The Evolution of ‘Woke’

The notion of being “woke” emerged from black activism, aimed at raising awareness of ongoing racial injustices that society ignores or downplays. This impulse arose from noble instincts of social consciousness and egalitarianism. However, as “wokeness” has spread more broadly, its ostensible virtue has curdled into sanctimony, disingenuousness and reckless judgment – often lacking nuance, grace, or good faith. This evolution obscures valid critiques of systemic prejudice, alienates potential allies, and fuels backlash that obstructs the very causes “woke” posturing claims to advance. We must revive the virtuous origins of “wokeness” – grounded in wisdom, sincerity and openness – while renouncing the zealotry that now commonly masquerades under its banner. Otherwise, that worthwhile fight to eradicate racism and injustice will remain impeded.

So while “woke” may have originated from a well-intentioned place, certain negative qualities have increasingly overtaken the term and the term has increasingly become associated with a range of negative attributes, where a selfish desire for praise and status has sometimes replaced the noble desire to help others.

Beyond the all-too-obvious sanctimony and disingenuousness that too frequently take front stage, here are some additional attributes that help capture this counterproductive evolution:

• Simplistic – Seeing complex societal issues as black and white, failing to recognize nuance.
• Adversarial – Framing everything as a battle between oppressor and oppressed. Unwilling to find common ground.
• Humorless – Taking everything ultra-seriously with no room for levity.
• Judgmental – Quick to label or demonize anyone with different views.
• Unforgiving – No allowance for growth, context or human flaws when evaluating past actions/statements.
• Hypocritical – Holding others to standards one doesn’t meet themselves. Rules applied unevenly.
• Compulsive – Obsessively fixated on identity politics or linguistics with no sense of proportionality.
• Proselytizing – More focused on lecturing, condemnation and converting others than constructive solutions.

These are the current aspects of modern “wokeness” that people find frustrating, counterproductive or antithetical to social progress. A key factor seems to be a perceived lack of nuance, grace and good faith.