Discussion about this post

User's avatar
dd's avatar

I think John McWhorter's new book, "Woke Racism", provides a good counterweight to your essay.

Having gone through diversity training at one of the most prestigious companies in the world, I can tell you that there is much in the training that reminds me of the kind of rhetoric that my parents and I heard in Cuba. Some of the training was benign, but there was much condescension and ultimately, an effort to push on employees world views that were hugely antithetical to their conscious and religion.

So, Is what is going on in the United States a carbon copy of Mao's Cultural Revolution? Of course not. Does "wokeness" now use soft-power to force employees and students to bend their conscious to capricious rules and dehumanizing rules (ie. telling children they are evil because they are white, and if not explicitly so, then implicitly)...or else be ostracized or fired, and possible lifetime work exile? Yes, it does.

And that is no mere anecdote.

Expand full comment
Justin J Kaw's avatar

First of all, didn't the first "cancellation" of Confessions of Nat Turner come from those ostensibly on the left? Anyway, undoubtedly the overall point you're making is fair: in the political climate created by the constant bombardment of "bidirectional digital media" (Will Self's preferred term) concern about moral panics can easily become itself a moral panic. To be fairer to the anti-"woke," with whom I tend to agree, greater emphasis should be placed on the idea that the expression of opinions can be "violence." This has become disturbingly common and if you disagree with it, as you suggest here, can you not be said to be anti-"woke"? Also, thankfully you point out the absurdity of Ibram Kendi's proposals--if they are to be considered realistically--are they? Yet there is no mention of how ubiquitous he and his approach has become. I work at a public library, and because of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Kendi's book 'Stamped' is being given away for free and promoted extensively and exhaustively via online discussions; this has been going on for a year at least. At libraries, the great defenders of free speech, and which still raise awareness about banned books. You acknowledge here that Kendi's suggestions would violate the First Amendment. These broader, long-term implications of "woke" mania are most troubling, not necessarily the anecdotal evidence. Your point, though, about how Republicans are more willing to employ governmental force to restrict speech and inflame their own moral panics is of course spot-on. But for leftist anti-"woke" people like me, given the advantages Republicans currently hold at the state level and at times nationally due to gerrymandering and the non-democratic nature of the Senate and Electoral College, the need for our younger, race-obsessed compatriots to consider the practical import of what they're doing is paramount. As we have seen yesterday in Virginia, just as in 2010 and 2014, Democratic-leaning voters get apathetic because, compared to Republican voters, they cannot seem to play the long game. They need to win elections, not just control the New York Times, a few elite universities, and CNN.

Expand full comment
3 more comments...

No posts