McDonough says photo will stay

A VA official told USA TODAY the memo was sent out and should not have been, and has been rescinded.

www.usatoday.com

It's as good an example of "overly woke" as I can think of right now.

Some people are just always on the lookout to be offended. They may think they're helping whatever cause is related, but in reality they're tiresome, annoying twits.

 

[Optimus Prime]

It's as good an example of "overly woke" as I can think of right now.

Some people are just always on the lookout to be offended. They may think they're helping whatever cause is related, but in reality they're tiresome, annoying twits.

People were trying to 'cancel' Abe Lincoln for not being as 'woke' and noble as they learned in grade school and Martin Luther King Jr. for his infidelity

This belongs in that category

If I remember right the identities weren't confirmed until the 1990s. Before that everyone and their brother and sister of the right age claimed to be the two in the picture

 

[Huntn]

People were trying to 'cancel' Abe Lincoln for not being as 'woke' and noble as they learned in grade school and Martin Luther King Jr. for his infidelity

This belongs in that category

If I remember right the identities weren't confirmed until the 1990s. Before that everyone and their brother and sister of the right age claimed to be the two in the picture

It might look like to some, but you’d have to ask the woman to verify how consensual the kiss was. Even if it was nonconsensual, then you’d have to ask how bothered the woman was by it. And you might want to ask the guy, because he might have been bewitched by a spell, did he consent?

 

[RobF]

It might look like to some, but you’d have to ask the woman to verify how consensual the kiss was. Even if it was nonconsensual, then you’d have to ask how bothered the woman was by it. And you might want to ask the guy, because he might have been bewitched by a spell, did he consent?

Greta Zimmer Friedman - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[MT15]

Greta Zimmer Friedman - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Thanks. From the moment I saw the picture when I was a young girl, I knew it wasn’t a kiss between two people who had romantic feelings for each other. It always made me a tiny bit uncomfortable because I can’t NOT see the way he is using his left arm to pin her head. It’s not a big deal, and she seemed to be very charitable and I understand he let his emotions flow to do that, and it was such a huge relief to have the war over. But nobody should ever see it as a romantic moment, really. A moment of jubilant celebration where one person made another person join his celebration. It’s not worth the hubbub.

 

[Optimus Prime]

I've said this before but the right are masters at taking a term and completely perverting and intentionally misconstruing and abusing the meaning of it, to the point where what once was a positive is now a negative and people no longer use the term in it's intended way

It happened with Political Correctness

It happened with Social Justice Warrior

It happened with Critical Race Theory

It happened to Woke

I'm sure there are other terms it happened to in the past and have no doubt it will happen again in the future

and not surprisingly, what do they all have in common?

They are all about awareness, compassion, understanding, realization of marginalized people

Now DEI (has been for a while though - with DeSantis leading the charge)
========

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) has accused his critics of racism after many labeled him the “DEI mayor” following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this week.

The collapse occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a cargo ship lost power and collided into the bridge. Six people were presumed dead after the bridge fell.

Soon after the collapse, social media users — including Utah state Rep. Phil Lyman (R) and Florida congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini (R) — attributed the tragedy to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Scott on Wednesday told MSNBC’s Joy Reid that these attacks on his identity are rooted in racism.

“I know, and we know, and you know very well that Black men, and young Black men in particular, have been the bogeyman for those who are racist and think that only straight, wealthy White men should have a say in anything,” the Baltimore mayor said.

Republicans around the nation have taken a stance against DEI, arguing it is a divisive concept that unfairly gives advantages to minorities..........

“We know what they want to say, but they don’t have the courage to say the N-word, and the fact that I don’t believe in their untruthful and wrong ideology,” he continued.

“And I am very proud of my heritage and who I am and where I come from scares them, because me being at my position means that their way of thinking, their way of life of being comfortable while everyone else suffers is going to be at risk, and they should be afraid because that’s my purpose in life.”.........

Baltimore mayor says critics ‘don’t have the courage to say the N-word’

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) has accused his critics of racism after many labeled him the “DEI mayor” following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this week. The collapse occ…

thehill.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[Optimus Prime]

After the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, it fell to Baltimore’s mayor, Brandon Scott, to explain the disaster and outline the next steps.

