Is woke a problem for us?

[newdayneeded]

I'm trying to figure out why the electorate flipped so much. One of the things I saw this go around was all the trangender commercials the right put out. I wonder if it affected a lot of votes?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. It's a problem for Republicans.

[newdayneeded]

4. I'm worried they're changing

people's views with there propaganda.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

37. They ran anti-trans ads in all the battleground states

GOP ads on transgender rights are dominating airwaves

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/19/g-s1-28932/donald-trump-transgender-ads-kamala-harris

But in the closing weeks of the campaign, Republican ads focusing on transgender rights are dominating airwaves all over the country.

-snip-

The Trump campaign has recently dropped at least $17 million on ads highlighting Vice President Harris' support during her 2019 presidential campaign for access to gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender people.

It's part of a broader Republican strategy casting the Democratic Party as taking transgender rights to extremes.

-snip-
"I do think it's just emphasizing that sort of cultural divide that we do see in sport," said Jessica Taylor, a nonpartisan election analyst with the Cook Political Report. Taylor said the issue can appeal to men and swing suburban women, and polling backs that up.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

45. These ads were very effective

Link to tweet

83% of voters who broke for Trump in the final days think Harris and the Democrats support using taxpayer dollars to pay for transgender surgeries for undocumented immigrants in prison.

77% believe Democrats support allow minors to transition genders without informing parents.

[orange jar]

25. I mean, it's clearly not just Republicans.

He's winning the popular vote. They aren't all Republicans. I do think the economy was the greatest factor, but we are lying to ourselves if we think that some of the more… aggressive messaging toward niche issues has benefitted us, even if Dems aren't even the ones contributing to it.

To be clear, I'm not referring specifically to trans rights as a niche issue. Sometimes, we go very overboard when it comes to concepts such as place name changes, "cultural appropriation," or the scolding of using extremely common words or phrases ("master bedroom" for instance). I don't think people in heavily liberal spaces understand just how often everyone else rolls their eyes at this stuff. Is it enough to move every single person toward Trump? No. But it is almost certainly a factor in political exhaustion that we are somehow ignoring.

I don't think trans rights should be a turn off to voters, but it's apparent that some of the language surrounding it is unpopular. Again, it shouldn't be — but it is. We can't just ignore it. The lack of a response to anti-woke backlash hurts us.

[Ms. Toad]

39. Same response I made to someone on facebook -

It would be really great if Dems affirmatively supported the rights for all of the LGBTQ community. But at a bare minimum, I expect them to defend us against attack by the Republicans.

The aggressive messaging was from Republicans, not dems - who (for the most part) can barely force themselves to assert that trans individuals are people. But even if they can't bring themselves to affirmatively support our community, I do expect dems to respond to that messaging in a way that does not throw trans individuals under the bus.

[Coexist]

2. they're gonna find out they chose BROKE over Woke and I'm here for it

[Redleg]

8. I like it! Broke over Woke.

I might borrow that phrase.

[Coexist]

13. its yours!

[ck4829]

3. Jesus Christ. What even is woke? Apparently, it's "transgender"

I’m not going to throw the self-titled woke community or the transgender community to the wolves.

[Redleg]

7. "Woke" was Chris Rufo'd just like CRT

If woke means not being a knee-jerk bigot and being considerate then woke is what I aspire to be.

[keep_left]

20. Yep, completely made up from whole cloth by Christopher Rufo and then...

...disseminated through the far-right media across the country--including radtrad Catholic radio and TV (EWTN, Relevant Radio, Ave Maria Radio, etc.). In fact, "anti-woke" garbage is being pushed even harder on radtrad radio than it is on Fox News or OANN. One of the worst offenders is Patrick Madrid, who drags various "woke" and "DEI" insults into his moronic ads for a "pro-life" cell phone company!

[SunImp]

10. Only assholes would want to toss LGBT & minorities to the wolves

[newdayneeded]

14. Wouldn't it be awesome if

Sarah Mcbride could be our nominee in 2028! What a great story that would be!

