To think that "wokeism" is for the privileged few?

[Mooscow]

Wokeism and identity politics seems rife at the moment in the UK. But Canada and the US seem even worse. There is this massive push to avoid the possibility of ever offending anyone, ever. For example, I work for a North American company and we've just been given a long list of words never to use. This includes "female", "blind", "deaf", "blacklist", "homeless", "rule of thumb" and it goes on and on and on. So you can't say things like "turn a blind eye" or "tone deaf" etc. any more in case it offends a blind or deaf person. Really?!

I've just read an article in the FT (sorry can't share) that says the US has only sent 111million out of its pledge to send 1 billion vaccines to poorer countries. The US has 2 and a half times the amount of vaccines it needs for itself and Canada has ordered 8 times what it needs.

I know that vaccines and wokeism has little in common but it just struck me how so much effort is put into this new purity culture whilst at the same time demonstrating utter selfishness and lack of compassion for anyone else.

It's also like the push to remove the word women from healthcare such as cervical screening in case a transman, as a "cervix haver" 🤮 is offended at being grouped with women, while 40% of women (especially those without English as a first language and those in lower socio-economic groups) don't even know what a cervix is. But screw them, let's let them get cervical cancer while we pat ourselves on the back and virtue signal at making sure we don't offend by telling the truth the tiny, tiny proportion of trans people.

I wonder if the whole work/identity politics stuff is based in the fact that privileged people can effortlessly virtue signal to feel better about themselves whilst remaining selfish, uncaring and apathetic towards people who are actually in need or vulnerable. AIBU?

We can call the issue what it is or we can use words - any word, no complaints - however we see fit.

'No language policing' should apply to all. Words evolve across the board.

As I have.🤷

@WokeToWomenAndGirlsRights

We can call the issue what it is or we can use words - any word, no complaints - however we see fit.

You absolutely can! And you can also be judged accordingly for thinking the term still means anything beyond Express or Mail virtue-signalling. Fine company indeed.

I want these people to be dumped on an island and left as they offend me with their stupidity.

Ignorant and so smug too.😂

The PC brigade criticisms were more about its prescriptive nature where any dissent was automatically deemed suspect.

I think to be "woke" used to mean basically being awake to difficulties suffered by groups of people who are not oneself and trying to be sensitive to those people.

It has now become, "agree with me, do as I say is right, behave as I think is proper or you are offending ME".

Too many people are using the plight of societal groups they have nothing to do with to make everything about themselves.

It's all just highly combustible fuel for the Me-Me-Me Engine.

@JoanWilderbeast

The PC brigade criticisms were more about its prescriptive nature where any dissent was automatically deemed suspect.

So exactly like criticism aimed at mythical wokeism then. All BS of course, but the anger seems sincere.

There are definitely luxury beliefs which are normally held by people who are privileged enough that their wonderful ideas wouldn't badly impact them. For example, prison abolishionists, because while poor people and people of colour are disproportionately sent to prison, they're also disproportionately victims of crime. People who want to take away our sex based rights, who are also less likely to end up in a woman's shelter or woman's prison, I could go on.

I think when concepts like being PC and woke first started they were genuinely about trying to treat people respectfully and avoiding unfairness. I completely agree that they are now often empty gestures and a way to distract from not actually doing anything to reduce injustice. It’s so much easier to police people’s language than to find ways to reduce real inequality.

My policy now is to make sure I use language that’s polite and accurate. If anyone objects because it’s not the currently fashionable term then I’m not bothered.

There is a good podcast on this by Bari Weiss interviewing Rob Henderson

Of course. Of course. Great minds and all that.

Still miles better than a raging hypocrite.😂

There's no push to call women cervix-havers in healthcare, this is a myth along the lines of 'oh my god they're cancelling Christmas' and you're falling for it. Healthcare services are expanding the way they refer to people to include trans people, but the transphobes are pushing the narrative that you're swallowing

I'd love to see the memo where you've been told never to use female etc, I'd bet money you've misinterpreted or exaggerated that.

And 'wokism' is a good deal to do with awareness that whiteness, maleness, westernness, isn't the default and shouldn't be the whole story. It's wokeness that's shouting about making vaccines available to the global South - when it isn't health officials wanting to reduce variants - so you've got that wrong too.

Why is being offended such a terrible thing? It's really not.

@Chickenkatsu

I thought that it might offend people with no thumbs.

Sorry if I offend but

@TheseBootsWereMadeForSitting

I think to be "woke" used to mean basically being awake to difficulties suffered by groups of people who are not oneself and trying to be sensitive to those people.

It has now become, "agree with me, do as I say is right, behave as I think is proper or you are offending ME".

Too many people are using the plight of societal groups they have nothing to do with to make everything about themselves.

It's all just highly combustible fuel for the Me-Me-Me Engine.

Don't you think it's great that people try to do stuff better, to be better, share how they're trying to make things better, and then a bunch of cunts in the media, in the papers, on talk radio, start eating 'ooh woke, ooh pc, ooh virtue signalling' and suddenly every thoughtless fuckwit is turning on the people who are trying to make a difference and telling them they're the worst ever.

Jesus shitting fuck.

Anyway, listen to @enidfrighten on the definition, stop being led astray by the people who'd rather we fought each other for scraps than made changes that would benefit everyone.

Don't you think it's great that people try to do stuff better, to be better, share how they're trying to make things better, and then a bunch of cunts in the media, in the papers, on talk radio, start eating 'ooh woke, ooh pc, ooh virtue signalling' and suddenly every thoughtless fuckwit is turning on the people who are trying to make a difference and telling them they're the worst ever.

Jesus shitting fuck

The point is they aren't trying to do better the sort of just want a pat on the back. Fixating on "issues" that don't matter, or that nobody else is bothered by, making issues where there are none (see the original post). Just distracts from other things and is very jarring to witness.

Who are these specific hypocrites you're talking about @planteen? Because they're the problem, not 'woke' ness.

You should shout this from the rooftops OP. Wholeheartedly agree with all you said

I was a big fan of PC ness. I think it changed things for the better. It was simpler though. If a word was rude or bad you didn't use it. The bad words didn't change very frequently though. I find the conversation around autism online very combatative and unhelpful. People spend more time arguing about the correct terminology than helping/listening to each other.

@LobsterNapkin

OP, you might be interested in reading some stuff by Adolph Reed - you can find lots of articles online. He's an American academic. He basically says that the whole point of identity politics, which is what wokeism really amounts to, is to allow neoliberals and elites to go on exploiting people while deflecting criticism for doing so. They can maintain the moral high ground (look, we are anti-racist) while still exploiting the poor. So long as the poor are reflective of the population demographics, it's ok!

Thank you, sounds interesting.

@DameFanny

There's no push to call women cervix-havers in healthcare, this is a myth along the lines of 'oh my god they're cancelling Christmas' and you're falling for it. Healthcare services are expanding the way they refer to people to include trans people, but the transphobes are pushing the narrative that you're swallowing

I'd love to see the memo where you've been told never to use female etc, I'd bet money you've misinterpreted or exaggerated that.

And 'wokism' is a good deal to do with awareness that whiteness, maleness, westernness, isn't the default and shouldn't be the whole story. It's wokeness that's shouting about making vaccines available to the global South - when it isn't health officials wanting to reduce variants - so you've got that wrong too.

Well it’s not a myth in some places s that’s bullocks . I can tell you I heard an advertisement for smear tests on the radio and the word woman wasn’t used, the words ‘those with a cervix’ was used instead!!

@Manicpixie what is "mythical wokeism"? Are you saying it doesn't exist?