What is wrong with being 'woke'?

[Whyistheteacold]

The original meaning of being 'woke' was being aware of social inequalities, specifically racism. It's usage seems to have been subverted to a negative thing, it suggests an insencere concern for issues, being overly sensitive or just plain silly.

If being woke is an insult, the subtext is that speaking out/being concerned about injustice or issues likes racism is also bad... Am I missing something obvious?

When did it become wrong or a weakness to make yourself aware of the issues that other people may have?

Maybe it’s the jeans ....

m.youtube.com/watch?v=adPXDTvADD0

@PetertheWalrus

Sadly it is too often accompanied by an overwhelming sense of self-righteousness and a conviction (usually based on the flimsiest of reasons) that the person holding the "woke" viewpoint is always correct and those they disagree with are evil scum. Being "woke" is seldom a pleasant characteristic IMO.

Yep, this

There also a tendency of woke people to get offended if you dont show that same level of 'enthusiasm" they have, it makes you as bad as the ones they against

DD wrote a list of her beliefs which amounted to a litany of woke mantras and then told me I had to agree. It is the lack of critical thinking or allowance for a different view that is a marker.

@changedmynameforChristmas

I had no idea what it meant until I looked it up. Now I just think this thread is pretentious and pretty damn pointless. Why not just speak sense so people can understand ??

In the kindest possible way, it isn't other people's fault if you don't understand something. If you've learnt something new, that's positive surely?

@Ozgirl75

It’s not new though, when I was younger, in the 90s it was “oh you’re so PC” as an insult. “Woke” as an insult is the new PC.

Yes this - with the same meaning of 'I'm a bit prejudiced and you won't like what I'm saying' so I'm putting you down'.

The meaning of the word had changed.
I love the Tracey Ullman woke video. It's so funny. Very clever.

Haven't rtft

But I'd say it's the cancelling, doxxing, demanding blind compliance akin to religious fundamentalism, censorship, lack of logic and rational thought, virtue signalling, victimhood, narcissism dressed up as compassion, weaponising of human empathy that i find hard to stomach.

If it means supporting social justice and being actively against oppression in all of its forms then I am happy to be called woke.

Has it replaced PC now? Another invented term to ridicule people with progressive thinking.

And it’s so fucking dull. Endless hours debating nuances that shouldn’t even merit a minute’s discussion. The virtue signalling. The utter inability to accept there can be differing but equally valid viewpoint. The rage. The hatred. It’s so so boring and wasteful.

I think it's because conspiracy theorists and the likes have adopted it to show they are superior to the 'sheeple'. Covid and the launch of 5g has ramped that right up too.

It is the lack of critical thinking
This. We've more graduates than ever and yet critical thinking is very thin on the ground. I wonder if that's tied to the shift from 'student' to 'customer'.

Exactly what MrsBrunch said. Coupled wi ty not being able to have an informed discussion/debate. Standing up against racism - absolutely. Conversely re trans rights (live and let live) in one sense but totally against inclusion of trans in women’s sports (categorically and morally wrong IMO) and the whole pronoun bullshit.

Totally with.....

@motorcyclenumptiness

It is the lack of critical thinking This. We've more graduates than ever and yet critical thinking is very thin on the ground. I wonder if that's tied to the shift from 'student' to 'customer'.

Critical thinking wasn't in wide supply before we had lots of graduates. People bash students but I wasn't tripping over thoughtful non-students thirty years ago.

The main issue with woke is that it is the most closed minded of all. Woke for woklets is the only way to be and branded as an original sequence of thought. It isn't. Being a decent person is further reaching than woke.

Woke is now synonymous with black and white thinking, virtue signalling and baseless mantras. Sad, as it originally meant awareness of injustices and a desire for equality.

@OhWhyNot. I LOVE that SNL sketch - it exemplifies the pointless try hard of modern woke-ness

Critical thinking wasn't in wide supply before we had lots of graduates
Er that's my point. Critical thinking's essential for meaningful academic study so you'd think that a population with a high number of grads would be better able/willing to engage in debate/analysis. Instead no-platforming/cancelling has become the go-to position.

It used to be called political correctness back in the day OP.
Woke is the word young people use now because they think they invented it.

Papers like the Daily Mail used to frequently print headlines such as: "It's PC gone mad!!!"
It seems that nothing much has changed then.

Yes of course some people will point out ridiculous things like saying gardeners are racist, but this clearly doesn't equate to it being "okay to be racist" 🤷🏻‍♀️

(Sighs and leaves the thread)

OP you may be interested in Keri Smith, she was a former "Social justice warrior" who saw the error of her woke ways.....

She said that she used to go around actively looking for the racism etc in every interaction and it damaged her relationships and mental health. I have also read on here about a white woman who had been in a mixed race marriage happily for many years and then read the bible of the woke "white fragility" and it damaged her relationship.

I think it is Douglas Murray who has said that we are very lucky to live in a world we where we worry about "mircoaggressions" - most of history has been pretty fucking actually aggressive.

Yes of course some people will point out ridiculous things like saying gardeners are racist, but this clearly doesn't equate to it being "okay to be racist"

Are this reveals the fact that you aren't truly woke. The truly woke would agree that gardening is racist and brook no argument.

Thank you for the replies, I was ready to have a bunfight but actually all of the answers are well thought out and interesting, and I agree with many of you. It seems that the problem is largely virtue signalling rather than the idea of being woke. @BlueThistles it isn't that cringe until you hear your DM say it 😂.

The poster who thought this was a thread about why it's bad to be woken at 5 by your kids - I adore my DD, but only between the business hours of 7am to 10pm 😂

@Etinox what a great quote.

@changedmynameforChristmas why is this thread pretentious? It's a genuine question. I always thought being woke was a positive thing, but on MN I've often seen it used as an insult, I was curious as to why. And a lot of people have explained why throughout this thread and I completely get their points. The reason that I used the word woke wasn't to be pretentious, it was because this thread is specifically about the use of that word as an insult 😂 it wouldn't have made sense for me to use any other word

@OhWhyNot 😂😂😂🙌 thank you for this video

To me, it's just an unthinking insult thrown by people who are either entrenched right wingers or can't be bothered to think about it or just don't care about other people.

I'll own it.