Is Woke Culture as bad as we think it is?

Right, so I am going to begin this post in a slightly different way by apologising for the fact that some of the research for this post has come from sources with, shall I say, views of a slightly different political slant to my own. And I would think different to a lot of you who frequently read my posts.

For someone like me, it is slightly annoying when there are people out there whom once they have finished expressing their own personal views (which they are in every right to do so), they have the tendency to destroy the views of others. And to add the cherry on top, I reckon that many of them would like to destroy us! Absolutely f*cking wonderful. But it still leaves a space for us to ask ourselves, what is it that they seem to despise about our approach. As part of it, is seen as being “woke”, and whether one would actually want to identify as being “woke” or not, it is true that a lot of people seem to highly oppose to the idea of being “woke”, for one reason or another…

What is Woke?

Most of us have heard the term thrown around enough times, often in a derogatory way. One source states that it is “being plugged in and being actively aware of the world around you”. While the origins of the term actually stem from the “black community and its fight for equality”, mainly relating to the civil rights movement. In recent decades the term has become more common, while has evolved in meaning often used to describe (or poke fun at) people’s political views on the liberal left. An example would include when burger king used the term to describe their new Vegan burger, or better still, when one of their recent commercials was described as woke. Yet as well as just in a jokey way, “woke” has been used as an insulting term, therefore what is it that makes people sneer at the term?

Where it’s most hated

As you can guess, “woke” has received more backlash from the social right as opposed to the liberal left. These groups tend to express their concerns that woke people are inferior, for being “self righteous”, “judgmental”, “moralistic” and overly sensitive. Part of this could be down to how “woke” people are perceived to judge people who are less “woke” than themselves, or have contrasting political views. As well as due to the extent of political correctness on society today. As a consequence it can lead to those with diffferent political views feeling as if they’re prohibited from expressing their own beliefs. The impact of this has probably been enhanced, as a result off the recent phenonom, “cancel culture”, which often results in particular views (and people”, being “cancelled” on social media. This way, it can be understood why there is such a strong dislike of woke culture among many groups who may claim to feel surpressed. Which in turn, has led to a movement in which some refer to as “anti cancel culture”, whereby key figureheads include Pierce Morgan and Laurence Fox.

So What’s Actually Wrong with Woke Culture

So whilst it can be understood why people are against woke culture, surely at the end of the day it has got to be a positive movement considering how it basically encourages people to be “woke”, or “awake” of what is happening around them. Nonetheless while the meaning of woke can be interpreted in many ways, and while people have claimed that it can be used to describe a range of political views providing they have a good understanding of the issues, we all know it is mainly used to describe the standpoints of those on the lib left. This kind of culture means that often (although by no means not always), people who hold very different political opinions would feel prevented from speaking about them openly, which can result in them feeling as if their views are being suppressed. Because of this, rather than certain issues being up for discussion, “unwoke” views are just held within these people, preventing the chances of these people from being educated. This results in more people feeling as if they are unable to put their views forward, resulting in more feeling disengaged preventing people from becoming more educated. Furthermore, it can result in complaints among those who identify with being “woke”, or hold similar values due to feeling that they’re views are always going to be correct rather than being willing to further develop their political values.

So while the emergence of “woke culture” is likely to be a reflection of the growing number of young people politically engaged, it is also true that a large number of young people would probably turn their noses up at being referred to as woke, for a range of reasons. Therefore, while it is important or us to be as politically engaged as we can be, it is important not to close off some of the views which others may hold, and allow a platform for open and honest discussion.

Performative Activism on social media and how it affects people! – Youthdeck

The White Savior Complex – Contemporary Racism

5 Bad Habits “Woke” People Need to Break • EBONY

Why I’m Not Woke | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson (thecrimson.com)

The Promise and Problems of Being Woke | Psychology Today

How the word ‘woke’ was hijacked to silence people of colour | Metro News