But as online clips of the 39-year-old Democrat in his city of Baltimore varsity jacket began circulating, the conversation around the bridge collapse shifted from Scott’s emergency management strategy to his skin color.

“This is Baltimore’s DEI mayor,” read one viral X post panning Scott, who is Black. “It’s going to get so, so much worse. Prepare accordingly.”

Before long the Maryland governor, Wes Moore, and port commissioner, Karenthia Barber, were also attacked as DEI agents and blamed for what maritime authorities have repeatedly described as a shipping accident.

“This is what happens when you have Governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens,” wrote Phil Lyman, a Utah Republican gubernatorial candidate. Ever since, DEI has not only become a trending word but a near-taboo three-letter profanity.

“The far right has really taken these ideas to an extreme and are not really worried about seeming racist,” says Natasha Warikoo, a sociologist at Tufts University and researcher of racial and ethnic inequality in education. “They are loud and proud of their views.”

DEI – short for diversity, equity and inclusion – has become the latest dog-whistle term in the conservative war of words to frame basic egalitarianism as a net negative.

The abbreviation dates to the mid-1960s, as the social justice movements and legal shifts of the day began reshaping the halls of academia and corporate America.

It comes against the backdrop of huge row-back and assaults on bedrock civil rights measures after more than a half century of legislative and social gains, with Florida leading the charge of red states pushing bans on DEI efforts in higher education and public office.

Google and Meta are among the tech giants that cut DEI programs last year, and the president of the nation’s largest human resources organizationwarned of more to come in Silicon Valley and beyond.

The word DEI follows in the ignominious tradition of progressive vocabulary that has been weaponized against the left, with its original ideas and context replaced with a familiar theme – white replacement theory.

The plot to appropriate “DEI”, conceived in the conservative Claremont Institute and raised into a full-blown movement led helmed by the venture capitalist Bill Ackman, the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo and other activists – has expanded to include fomenting dissent at open-minded institutions such as NPR, which recently saw a veteran editor step down in protest against what he claimed was the company’s myopically liberal approach toward news gathering.

“There’s always been this idea in societies that inherit from colonialism and slavery that opening up opportunities to those who are gravely marginalized incurs this kind of tax,” says Jamie Thomas, a linguistic anthropologist with a focus on race and pop culture. “That you’re going to lose quality by expanding opportunity. It’s so disingenuous.”……….

Racist dog whistle: the right wing has weaponized ‘DEI’

The decades-old term is about egalitarianism – but conservatives have turned it into a three-letter profanity

www.theguardian.com

 

[bird]

Woke.

What a time we live in. Conservatives and so many white people are scared to death. This is not about taxes or any other such nonsense.

Make no mistake. This is about fear, period. White people are afraid.

Btw, do not delude yourself into thinking that young people will arbitrarily save the day. There is an unending supply of scared, conservative white people. They are in Gen-X, Gen-Y, Millenials and Gen-Z. They are taught fear and hatred.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Guess this can go here
=================

Last year, Eli Lilly’s annual shareholders letter referenced the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion 48 times. This year, “DEI” is nowhere to be found.


In March, Starbucks got shareholder approval to replace “representation” goals with “talent” performance for executive bonus incentives. At Molson Coors, “People & Planet” metrics have displaced environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, and the acronym DEI has disappeared altogether.


Amid growing legal, social and political backlash, American businesses, industry groups and employment professionals are quietly scrubbing DEI from public view — though not necessarily abandoning its practice.

As they rebrand programs and hot-button acronyms, they’re reassessing decades-old anti-discrimination strategies and rewriting policies that once emphasized race and gender to prioritize inclusion for all.


It’s a stark contrast to 2020, when the murder of George Floyd unleashed a racial justice movement that prompted companies to double down on policies aiming to increase opportunity for groups that have historically faced discrimination.

Less than a year after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in colleges and universities — a landmark ruling that found race-conscious admissions violated the right to equal treatment under the Constitution — a growing contingent of critics is arguing that DEI creates inequalities of its own.

Some conservatives have blamed DEI for a variety of problems, such as the Baltimore bridge collapse and Boeing’s safety woes, without providing evidence. Dozens of anti-DEI bills are being considered by state legislatures across the country, and DEI looks poised to become a wedge issue in this year’s presidential election…….

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/05/dei-affirmative-action-rebrand-evolution/