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You know what's fascinating to me? How Woke went from a thing you do ("Stay Woke, y'all") to a thing you are ("I'm so Woke!"). I'm not saying the shift happened exaaaactly when Woke made from jump from almost-exclusively Black-usage to mainstream...
But I ain't discounting it.
But I ain't discounting it.
The difference between what you do vs what you are is CRUCIAL in combating racism. Treating racism as an ingrained trait makes it impossible to fight. You have people all, "Welp, he's racist" and others all, "HOW CAN YOU CALL ME RACIST I'M A GOOD PERSON!"
Neither leads to growth
Neither leads to growth
And now the inverse, "I'm woke" becomes synonymous with "I can't be racist, I'm a good person" instead of an active struggle to continue to root out racism and white supremacy (as well as all other -isms).
Being woke is like being clean. IT DOESN'T LAST UNLESS YOU PUT IN EFFORT.
Being woke is like being clean. IT DOESN'T LAST UNLESS YOU PUT IN EFFORT.
Anyway, this is what happens pretty much aaaaaaaanytime wyte folks come in and <s>colonize</s> <s>appropriate</s> start using AAVE and Black slang. They miss the nuances of meaning and start diluting it down to the most basic (yes I mean it THAT way) definition.
And like it's NO SURPRISE that woke has lost its progressive power and its status as a thing you DO. Being woke becomes lazy and easy and can be molded to fit the status quo - and therefore benefits white supremacy.
Do I think there was a whole conspiracy to rob it of its power?
Do I think there was a whole conspiracy to rob it of its power?
Kinda? I mean...that's what structural racism and white supremacy IS. I don't think most people deliberately SET OUT to defang the concept of wokeness. It's just a natural by-product of what happens when people with unexamined privilege find a thing to shield themselves from crit
I may come back with more thoughts later, but I'm running late for my livestream prep.
But white ppl? Maybe think about this thread the next time you hear a cool slang, ESPECIALLY if it's about social justice. In your haste to be woke, you may be undermining the concept entirely
But white ppl? Maybe think about this thread the next time you hear a cool slang, ESPECIALLY if it's about social justice. In your haste to be woke, you may be undermining the concept entirely