[In It to Win It]

5. It's a problem Republican made up... and it worked.

[newdayneeded]

6. This could be it.

[City Lights]

9. I will continue to stand arm-in-arm with the trans community.

I'd rather do what's right than what's popular.

[GenThePerservering]

12. Always!! nt

[GenThePerservering]

11. Ask them what 'woke' means

and they have no idea. It's just a political stick.

[Scrivener7]

15. Shaking my damn head. "Stupid people elected a racist, sexist, rapist felon. Let's

search our souls for how that's our fault."

It isn't. It's theirs.

[lapfog_1]

16. for the straight white working class male

yes

They hate that, They mostly align with the GOP opinion on LGBTQ and women too.

Problem is that we have mostly moved on from that... leaving these used to be union members, reliable democrats, behind over these social issues. I do not see us adopting those opinions they hold on these subjects... and I don't see that changing much given the under 30 white male ( Joe Rogan misogynists ) mostly incels.

Perhaps when their unions are gone and they are working for wages that used to belong to illegal immigrants, the financial issues will overcome their anti-woke bullshit.

For now, I don't know how to fix this for Democrats.

[Elessar Zappa]

19. Someone just posted a thread

that said that apparently Harris ended up edging Trump among young males. Not sure if it was accurate.

[lapfog_1]

23. even if true

we used to win young people by wide margins... the only problem was getting them to vote at all.

Now we "edge" out a small win with young males? That doesn't give us a winning advantage.

Joe Rogan is a racist misogynist piece of shit... more important, he is an complete idiot. And yet he is the most listened to podcast by men under 30.

Again, I don't know how to fix that.

[TommyT139]

30. They hate who they desire

It's common for the most-searched porn topics in red states to be videos with trans women in them.

As with Mark Robinson (thank God another loser!), they are ashamed of their desires and take it out on us.

[lapfog_1]

33. its really funny when I see the red states idiots

try to emulate that they THINK the elites are doing... "Eyes Wide Shut" with the rich people in costumes and masks and a bunch of drugged out prostitutes serving up whatever. Even the "real life" version of that in Jeffery Epstein.

But for most of the the coastal elites, even those that are into "kink"... most of that is pure crap. but yeah, they secretly want to be part of the "in crowd".

[Skittles]

41. they deny climate change, are OK with the war on women, are not bothered by fascism

but it's trans folk who are the problem

how do we even fight that kind of ignorance? They are so fucking easily fooled

[SunImp]

17. Here in Nevada they were running ads with the Algerian Boxer calling her trans & that is who the Dems were catering to

These idiots still think she isn't a natural female.

[Mosby]

42. Google her name.

Things have been leaked, lawsuits are being filed.

[Freethinker65]

18. Wait til Musks economic pain for the poor and working class hits.

Then say those voters (and third party, they are both the same so I will just leave it blank, and non-voters) are the reason. Shame them.

Don't blame me, I voted for Harris.

[oldmanlynn]

21. No its a made up scary word period

[kerry-is-my-prez]

22. Woke became too popular and ended up scaring "the people"

Everything goes back and forth. I grew up in the hippie era - for a long time that was accepted as the norm. Parents were trying to be as cool as their kids and kids were trying to imitate the hippies. Then, Reagan came along and “greed is good” - the exact opposite thing became the norm. Then the Clinton era - which swung to George W. Bush and the paranoia from 9/11. Then Obama came along and that switched over to Trumpism. When I was younger, they had Eisenhower but then they went to JFK and then LBJ, then Nixon then Carter.

[Quiet Em]

24. No. Woke was a term Republicans hijacked from the Black community

and now use it as a derogatory slur against anyone who isn't a straight, white, Christian, male.

[WarGamer]

26. We should uphold "woke" policies... without BEING woke.

Like Fetterman.

There's a difference.

[Initech]

27. Gaslighting went crazy.

I called this was going to be a problem like 3 years ago! Yes, we were all watching Kamala fill arenas across the country. But the news was painting a very different picture. We should have been watching social media. Trump was absolutely dominating social media and it was 24 hours a day. That's where everything went completely fuck up. Dems have to get social media teams ready to challenge the right wing social media conspiracy theory hate sphere. Too many people view that bullshit as entertainment, and it's scary.

