Woke or Wokeism.
To understand what Woke, what Wokeism is. You only need to visit the internet and look it up. You would find various definitions from various sources, and just as many points of views on Woke culture today. One definition is that Woke as a term, dates back to the 1960’s as related to the black culture of that time regarding social injustice of the African American. It took on a greater significate in 2014 with the Black Lives Matter movement. Today the term Woke is to be alert to Social issues, Racism, Discrimination and Injustice. The Right use the term to criticize the Left for being Woke. To be Woke is to be informed, educated, and conscious of social injustice and racial inequality. Woke culture is to be seen as progressive and inclusive on trends that challenge the status quo and fights for social change. It can also be the opposite that causes conflicts and controversies among different groups and points of views. Today it is a highly charge political arena between the Left and the Right. As a white teen in the 60’ in a northern state I was very much aware of the social injustice of the African American, and the Vietnam war. I was not aware I was Woke, back then. I was aware.
Fifty-eight some years later I am still aware of the social issues of our community and nation. Even more so now, then I was in the 1968 where I was not isolated from the riots of that time and protests of the Vietnam war and in the black communities. The only difference today is our social media, News media and the internet is keeping me more aware of the social injustices we still face on many fronts. It is also a source of misinformation that in the 60’s seldom seen the light of day or the dark of night. When the term Woke started being bantered around by those in the political arena. I was confused as to what Woke meant. I thought it was some new dirty word by the Left and the Right to confuse me and many others about those social injustices and activism. When in fact it was not a new word but a skewed definition of social injustice or activism to confuse people. It confused you when you understood you were being aware, not Woke.
I still wonder if the Left is for or against activism and change, or the Right is for activism and change. The Woke culture has taken a life of its own and evolved into a ball of string left to be played with by a litter of kittens who have no understanding of being aware of the real problems around them. Is Woke a good thing or a bad thing to be, is our politicians today using the term to confuse us as to what they really think about social issues, and social injustice. Just a bunch of immature kittens unraveling a ball of string without any care in the world about the mess they are making. I am aware and should rightly be so, but Woke, is it an insult or a compliment? You cannot be unaware of today’s social issues with the communication technology we have in our very hands 24/7. You either ignore it or embrace it. To ignore it may be problematic when in today's media and social coverage technology, it is hard to isolate yourself from it. To embrace it has its own problem when you consider the misinformation being spewed out there by those with the intentions of confusing us and leading us down the wrong path. I suppose if we must be Woke, we need to be aware of those intentions and why.
When I awake after a good night’s sleep, I have woke up, that does not mean I am aware as in alert and ready to greet the day. It takes s bit of time to be aware of what is going on around me at my age. To be in a Woke state of mind does not mean a person is aware with their full facilities about them, they are easily taken advantage of by the Woke culture of the Left point of view and the Rights criticism of that point of view. One point of view accuses the others point of view as either Woke or not Woke and both are so busy name calling, criticizing, neither one actually is Woke to what is really going on around them. Activism achieves nothings concrete when the Left and the Right and those in between are slinging mud pies at each other. A Game of upmanship, and egotistical Wokeness and political wrangling prevents the real issues in achieving the right kind of awareness minus the misinformation. Meanwhile the social issues, social injustice and activism never achieves anything. Woke and Wokeism is just another political word game played by adults acting like kittens playing with a ball of string. The ball of string are those who suffer under social injustices, and social issues since the dawn of modern democracy in this country. We are certainly doomed, and it has nothing to do about being Woke. It is time we get back to basic use of our English language and call it being aware, rather than rename the word usage of being “Aware” to being “Woke”. Aware is not a dirty word but Woke in the political arena is sounding more and more as if it is a dirty word and we should avoid being Woke, or not being Woke, or using the word Woke and living in a Woke culture. “I am very much Aware of that” or is the correct usage now “I am very much Woke of that”. I shall stick with being Aware, not Woke.
I am Robert D. Vergeson, and I have been writing for Medium.com since 2019. This is my 74th. posting on Medium.com. I also write and publish eBook’s under my penname Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III available at Smashword.com, some 47 eBooks to date in the genre of Non-fiction, Fiction, Mysteries, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Teen adventures, Essays, Plays and Poetry.
