The Days of Woke and Rows
October 29, 2023 Leave a comment
The Roots of “Woke”
“Stay woke, keep your eyes open” is heard in a recording of Black folk singer Lead Belly. He’s talking about his 1938 song “Scottsboro Boys”. Radio host Lana Quest says it’s the first documented usage of the term.
Lead Belly, born Huddie William Ledbetter, advises all “colored people” to stay alert to deception–especially of law enforcement—after the injustice done to the Scottsboro Boys in Alabama. “Staying woke” was a basic survival tactic.
“Stay woke, keep your eyes open” @ 4:30 mark.
“Woke” and “stay woke” have their origins in African American Vernacular English. But since the time of Lead Belly, “Staying Woke” has been co-opted to become the watchwords of identity politics and the politics of class struggle or wealth distribution.
What is “Woke” Today?
Professor Robert George of Princeton University, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program at Princeton, attempted to define “Woke”:
Recently, on Gab social media, Lindsay posted the following challenging the praxis of “Wokeism”:
“DEI violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Corporations do not have the right to subject their employees to systematic psychological abuse. Public institutions have less standing. Compelling a worldview in addition to speech through psychological torment should be a criminal offense.
DEI programs compel the adoption of a systematic worldview that answers fundamental questions about the world and man’s role in it while demanding certain duties of conscience. They demand people act in the world through the view that the world is ordered by systemic oppression.”
James Lindsay and Helen Pluckrose co-authored a book:
Lindsay also participated in a Heritage Foundation panel: VIRTUAL EVENT: Wokeism at Work: How “Critical Theory” and Anti-Racism Training Divide America | The Heritage Foundation
Lindsay begins by describing wokeism and its philosophical roots. We then learn from the other panelists about the weaponization of Critical Race Theory and about the machinery that’s built up in our government to continue the woke programs. Government employees, fearing for their jobs, obey the mandates of compelled speech. I was recently made aware of one such example:
“The Department of Health and Human Services, headed up by Biden transgender Admiral Rachel Levine, has enforced a mandate requiring all employees to use preferred pronouns and “acknowledge the gender identity of their colleagues.”
Biden’s HHS Forces Employees to Use Preferred Pronouns (independentsentinel.com)
~~~~~
“This is what Woke’s Kingdom is like,” said Marcuse. “Once upon a time a professor sowed seed of critical theory in the minds of his students. Every night he went to bed; every day he got up; and the seed sprouted and grew without much effort on his part. Social media produced the growth by itself: first the Tweet, then the “Likes”, then the complete thought reform. But when the crop of activists is ready in goes the media’s call for radical activism, because the revolution has arrived.
-The words of Jesus (Mk. 4: 26-29), converted to the secular world view.
~~~~~
Codified “Woke”
Every social institution has been affected by “Wokeism. A handful of 60s and 70s laws have reached into our legal system, our education systems, and our corporations like invasive weeds. Legislative outgrowths have had their effect on the landscape of human resources and admissions. Institutional wokeness has made space for some groups and some thought while choking off all others.
Richard Hanania, in his book The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politicsmakes the case that “Long before wokeness was a cultural phenomenon it was law.”
Christopher Caldwell, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, wrote in his 2020 book “The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties”, that The Civil Rights Act of 1964 became a “rival Constitution”, incompatible with the original one. It “emboldened and incentivized bureaucrats, lawyers, intellectuals, and political agitators to become the ‘eyes and ears,’ and even the foot soldiers, of civil rights enforcement.”
“Over time,” Caldwell noted, “more of the country’s institutions were brought under the act’s scrutiny. Eventually all of them were.”
In The New Criterion’s October 2023 issue, editor Roger Kimball, Introducing “The new conservative dilemma: a symposium” with The abnormal as the new normal, references the above legal history and comments about the situation we find ourselves in:
“The hypertrophy of the Civil Rights Act did not take place in a vacuum. Its progress was directed by the essentially Marxist ambitions of those radicals who plotted the “long march through the institutions” of the 1960s and beyond. . .
“If the Civil Rights Act is the engine behind the transformation of liberal society into an illiberal, proto-totalitarian compact, the designers of the cultural revolution of the 1960s—from Frankfurt School Marxists like Herbert Marcuse on down—provided both the plan and the fuel. The result is a weird, almost surreal situation in which the most common realities and institutions are undermined, transformed, inverted. What is a family? What is a man or a woman? What is free speech? We used to be able to answer with confidence. Can we still?”
What Happened to Woke?
“Stay woke, keep your eyes open” was an early call for Black people to be aware of deceitful practices and prejudiced people and to be awake to racial and social injustice. We all should “Stay woke” and keep our eyes open to see human rights injustice and to fight it.