[SunImp]

32. Yep

Trump has Musk's Twitter, Truth social, other RW aps, YouTubers, influencers, Fox & newsmax, radio, Rogan, Nostalgia factor with Hogan and kid rock.

On the Dem side we have David packman, Tyler Cohen, pod and a few others

[Johnny2X2X]

28. Woke

For the Right, woke is resentment. Resentment of female and minority achievement. They view everything through the lens of affirmative action and the fear that somewhere someone got something that they didn't get a chance to get.

It manifests itself in many prejudices. It's a blanket term for Millenials for some on the Right. They resent millenials because they think they have it too easy, when the opposite is tree, their own generation had it much easier. And that's something as a Gen Xer I remind myself of everyday, these young professionals I work with had to work a lot harder in a much less forgiving culture than I had to at their age. I was allowed to make mistakes that Millenials don't get to make without having a big impact on their future. I goofed around in high school while millenials did like 10 after school activities and studied like crazy. I partied, drank, experimented with drugs, and chased girls throughout college. Still graduated fine, landed a great job and have built a nice life for myself. Millenials don't do any of that stuff at near the rate Gen X did, they can't afford to, their environment is much more competitive and serious.

They see woke as nonsense. They cannot stand pronouns as if that's anything they should ccare one ounce about. Why the hell should I care if someone wants to be addressed in a certain way?

But the bigger point, they absolutely called Harris the DEI candidate and painted her as not deserving.

[Keepthesoulalive]

29. The republicans will always find someone or something to demonize

You have to be a fearful and small individual to fall for their bull droppings.
I stand with my Trans brothers and sisters , that’s why I’m a Democrat. Freedom and respect for everyone except maga.

[Turbineguy]

31. repubs hate it.

What ever it is.

[rainbowsnunicorns]

34. Yes it's a problem

Yes

[Retrograde]

35. The way the GOP is currently using it, yes

Coupled with ignorance, little to no access to any media other than Fox or Sinclair, and lack of exposure to people who are different than themselves. I don't watch much TV, and live in a comfortably blue area, and when I hear of voters claiming that kids are going to school one sex and coming back another I want to ask them, just how does that work? Don't they realize that they're talking about major surgery, which often requires weeks of preparation and multiple doctor visits? Have they ever met and talked with a trans person about their experience - the ones I know spent months transitioning: it's not done lightly.

[sky_masterson]

36. When they say "Woke" they are really suggesting "Empathy"

They want to build in shame for Empathy. For caring.
They also use the word "Soy" which is the new version of "Fa_got" to shame boys for caring.
When I was in Junior High/HighSchool (Early mid Eighties), the worst thing a boy could be accused of was being Gay.
You couldn't let that go. "I'm not a F_G!" it was a real thing for a young man back then. This was the generation of beating up gay people if people feared they were hitting on them to prove something.
This generation is a little better when it comes to Gay Bashing(Not much) so they found replacement speak"Woke", "Soy"
To stray from Woke would be conceding our empathy.

Stay Woke Ponyboy, Stay woke. (Outsiders spoof)

[DenaliDemocrat]

38. Yes -

I’m sorry but we ALWAYS get twisted over these things. We want to talk policy and they stir the pot on social issues.

Voting on what pronouns to use seems ridiculous. Government is tasked with running the government. Things like this are signal and noise.

[Sympthsical]

40. Depends how you mean

Actual social justice? You can bring voters along for that ride. Americans have shown themselves willing in the past. Sometimes it takes longer than we'd like (I'm gay, so I sat straight on through that journey). But we can get there.

Performative wokeness? No, people don't like that stuff. Not. At. All. It rapidly turns into a "Dear Jesus, please save me from your followers" sort of thing. Even if intent is pure, methods can be terrible.

[Jit423]

43. No, ignorance is the problem we face.

[EllieBC]

44. The performative type like white people

deciding to change the words in another language to make it less gendered (not many Spanish speakers were cool with LatinX)? Yeah that’s a bit much.