Their "cancel culture" vs. our "woke"

[Baitball Blogger]

Personally, I understand "woke." For me it originates from the phrase, "Do not wake the sleeping giant!" We've said it for many years in reference to minority issues. And when the demographics finally flipped in favor of minorities, the word "woke" became appropriate because people were awake and aware.

I also don't have a problem with it because, to me, it is just an extension of the term raised consciousness or consciousness-raising, "which is the activity of seeking to make people more aware of personal, social, or political issues".

That was a 60s terms. Was there a heated reaction against the use of "raised consciousness" in the sixties or seventies? I don't believe there was. Was that word more agreeable to people like Carvel? You know, people who are white and very aware that white people tend to be distrustful of minorities and their issues. Their first reaction would be to swat down any idea that originates outside of their suburban culture, and put it back in its place. You know, like what they do to "uppity" people.

I'm not going to say that I would embrace all the ideas that have cropped up over the last two years. I, personally, think that "Defund the Police" was poor messaging. But I do believe that "woke" is very appropriate. It just means, to be aware. And once you're aware, you can't go back to pretending that injustices do not exist.

Now "cancel culture." That termed puzzled me, until I applied the projection rule to Republican motives. Cancel culture drives into the heart of Republican fears. Using projection, you can see that Republicans fear "cancel culture" because it's what they have been doing to minority culture for centuries. Simply, they are very afraid of losing their dominance in this country. And they're squealing like they're entitled to a top dog role in this dog eat dog world. They are afraid of being marginalized. I wish they would use the word marginalized since it would make everything clearer.

In a nutshell, the reaction against the term, "woke" and the increased squealing of "cancel culture" is just a sign of the power shifting in this country. They are going to put up resistance to anything that minorities present, which is why we need to watch our messaging. I just don't believe that "woke" is one that we should rethink. It is appropriate.

[RicROC]

1. The word 'woke' sounds like Black city dialect

and to the racist, that's enough justification for them to reject the word.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Yep. That's it.

Simple as that.

[Shermann]

4. It's a cynical, pseudo-intellectual, black culture appropriating label

You can't flip on FXN for five minutes without hearing it.

[haele]

7. Woke has been in use in the black social arena since before "the talkies"

Which is the first time white people heard it used publicly - in black music (jazz/blues) and in black films back in the 20's and 30's. It was typically used in those forums by characters to refer to someone's sudden enlightenment to an unpleasant hidden fact or new unpleasant experience.
Hippie and the psychedelic cultures occasionally used the term (after they appropriated it from black jazz and blues) to describe the "first experience" exploring the mind.

It's been co-opted by both liberal and conservative activists to apparently describe a change in habits or activism based on either desire to fix long-standing injustice or "liberal guilt".

Just like "cancel culture" is used instead on "consequence culture", which is what the term usually refers to. First liberals used it, then conservatives picked the term up to cry about getting spanked when they act like spoiled brats that failed kindergarten and Sunday School in public.

Haele

[Celerity]

11. 'If You're Woke You Dig It', NYT, May 20, 1962

If You're Woke You Dig It; No mickey mouse can be expected to follow today's Negro idiom without a hip assist. If You're Woke You Dig It

By William Melvin Kelley
May 20, 1962




https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/20/archives/if-youre-woke-you-dig-it-no-mickey-mouse-can-be-expected-to-follow.html

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/05/20/140720532.pdf

[gulliver]

3. I find the idea of "raised consciousness" dubious

There's no ANSI "level" of consciousness that allows us to organize it into lower and higher. The worst thing about "woke" is its insinuation of moral superiority (and therefore of inferiority of others), broadcasting a catchall insult to who knows who.

We need to be humble. We're all idiots.

[sanatanadharma]

5. "We need to be humble. We're all idiots."

This is true and true also is that we are all equal in ignorance, and knowledge.
That some of us can't see this leads to problems.
The wise see the unknown; the idiot flees the unknown.

[Act_of_Reparation]

6. See, here's the problem:

Being patient and understanding with racists isn't productive, either.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. That would be the issue.

White Americans don't feel the urgency to feel empathy or understanding towards minority issues. Meanwhile, minorities have already accepted the fact that they can't depend on whites to achieve any of their primary objectives.

[Act_of_Reparation]

9. I am reminded of a Ta-Nehisi Coates piece...

I'm not sure if he's changed his thinking since then, but at the time he was not optimistic that there could be significant progress against systemic racism. His argument was that minorities don't have the leverage and whites don't have the incentive.

We'll have to see how this pans out, but I see "cancelling" as a potential remedy to both of those considerations.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. I don't know why we don't read more about what is really happening in this time in history.

I mean, a true analysis. The right alludes to it with "cancel culture." The Democrats, like Carvel, try to play the same card to reassure white voters that Democrats will keep us in our place. But the fact is that there is a shifting in demographics that will change the direction of politics. If the right was smart, they would recognize that there are issues that we can all agree on. But the one that isn't negotiable is their attempt to game the system to keep their minorities in power and dominance. That is always going to be a flash point.

[Act_of_Reparation]

13. It's really difficult to read, I think.

The optimist in me thinks we're seeing changes that will result in minorities getting the leverage they need to make institutional changes. The pessimist in me worries the GOP will just find wedge issues they can use to crack the non-white vote.

We're all human, and all susceptible to the same pathological thinking patterns that create sectarianism. The GOP is great at exploiting that shit.

[MerryBlooms]

15. An insult to who knows who?

White asshole racists. It's Not a difficult concept, and has been around for ages.

How about just raising consciousness the bare minimal, would that be okay? Start with people pulling their heads out of their asses, and Listen to our minority brothers and sisters. Woke isn't an insult to you or anyone else. You taking it that way, is on you.

[JustAnotherGen]

12. GOP uses both

to control the conversation.


Look for it to ramp up now that the BIF has passed.

It will really kick into high gear after BBB.

We tend to let them distract us with nonsense - Big Bird, MTG 'said', Cruz Said, CRT, etc. etc.

I'm not talking the leaders either . . . just look at any posts for the 'groups' on Facebook in towns/cities. They always pop up with nonsense.

In our borough -we've started posting a fly crawling around gif. It's targeted, on point, and gets the message across. They tend to shut up and go away.

[NowISeetheLight]

14. With all the gerrymandering...

... they're determined to remain in power as long as they can. Plus the Senate issue (disproportionate based on population) is a huge problem.