But yesterday’s “Woke” has taken on a sectarian set of values – the dogma of Critical Theory. Per Aja Romano in his article What is woke: How a Black movement watchword got co-opted in a culture war – Vox:
“. . . across a broad range of political beliefs, one recurring theme is that “wokeness” has demonstrable social, even quasi-religious, power. The writer James Lindsay has argued exhaustively that “wokeness” is essentially a religion where faith in social justice ideology stands in for belief in a deity, and that regular attendance at social justice protests has replaced the role of religious rituals for many progressives.”
Woke fundamentalist thinking thrives across the political spectrum. Monologues of shouting and abuse emanate from those who are certain that they can’t be wrong, that truth and justice are all on their side, and that there is nothing to learn from their opponents, who must be evil or deluded.
Woke fundamentalist thinking, which demands policing of speech and opinion, is antithetical to the open-mindedness and readiness to compromise that animate democracy. Woke Is the Handmaiden of Totalitarianism claims Thorsteinn Siglaugsson.
There’s a lot to take into account regarding the current state of Wokeness:
Consider, says Siglaugsson, that “One of the key characteristics of woke ideology is its utter disregard for reason; for rational thinking, and we see this perhaps most explicitly in the absurdities in the narrative around Covid-19. To the woke, all that matters is their own personal perception, subjective experience.”
Consider that intellectually bankrupt ideas have achieved acceptance in our culture. Truth, abandoned for Woke fundamentalist thinking, has taken on the postmodern understanding of the politics of power.
Consider that Woke conflict theory—separating the world into oppressor-versus-oppressed classes— with zero-sum conflict, offers no ability to agree or understand one another.
Consider that the Woke are antagonistic as everything is understood in terms of conflict: oppressor vs. oppressed power plays. The Woke, thereby, fragment culture as every relationship becomes transactional. “If I don’t get what I want you’re racist and I’m outta here.”
Consider that the Woke self is incoherent and contradictory as it is based on internal feelings. “What’s in here is more important than what’s out there.”
Consider that the Woke won’t let anyone speak into their lives. As such, there is no accountability and therefore no need for repentance, forgiveness, and redemption. There is no need to be reconciled with others and with truth.
Consider that in Woke thinking there are good and bad people. In Christian thinking there is good and bad in each one of us.
Consider that the Woke self is extremely fragile and needs constant affirmation. In the current culture, having power over others is seen as affirmation.
Consider that the Woke self is illusion, its outworking a virtue-signaling performance.
Consider that many on the job are undergoing critical theory consciousness-raising struggle sessions forcing a disconnect from reality and causing anxiety and depression, and, perhaps, suicide.
Consider that many on the job are undergoing Woke diversity training, e.g., being compelled to use preferred pronouns, even though compelling pronouns and worldviews are First Amendment violations.
Consider that our children are being taught, by the Woke, that the country they live in is racist and that all white people are racist.
Consider that Woke school boards and librarians want to place deviant pornographic material in the hands of our children.
Consider that the Woke advocate for pediatric sex changes.
Consider that the “egalitarian” Woke locked down schools for COVID, disproportionally affecting black and brown kids.
Consider that the “oppressor vs. oppressed” Woke support Islamist terrorist regimes.
Consider that the nonsensical Woke mock big business and worship Big Pharma.
Consider that there is something mentally off in the Woke push to defund the police, in eliminating bail, and in releasing violent offenders back into the public to await trial – all done under the rubric of oppressor-versus-oppressed ideology.
Consider that there is something mentally off in listening to climate alarmists and their insane and unscientific push for “Net Zero” emissions, an Eco-Woke version of the oppressor (mankind, fossil fuels) versus oppressed (earth) ideology.
Consider that there is something mentally off with Woke protestors. The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution. Comrades march in solidarity.
Consider that there is something mentally off with a Woke government looking at plans to “cull” 200,000 cows to meet its climate goals to satisfy the European Union’s (EU) net zero requirements.
Consider that Woke Climate alarmism is mental health abuse of young people. Should anyone be concerned about having children because alarmists have convinced them the planet is ending?
Consider that there is something mentally off with a Woke government on track to pass a massive ‘hate speech’ bill criminalizing social media posts likely ‘to incite violence or hatred’.
Consider that wokeism is characterized by thinking unconditionally or un-contextually, in binary. Behavior is to be condemned regardless of its reasons. And so, people are having to walk on eggshells around the Woke fault-finding terrorists.
Consider that “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
And, consider that
. . .
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
. . .
Excerpt from the poem The Second Coming by W. B. Yeats, 1865 – 1939
~~~~~
The Woke kingdom has burgeoned, promoting surreal incumbering effects. And so has mental illness. Correlation?
