One of the more amusing things about the S'porean establishment's freakout over "wokeism" is how utterly clumsy & crude it has been.

For example, the use of "wokeism”, a variation preferred by right-wing, reactionary critics, is a glaring tell.

Thread:
At its strongest, "wokeness" can be defined as a shorthand for a politics of social justice, gender equality, anti-racism, anti-authoritarianism, and perhaps, anti-capitalism.

The term is rooted in African-American discourse, but has been adapted worldwide.
Now, let’s be honest. This article, by a Lester Wong, is excellently shallow & self-serving.

Lester fears that a critical consciousness against racism & social injustice is 1) a trend; 2) impolite & divisive (to the privileged & powerful); and 3) a slope to "cancel culture".
Lester’s arguments are nothing new, and have long been discredited. But since S'pore's establishment has only recently tried to capitalize on "wokeness" and "cancel culture", we'll see plenty of recycling. https://twitter.com/ikanselarkuning/status/1286909114992349189
For Lester, however, he depends too much on strawmen & slippery slopes, which aren't enough to glue his points together, and thus, exposes his ignorance & gymnastics.

Right away, he fails to highlight the contextual origins of "wokeness".
Lester also implies "wokeness" to be an online fad.

But this neglects & trivializes the continuous history of anti-racist & social justice politics of S'pore's marginalized. Apparently, opposing the material harms of discrimination is akin to a "devotion to K-drama".
Lester then complains about “cancel culture” and its “self-righteous bullying”. But it’s difficult to make that claim in S’pore.

And that struggle shows, for Lester's only local example is the backlash against Xiaxue, a wealthy, bigoted blogger.

https://twitter.com/acertainjolene/status/1282875882051219456?s=19
Lester then complains about “cancel culture” and its “self-righteous bullying”. But it’s difficult to make that claim in S’pore.And that struggle shows, for Lester's only local example is the backlash against Xiaxue, a wealthy, bigoted blogger. https://twitter.com/acertainjolene/status/1282875882051219456?s=19
Lester then complains about “cancel culture” and its “self-righteous bullying”. But it’s difficult to make that claim in S’pore.And that struggle shows, for Lester's only local example is the backlash against Xiaxue, a wealthy, bigoted blogger. https://twitter.com/acertainjolene/status/1282875882051219456?s=19
Surprisingly, unlike others, Lester defines “cancel culture”, but only superficially.

Nonetheless, how is it a bad that folks are able to protest & boycott bigoted, discriminatory market actors? Or should reprisals not apply on them?
But this is where it gets comedic.

In order for Lester to argue that “wokeness” can lead to toxic identity politics, he imagines a world where women are in charge, and where he—a left-handed Chinese man who loves miniature schnauzers & long novels—is oppressed.
But this is where it gets comedic.In order for Lester to argue that “wokeness” can lead to toxic identity politics, he imagines a world where women are in charge, and where he—a left-handed Chinese man who loves miniature schnauzers & long novels—is oppressed.
But this is where it gets comedic.In order for Lester to argue that “wokeness” can lead to toxic identity politics, he imagines a world where women are in charge, and where he—a left-handed Chinese man who loves miniature schnauzers & long novels—is oppressed.
That Lester resorts to such hypotheticals reflects the bubbled lives of the privileged & powerful.

Assuming that he's not a moron, it also reflects the institutional pressure on state reporters to not know their country’s dark histories.
On a related note, Lester invokes the American Capitol Hill riots, but thinks that the violence of neo-Nazis & white supremacists is due to “wokeness”, rather than Nazism & white supremacy.

(Cheers to more years of stupid false comparisons)
In fairness, Lester’s article suffers the same problems that reactionary critics have over “wokeness” & “cancel culture”.

His problems are made tougher since in S'pore, it's quite absurd to see the privileged & powerful claim victimhood. https://twitter.com/AyeshaASiddiqi/status/1281304526134394881
With little material to work with, folks like Lester couch their anxieties (of dissenting minorities, women, etc.) as an appeal to politeness and harmony.

Oddly, this makes the rants of Critical Spectator, in their transparent hate, far more honest. https://twitter.com/ikanselarkuning/status/1286909111641059328
With Lester’s article, it appears that the conflict has arrived.

It’ll be morbidly fascinating to see how the status quo defends itself. Right now, its champions and beneficiaries don’t even look like they understand what they’re facing. https://twitter.com/ikanselarkuning/status/1286909071132516353
Articles like Lester's would read better if our state media presented robust counter-balancing pieces. But it doesn't.

So at a simple symbolic level, we are left with the sight of a state reporter complaining about being silenced on the country's national newspaper.
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