As I’m sure most of the readers here already know the term “woke” that is currently under a Putinesque attack by republicans came into vernacular in black America during the racial justice era. As time has passed society at large has appropriated the word, as we tend to do with good things from all sources, and expanded its brilliant connotation beyond awareness of racism to awareness of any injustice. But Wokeness, the awareness of injustice, is in fact a, if not the, foundation of the USA and all the rights we hold dear. Anti-Wokeism is Anti-Americanism.
Think about it. Our revolution was the result of the colonies becoming aware of the injustices (woke) and demanding change. The achievement of right to vote without being a wealthy land owner, the bill of rights, the end of slavery, civil rights, union rights, women’s rights and the list goes on to cover every right in America today, all required America to first become aware of injustice, to become woke.
What republicans are actually doing by attacking wokeness is attacking the becoming aware of injustice. Meanwhile they are actually becoming woke to the reality that others are seeking justice and are being driven by fear mongers, irrationally, that justice will somehow harm them. In this twisted reality republicans have built for themselves every awareness of injustice by others is an anti-American attack on their way of life and every time they become woke to that they fight back.
Anti-Wokeism truly is the glue that is binding republicans together in anger. If it’s awareness of systemic racism, discrimination of the LGBTQ community, the poor or any “others” than the republican base it’s immediately and unjustly attacked as “woke” and the republican base gets all fired up over what? They really don’t know, but it’s woke and we can’t have woke in America.
Can that glue be melted? It can and it must or injustice will not only remain but expand in America. Just look at what Desantice is doing in Florida and republicans elsewhere are doing or trying to do using anti-wokeism in regards to crushing the rights to vote, free speech and even the right for LGBTQ people to be. It is being used to attack history education because that knowledge leads to awareness of past injustices and to wokeness of todays injustices. There’s no need to even contemplate the possibility of injustice or the underlying facts just call it woke and fight it.
Our leaders must reframe the anti-woke, anti awareness, agenda of the republicans to what it really is, an anti-American agenda. I’m sure the king of England would have been much happier if Americans never became aware of, woke to, the realities of our subjugation and taxation without representation. As would the land owners, the slave owners and all the rest of those in American history and our future that would repress or deny the rights of others out of fear, bigotry or for profit.
Thomas Pane was aware of injustice, so were Washington, Jefferson and all the founding fathers and signers of the constitution. Every American, president, representative and judge who in their awareness fought and succeeded to give us the rights we have today were woke. Those that fought them were anti-woke. Those that fought against our rights were anti-American. And those in the republican party today who are anti-woke are anti-American.
When we succeed in reframing this message the anti-woke glue will melt and the anti-awareness, anti-woke, anti-justice leaders of the right wing then fall like a house of cards.