The Internet turned into a shouting match many years ago. If you believe something strongly, it’s not enough to be passionate and for something. You have to be passionate about being against things. But civil discussion is way in the past. You have to argue to the point of ugliness.
Like many people my age, I spend a bit too much time on Facebook, but I use it for communicating with friends and occasionally dipping into communities where I know everyone is generally kind. But if you spend two minutes in a more general group—say, a group dedicated to fandom of a TV show—you’ll quickly find just how ugly people can be. Of late some of that ugliness has focused on whether the writer, the show, or anything else is or isn’t “woke.”
Anti-wokeness has been a battle cry, especially for politicians like Ron DeSantis who see an opportunity to create a wedge issue that will get them a lot of votes and maybe even win an election. But it divides America and turns people against the very communities that the “woke” among us are trying to protect.
So let’s dig into wokeness for a bit. Merriam-Webster’s first definition of “woke” is as follows:
aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)
Sorry, anti-wokesters, but I have difficulty understanding this perspective without feeling like you’re against racial, social, and gender justice.
From what I’ve observed, the anti-woke among us feel they are having racial and gender issues shoved down their throats. They fear that having gay people around their children, teaching people about gays in this country, and standing up for LGBTQ+ rights will somehow convert their children to being gay, trans, non-binary, etc. I guess when you think people can be converted from being gay, it’s not a big leap to think they can be converted to being gay.
Black history is also considered woke now too. If you teach lessons showcasing how the South’s pre-Civil War economy depended on slavery, that slavery even existed, that black people are still struggling and way behind white people in terms of lifespan, access to healthcare, access to education, and that racism still exists, you might get called before Congress and accused by Ted Cruz of calling white infants racist. This is the level of absurdity that our society is at right now.
Ron DeSantis is running on his record of Florida being “where woke comes to die.” Not exactly open to discussion on the matter when you put it that way, are you, Ronnie? And how is that working for you, Governor? You’re going to war against Disney, which makes you look like you want to jail Mickey Mouse. Say what you want about Disney, but their messages have always been about kindness. Ron DeSantis just seems so unkind.
I understand these fears, but only because politicians like DeSantis and their friends in the angry media stoke them all the time. These fears are nurtured. So I understand it, but I can’t accept it. The LGBTQ+ community, black people, Latin American migrants—none of them are coming for you or your children. They are simply asking that their lives be treated as equals, that they be given the same rights as others, that they be given the right to be safe in this country, whether that’s from other citizens, the police, our leaders, or anyone else. They simply want to be recognized.
This is why there are (or should be) no but’s after Black Lives Matter or Trans Lives Matter. We shouldn’t respond with a whiny and defensive “All Lives Matter” simply because all lives are not under attack the way black, trans and other minorities’ lives are. The bile directed at trans people leads to mental health problems, higher rates of suicide, higher rates of violence and murder committed against trans people, and shorter life spans, especially if you’re a black trans woman.
Now we even have people on the left saying, in effect, “tone down the wokeness.” Bill Maher, generally a liberal, has spent too much time over the past few years claiming that the inability of Democrats to get their message out is because of attention to woke issues that divide Americans. Mr. Maher, the woke among us didn’t start this war. The woke among us are standing up for people. Should we fall in line and not stand up for people because of people like Ron DeSantis? Should we not do what’s right, recognize people, and keep them safe out of fear that we might lose an election?
I beg to differ. Maybe I’m an idealist who likes to think the better of people, but I think a sufficiently woke candidate who stands up for gay people and black people could garner a much larger percentage of young voters who are aligned with their beliefs and values. I believe this is the #1 civil and human rights issue in our country, and if we don’t stand up for our fellow citizens and humans, the haters will target other groups next.
The solution to this culture battle is civil dialogue, as with most other solutions we need right now but are being discouraged against by our leaders. The anti-woke need to understand how their attitudes are hurting people, and that they fly in the face of human decency, fairness, and probably their religion too. (Jesus said nothing about gay people at all.) They need to understand that being woke is being understanding and being accepting of people.
I’m not so naive as to believe that this discussion is entirely possible or would be fruitful given the divisions in this country, but as with all the other hate in our society, we’re not going to solve it by not talking with each other.
Until then, the anti-woke are free to call me woke, and I’ll wear it as a badge of honor.
