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In reply to the discussion: Carville was right. Here's why it doesn't matter [View all]StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)Because the people I interact with really don't think about it all that much. But when we do, we never use "woke" to describe ourselves. It's something we just are and we don't talk about it. Kind of like astronauts who had "the Right Stuff" never talked about it. It just is what it is.
And when we do talk about it, we use the term "woke" to describe other people and it's used as a term of respect or validation. As in "So and so is a good friend of mine. You'll like her. She's good people. She's woke."
For many people of color, knowing that a white person we encounter is "woke" is a signal, a relief. It means there's one less thing we have to worry about when in their company. We know when we're around a truly woke white person, we can be honest and remain safe. We don't have to watch everything we say and do. We can take a break from the hyper-vigilance we must employ in order to survive. We can take off that heavy coat we are burdened with night and day, summer, winter, fall and spring. We can relax. Because we know they get it and, even if they don't fully understand what we're going through, they understand that we're dealing with things that weigh us down and when we express ourselves honestly, we don't have to put up with "Oh, God - not THIS shit again! Why do you always make everything about race? Can't you just give it a rest?"
And most of the people I know with whom I've discussed this weird brouhaha think it's a ridiculous but potentially dangerous controversy stirred up by two types of people: 1) those who feel the need to center every aspect of the racial justice cause on themselves and seem to feel the need to find some reason for them to play victim - those people ain't woke. You know ... wypipo; and 2) the purveyors of racism and systemic discrimination who have always tried to shut up people of color and shame and demean our allies into shutting up, too.
So when people claim that "people are tired of wokeness" or "wokeness is a problem" I always wonder what "people" are they talking about. Because the people I know aren't tired of wokeness at all and they definitely don't see it as a problem. It's a beautiful thing. Which is probably the main reason so many unwoke people want to shut it down.