[Critique Group 1] Marcia's March submission

[Marcia Wick]

FYI-political commentary

 

Wake Up!

Marcia J. Wick

432words

 

 

What exactly is a "woke mob?" The definition seems to depend on who you ask.

 

The word "woke" in the not-so-distant past was simply the past tense of the
verb "wake." During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Progressive
black leaders began using the term "woke" as slang to refer to people who
were aware of and educated about important issues regarding racial and
social injustice toward minorities. Over the past decade, the term "woke"
was adopted by the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements as a symbol of
social courage and advocacy.

 

Within the past two years, the right-wing conservative movement has seized
the phrase in a derogatory or pejorative way to refer to people who espouse
the LGBTQ agenda, the evolution of gender neutral pronouns, and the threat
of climate change. The Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC)
blames the "woke mob" for traumatizing children by teaching them about the
history of race relations in this country, using the government to impose
liberal values on others, and cancelling the culture of privileged white
people.

 

The woke mob is everywhere, according to Fox News.

 

Similarly, the word "mob" historically has referred to a large and
disorderly crowd of people.sometimes shoppers.bent on riotous or destructive
behavior. Today, right-wing conservatives refer to mobs as out-of-control
liberal radicals promoting inclusive policies or ideologies that welcome or
embrace ethnic, racial, or sexual minorities that threaten the power and
privilege of the white (mostly male) majority.

 

How did a word that evokes consciousness and awareness come to be used as a
buzzword Weaponized by the right condemning a set of values different from
their own? Many conservatives can't define these terms but somehow they've
succeeded in redefining them. Such disambiguation by rival groups skews the
meaning of a word depending on the context in which it is being used.

 

At it's best, "woke" is a compliment to people who are aware of what's going
on in their community related to racism and social injustice. At its worst,
the word is an insult, rife with condemnation and hate. Politicians and the
media further confuse the issue by peppering their commentary with phrases
like the "woke mob," wokism, or the "woke agenda" when discussing
immigration reform, police brutality, military recruitment, gun control, and
critical race theory. Critical race theory is not a curriculum, it's a
conversation.

 

By banning the conversation, conservatives are whitewashing history,
Limiting progress, and fear mongering because they are afraid of change.

 

Change is inevitable. Even the intoxicated Rip Van Winkle eventually woke up
to the reality that the world had changed while he slept. 

 

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