Consider also that Woke-derived mental illness has produced enablers:
“In fact, the culture of woke in academia is referred to as the Critical Social Justice Theory (CSJT). CSJT adherents seek to identify an enemy and project their own intolerance and guilt onto the enemy. Most of these CSJT adherents are members of the demographic that they are against, which is generally the rich, white elite. They justify themselves as being allies of the oppressed and often speak in a self-deprecating manner to show they are “woke” and striving to be less like the oppressor class. This mentality and the activism it has spawned have created a class of mental health practitioners who are more interested in “social justification” of maladaptive behaviors than actual social justice.”
Woke Mental Health -Capital Research Center
~~~~~
Here are some voices talking about the mental illness of Wokeism
Wokeism Is a Mental Disorder, 10/5/2023 Watchdog on Wall Street with Chris Markowski | Listen online (getpodcast.com)
Podcast for Independent Investors | The Watchdog on Wallstreet
~~~
The Mental Health Side Effects of Wokeism
Princeton professor Dr. Margarita Mooney Suarez shares her expertise as a sociologist and experience as an educator to talk about woke ideology and cancel culture and how they’re affecting the mental health of young people. She talks about the rise in loneliness, depression, anxiety, and suicide in pre-teens, teens, and young adults, and she shares a potential solution to the problem: refocusing on beauty.
Episode #229 – The Mental Health Side Effects of Wokism – Doctor Doctor Podcast
~~~
Bishop Robert Barron speaking on “The Philosophical Roots of Wokeism.”
“Wokeism” is arguably the most influential public philosophy in our country today. It has worked its way into the minds and hearts of our young people, into the world of entertainment, and into the boardrooms of powerful corporations. But what is it precisely, and where did it come from”
~~~
“Will Cain sits down with Environmental Progress founder and author, Michael Shellenberger, to discuss why the worshipping of wokeism as an ideology is inherently dangerous to a society, as well as what Michael and Will believe are the real greatest threats to the American experiment.
Will and Michael look at issues such as climate, energy, food policy, as well as drugs, mental illness, homelessness, and crime to give an overarching view of places where well-intended but naive policies have had disastrous unintended consequences.”
Michael Shellenberger: Why the religion of wokeism is so dangerous | Will Cain Podcast – YouTube
~~~~~
Woke Mental Disorders Portrayed:
I would like to ask the young women in the picture and the women of the WEF video “Where are you going with this?’ and “How does doing/saying this make you feel?”
Wokeism – the religion of “never enough!”:
~~~~~~
~~~~~
Mentally Disordered Laws for Mentally Disordered People:
“Reduxx has learned that a trans-identified male was arrested in Perry County, Illinois, after making threats to commit a school shooting and murder children on behalf of the transgender community in response to transphobic “bullying.”
. . .
“According to Perry County court records, Willie has not yet entered a plea on his charge of resisting arrest, but Sheriff Howard explains that even if he is found guilty he will likely walk away with a fine.
“It’s more or less going to end up going to be a hearing. Now with the state of Illinois having the SAFE-T Act, which went into effect on September 18, those types of crimes are no longer containable. You just bring [a suspect] in for booking, processing, and biometrics and then you release them with a court date and it is all handled by the courts from there on out.” (Emphasis mine.)
Willie’s next hearing is scheduled for January 2, 2024.
Mentally Disordering Social Media:
Dozens of U.S. states are suing Meta Platforms (META.O) and its Instagram unit, accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis by making their social media platforms addictive.
In a complaint filed on Tuesday, the attorneys general of 33 states including California and New York said Meta, which also operates Facebook, repeatedly misled the public about the dangers of its platforms, and knowingly induced young children and teenagers into addictive and compulsive social media use.
…
But the states said research has associated children’s use of Meta’s social media platforms with “depression, anxiety, insomnia, interference with education and daily life, and many other negative outcomes.”
Meta’s Instagram linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia in kids – US states’ lawsuit | Reuters
Dozens of states sue Meta over addictive features harming kids – POLITICOMeta sued by 33 states for child-harming business practices • The Register
Informed Dissent:
New Non-mRNA ‘Emergency’ Vaccine Authorized for COVID (mercola.com)
CONSUMER ALERT: The Deadly Reason Tylenol Should Be Removed from the (greenmedinfo.com)
‘Adulterated’ Covid Vaccines Should Be Pulled From The Market: Experts (substack.com)
Fast Food Loaded With Antibiotics, Hormones, Heavy Metals, but Few Nutrients (mercola.com)
~~~~~
Beauty isn’t boring. Read Evie Magazine.
A boy sits and reads among the ruins of a bookshop that was destroyed during an air raid in London, United Kingdom in 1940.
