The woke hoax

Are you woke? There was a time, not too long ago, when that question might have provoked a simple call to the grammar police. Not anymore. These days it is pretty much the political equivalent of asking: Are you the devil incarnate?

Seriously, for Fox News watchers and others who call themselves conservatives, you would think we were in a full-blown crisis, drowning under a tidal wave of wokeness that is sweeping over the entire country and threatening all of our sacred traditions. Even our own Wakefield Daily Item columnist seems to be in a constant state of crabbiness about it, bewailing such ominous developments as people’s desire to shift to a nonoffensive high school logo, the formation of a Human Rights Commission here in town, a single-use plastic bag ban, people displaying “Black Lives Matter” or “Hate Has No Home Here” signs on their lawns, among many other items. These are apparently clear signs of the end times as Wakefield transforms into “Wokefield.”

Even some of my moderate and progressive friends, reacting to the flood of attention the phenomenon has received in the media, seem to be buying into the notion that woke-ism is a significant concern in our society and that we need to pull back on our wokeness.

But the thing is, if you dig just a bit beneath the surface (i.e. think critically) you’ll find that when it comes to wokeness, not only is there no existential threat, in most cases there isn’t even a legitimate criticism. There really is no there there at all. It’s a hoax, folks – the woke hoax.

A quick history of woke seems in order. The phrase “stay woke” was used as far back as the 1930s in the African-American community to signal the need for Black folks to be awake and aware of racially motivated threats and potential dangers in a prejudiced and discriminatory white America. This idea was picked up here and there through the 20th century by Black artists and activists, but found new life and popularity when it was used in the song “Master Teacher” by Erykah Badu in 2008. Black Lives Matter began to use it in 2014 after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Through the years 2016-2020, the idea continued to expand its meaning, with “woke” signifying a broader, progressive social awareness, though still with a strong focus on race.

Not surprisingly, the big flip occurred during the Trump years. By “flip” I mean that the term got co-opted by conservative commentators and flipped from being a compliment to a word spewed in contempt and ridicule. The general use of the term shifted from a positive description of someone who is awake and aware, sensitive to systemic racism and other social and environmental injustice, to a pejorative epithet, hurled at anyone involved in or expressing sympathy with any progressive cause, whether dealing with race or gender equity, LGBTQ rights, climate change policy, corporate regulation, what have you. Think we should teach kids about the history of slavery in America? You’re woke. Want tougher policies to respond to climate change? You’re woke. A company takes a stand on LBGTQ rights? It’s woke. No wonder conservatives love it – it’s a one-size-fits-all label that they can apply to just about any issue. And they do.

This kind of flip has happened before. You may recall that the terms “fake news” and “cancel culture” both were used to describe legitimate, factual phenomena before they were flipped and weaponized by the former president and others in the conservative media. (Conservatives definitely seem to have an edge over progressives in leveraging these kinds of dark, hardball communications tactics.)

Still, you may wonder how I can justifiably call the massive collective hand-wringing over wokeness a hoax. After all, the phenomenon dominates the conservative airwaves and has even seeped into more and more mainstream media commentary. Here’s how: all it takes to expose the hoax is a simple thought experiment.

Take my first example above, the history of American slavery. When educators and others assert the need to delve into this terrible yet essential part of the country’s history, they are trying to solve a problem: how do we address ongoing systemic racism and racial inequity in our nation? The first step in making things better is understanding, and that means teaching and learning. The call for action is based on a real issue: the evil, centuries-long legacy of American slavery and its continuing devastating aftermath playing out in our society.

Now consider, what are the responding cries of wokeness regarding this issue based on?

Nothing. There is no anti-woke position on slavery in American history. Rather, the anti-woke whining is simply a negative reaction against the call that we need to teach our full and difficult history, and against the people making that call.

