Jen Psaki says Democrats have nothing to worry about in the next election because Republicans talk about "Woke" don't really know what "Woke" is or means. On her new MSNBC show, Ms. Psaki cherry picked a handful of segments, very likely taken out of context, of people struggling to define woke to prove her point. But I think we do know what woke is. We see and hear the holier than thou, arrogant, we're never wrong and the evidence be damned attitude of progressives on a variety of subjects every day.
Woke encompasses a variety of subjects. It includes the alphabet soup of DEI, CRT, ESG, LGBTQIA+. Taking extreme positions on climate change is "woke" without regard to what these positions do to our country and our people. Woke includes what schools are doing to and with our kids, while denying parents an opportunity to participate. Supporting illegal immigration while ignoring the consequences of these policies is woke. Defunding police while allowing criminals to go free, or just not arresting them and showing no compassion for the victims of these crimes is woke.
Woke people will harass, bully, humiliate, intimidate, threaten and, in some cases, physically and violently act on those threats, against those who dare to not just disagree but simply question the statements of the woke. J.K. Rowling has been harassed and threatened, had her home address and phone number published, and her family threatened because she dared to say a male transitioning to female is not a woman. Some Supreme Court Justices found protesters outside their homes when their personal addresses were published prior to the recent ruling on Abortion, and an armed individual was arrested trying to get into Justice Kavanaugh's property. People who protest at abortion clinics and parents who speak out against woke policies in schools are called domestic terrorists. Progressives holding office will ignore, defend and justify these actions.
Woke is "rules for thee and not for me," with examples like Gov. Newsome of California dining with friends and without masks during Covid lockdowns or Gov. Whitmer traveling to Florida after telling the residents of her State to stay home and not go anywhere. Or John Kerry flying in a private jet to meetings to discuss climate change. U.S. Representative Cori Bush calling for defunding of police departments while spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal security is another classic example.
DEI means Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. That suggests we want people to be able to express any opinion and have a reasonable discussion about it, right? Diversity and inclusion, right? Nope, rules for thee and not for me. Recently a federal judge speaking at Stanford law school was shouted down not just by students, but by the DEI officer of the school for daring to speak ideas they didn't agree with. The Department of Defense's Chief Diversity Officer stopped a DEI instructional session to "give KAREN* the BUSINESS" for having "the CAUdacity" to offer an opinion she disagreed with, and that same DEI officer published a number of tweets some might call racist.
Woke is ignoring the very real, immediate impact of these policies. Defund the police while not prosecuting those arrested is the policy of the woke. Meanwhile, violent crime skyrockets, with the majority of victims being minorities the policies are supposed to help, and stores in cities close down due to theft leaving the poor with no place nearby to shop.
To fight climate change, policies are adopted to slow gas and oil production in the US. The result is gas prices rising to a level never seen before, then receding to levels still significantly higher than in the past, with the primary impact being on the poor. Meanwhile, Russia gains additional income that funds their war in the Ukraine, countries that produce gas and oil with processes that pollute significantly more than in the US increase production, thus increasing pollution, to take advantage of the higher prices.
The Biden Administration adopted rules allowing large investment companies holding the retirement funds of millions of Americans to follow a policy called ESG - Environment, Social and Governance - when choosing how to invest the money of others. This despite the fact that funds invested in companies following ESG make less money than funds invested in companies that don't follow ESG. Who does that impact? Poorer people who need their retirement funds to grow so they can actually retire some day, certainly not the rich or people who will have government pensions.
Woke is its okay to do that until it impacts the woke. Allowing illegal immigrants to cross the border and then release them pending a future hearing date is a great idea when those immigrants are in Texas or Florida. But when they start showing up in Denver, New York, and Washington D.C. now there is a crisis. Kicking police out of schools to avoid triggering students is what every school should do, until violence in schools escalates due to the lack of security and people are actually shot. Then schools reverse these policies and again contract with police departments.
So if someone asks if you can describe what woke is - yes you can. It's not something that can be summarized in a 10 second sound bite but it is very real and it is very damaging to our country. And it will play a role in the next election.
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* "Karen" refers to white women and is intended to be derogatory and insulting.
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