Cindy Wity 
I Approve This Message
September 27, 2020 Leave a comment
In my last post I mentioned that I voted early. There are issues of national and local importance on the ballot. I couldn’t wait to cast my votes. Here’s why.
God help us if the incoherent and rambling Joe Biden wins the presidency. I am not alone in my concern of a Joe Biden presidency:
“… no 77-year-old white man from Delaware has the right, authority or rationale to question my blackness or the blackness of millions of Americans exercising our God-given right to be free and exercise our constitutionally granted power to vote for whomever we want, even if they are Republican.”
Joe Biden questions my blackness one moment, defends racist 1994 crime bill the next
“The black vote will be the swing vote this year. And right now, it’s looking like it’s Joe Biden’s for the taking. This is despite Biden’s history, which is riddled with policies that have historically and devastatingly disenfranchised African Americans.”
How Trump – not Biden – has helped black lives matter
Biden has stated that as president he would enforce a national mask mandate. He also stated that he would raise taxes. Behind these statements is the predictable and reprehensible Democrat platform of controlling people and raising taxes. For Democrats, individual liberties are an impediment to building the progressive welfare state. Biden has his own impediments.
I don’t see Biden finishing the four-year term. He may resign for health reasons or because of his son Hunter and his dealings with foreign nations or because his synapses may completely stop firing. The extreme far-left ComaLol Harris would then become president. Our country will not survive the moral narcissism and value-meanderings of such politicians.
My vote was not based on rhetoric but on record: 47 years of swamp building vs. 47 months of retooling America; the economic stagnation of the Obama/Biden years and the stunning economic boon of the last four.
I voted on the macro-issue of the presidency and the nation’s well-being. I voted against the authoritarian Democrats and their everything-goes-anything-goes Progressive agenda. I voted to continue the good that started with the 2016 election – economic rebound, historic low unemployment, judges who abide by the Constitution, Black Americans being respected and not talked down to and, the peace efforts in North Korea and the Middle East.
On the micro level, I voted against the local Progressive Democratic candidates who promote socialism in the form of healthcare and are in bed with Mike Madigan “the man behind the fiscal fiasco in Illinois”. What is happening in Illinois should be a stark warning to Americans of what will happen if Democrats are elected on a macro level. Elections have consequences.
Also on the ballot was the proposed amendment to the Illinois constitution. The amendment would change the state’s tax structure by removing the current flat rate provisions and changing it to allow a progressive income tax.
There is a TV commercial running constantly In Illinois. It promotes the amendment as a “Fair Tax”. The Orwellian Newspeak “Fair Tax” ad should be warning enough that what it is being sold is deceitful: the rich will be taxed more and that most Illinoisans will have lower taxes as a result. But, once a graduated tax is in place, Illinois pols – Democrats – will undoubtedly move the tax brackets down to collect revenue. People are leaving Illinois in droves now. The rich will leave when their taxes go up. They will take their business and jobs elsewhere. Soon, I will retire and move to Tennessee. Who pays the bills then? Whoever is left in Illinois.
The amendment is being touted as a means to fix Illinois’ disastrous fiscal mess. The Democrats in charge refuse to amend the constitution to fix the pension crisis. They want taxpayers to fix the problem they created and refuse to remedy. Will you receive an annual pension of over $100k? I won’t. I struggle to finance my own retirement after taxes.
More than 19,000 Illinois government retirees receive pensions over $100K
Do you pay Federal income tax? 75.5 million people in calendar year 2020 did not. Is any of this fair?
(There is a glaring omission to what is pushed as “social justice” today: When a person provides for him or herself and for their family and also helps their neighbor, they take the burden off of society and government for their financial and emotional well-being and the well-being of others. This is a socially just use of one’s income.)
I voted “NO” on the proposed amendment. Reasons for my “NO” vote are included in the links below:
Key Reasons the Income Tax Hike Amendment is Bad for Illinois.
[Chicago Tribune] Closing Arguments, Part One: Why voters should reject the Pritzker Tax
[Chicago Tribune] Editorial: Closing Arguments, Part Two: If you support the ‘Pritzker Tax,’ this one’s for you
[Chicago Tribune] Closing Arguments, Part Three: Drs. Pritzker and Madigan, your patient is seriously ill. The ‘fair tax’ is no cure.
God help us to defeat the Hideous Strength of Progressivism that deigns to recreate man in its own image and will do so by any means necessary.
Rate this:
Filed under 2020 election, Current Events 2020, Economics, Libertarian, Political Commentary, Politics, Progressivism Tagged with 2020 election, black americans, democrats, economy, Illinois, Illinois “Fair Tax” Amendment, Joe Biden, progressivism