Think about it. For almost any progressive cause, the original impetus for speech and action is the desire to correct or improve a real social or environmental wrong. This is the case with civil rights, BLM, LGBTQ rights, MeToo, climate change and environmental degradation, corporate abuses of workers and consumers. But the anti-woke response has no comment on the important issues being examined; it merely reacts against the activists and activism with a negative attitude. In this way, the anti-woke frenzy represents the definition of an ad hominem attack – one directed against a person rather than a position on an issue. It’s also, at root, a form of deflection and whataboutism, an attempt to take the focus off the real issue and make it personal and political.

This supports a general theory I’ve long held: progressives are people who try to solve problems, while conservatives are people who don’t like people who try to solve problems. (Of course there are individual exceptions to this theory.) It is also interesting to note, the usage and function of “woke” by anti-woke folks very much mirrors the way “fake news” got co-opted and leveraged by conservatives. Basically, for them, “fake news” equals “news I don’t like.” Similarly, when conservatives call someone or something “woke,” it’s just another way for them to say “I don’t like what you’re saying” or “you’re pointing to a truth that makes me uncomfortable.”

There is no “woke ideology.” There is no “woke mind virus,” as Elon Musk recently tweeted. Rather, you’ve got people who recognize that we must engage with and try to understand the truth in order to have any hope of progress – the truth of our country’s history of slavery and racial injustice, of the obliteration of indigenous people and culture, of the continuing systemic prejudice against women and LGBTQ folks, the truth of basic climate science and humanity’s role in the climate emergency; and you’ve got other people who can’t handle or won’t recognize and deal with these truths, and who perceive any reference to them as hatred of America.

I love America. So do my progressive friends. I served my country in the military. I care passionately about preserving our democracy. I try to speak out on important issues that affect my fellow citizens, especially those for whom the system has been unfair and unequal in the past. The way we progressives express that love is by trying to make the country better, by solving problems and correcting injustices “in order to form a more perfect union”; not by loudly proclaiming how “great” we are (or used to be in some mythical past), or by glossing over our faults and attacking anyone who holds up the mirror for us to see them.

Now, the anti-woke folks do have a point. They want to ignore the uncomfortable parts of our history, or any issue that pushes against “traditional” norms, so that we can just move on already. I get it. No one likes feeling uncomfortable. Does our history of slavery and racism make you uncomfortable? Does our history of animus and prejudice toward LGBTQ people make you uncomfortable? Does our history of mindlessly abusing the environment and ignoring the negative impacts of our industries and our consumption culture make you uncomfortable? Me, too. But we can’t and shouldn’t ignore our past. As grownups, we all need to recognize and reckon with our flaws, and then do what we can to improve ourselves. This is true for countries too. (Think of Germany and the Holocaust.)

We do need to move ahead, though. How do we do this? Well, with regard to woke-ism, we can take some simple steps. I get the sense that a big part of what conservatives are reacting against when they call people woke is a feeling that progressives are being self-righteous or superior or condescending in their call for righting wrongs and making positive change – that we are merely virtue signaling. Now, for my part, I don’t think I’m better than anyone and I always try to speak in a measured voice, so that conversation can continue. But of course we should guard against preachiness in manner, think about how we’re coming across and make efforts to avoid PC overkill and finger-wagging.

Likewise, anytime anyone proposes solving a problem or making things better, or points to a difficult, uncomfortable truth in our past or present that needs to be dealt with, conservatives should hold off reacting and dismissing it all as woke-ism. Before you begin shaking your fist and crying “woke!,” take a moment to acknowledge the problem, consider the history or evidence surrounding it, and think about how you would want to address it.

Notice what both of these suggestions imply and assume: a base level of empathy, and an acknowledgment of basic facts. These things also happen to be prerequisites for a functioning democracy.

Don’t fall for the woke hoax. Now more than ever, we should all be staying awake and aware of current problems, past injustices, and threats to our democratic system, and trying to make America better and more equal for everyone.

© Jeff Kehoe