What does WOKE really mean?

Question

The word "woke" is used often today. Its dictionary meaning is...

alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination

but people sometimes seem to use it to mean something different, maybe more politically correct, or even politically incorrect. And, often it's used in a negative derogatory sense.

So, what do you think when you see the word "woke"? And what do you mean when you say it?

WhiteSteve · Accepted Answer

Good on you, these are the kinds of questions we should be asking.

I feel like the whole concept of “woke” has been misunderstood at best, and being malevolently mischaracterized at worst. I think a strong majority of humans are psychologically seeking quick answers to satisfy internal conflicts of conscience, kind of an unconscious crutch that we can only consciously counter. Consciously, though, I feel like most people are shallow thinkers, and the unconscious crutch usually wins out, it’s takeout food for your psyche.

So, concepts like the right wing usage of “woke” (but certainly not limited to just “woke”, or just to right wingers, or even just to the political arena) are an easy blanket statement to beat away ideas that don’t immediately appeal to you and make you feel right in doing so, plus is the go-to defense for your position when challenged by others. And I guess I’d simply say I think stuff like that is a negative thing for any productive discourse.

Honestly, I don’t think I can say it better than this guy…. full disclosure, though, he’s a progressive commentator, so this is a little sharply pointed towards the right wing, not exactly neutral, but I really couldn’t agree more with the assessment…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3AXBiSheGwY

So, for myself….”woke” isn’t really a word I say un-ironically. I think one of the reasons it’s so funny to me is that I’ve always noticed throughout my lifetime that certain slang terms that often originate in the Black community will exist for YEARS, and then finally there’ll be some popular culture event that clues in the corniest of White folks, and then THEY start saying it because they think it will make them sound cool, but usually that’s the death knell for the term, lmfao. See prior examples things like “da bomb”, currently we’re killing “throwing shade” and other sayings from The Real Housewives Of Atlanta, and I’d bet my bottom dollar that every white person doing the “Raise The Roof” gesture is completely unaware of the song that made it popular. But currently, I’d say “woke” is at the top of my second-hand embarrassment cringe list, lmao.

When Silicon Valley Bank went tits up a couple months back (two of my hockey teammates work for SVB and First Republic, and that was a wild week for them, haha), right wing politicians, and subsequently, right wing media, went the usual route of “how can we spin this story to blame left wing ideology?”, lmao, and this (I think) Congressman from Kentucky by the name of Comer had some spiel on FoxNews or something about how SVB bungled their operation because they were too concerned with diversity and such (executive suite was almost entirely white people, if you took the necessary 30 seconds to research it, lmfao), and whatever, I think that’s a lame angle to take, but forget all that…. the way this guy used woke in a sentence killed me.

He’s like “oh, they were a woke bank, they had woke policies…” —questionable usage, but passable—…. and he continues “…. and they went bankrupt because of woke.” And I’m just bristling at “because of woke.” I think you’d want to go with “because of wokeness” or “woke-ism”, something like that. But just further evidence that a lot of these people just aren’t truly sure about what they’re even talking about. Like their sentiments are organic, but they’re trying to assign a punchy buzzword that’s been hijacked to just make it an easily relatable barb to throw at social ideas they don’t like, and since it’s a hijacked word, they probably additionally see it as “owning the libs” as a bonus.

“Anti-woke” is just the latest t-shirt/bumper sticker slogan. The idea is to market the idea to voters, and then anyone who’s mad that they can’t get away with the inappropriate joke they used to tell 20 years ago can be like “this is that woke stuff that politician was warning me about!” is now inclined to vote a certain way. It’s a simple pitch marketed to mostly simple people. It’s grievance politics. In some senses, it’s just a rebranding of “political correctness.”

I think, for me, I just have a really, really hard time accepting how, when it comes to any non-malicious, non-discriminatory behavior, somebody can’t just pretty universally accept what anyone else is doing, whether or not you personally truly understand it or approve of it. And I have twice the vitriol towards those who traffic in manufactured false perceptions of people in order to justify their own prejudices.

OlderAndWiser · Accepted Answer

"Social injustice" is not a neutral term. It implies the Democrat agenda of pandering (in a "lip service" way) to minorties simply for the purposes of currying favor and votes. "Woke" implies extreme and - I believe - unthinking dedication to the social justice agenda (i. e., bat-shit crazy!)

Thatpearl26 · Accepted Answer

I believe woke has many different meanings. To democrats/liberals it means to participate in rallies and protests for the pride community and blm. To republicans/conservatives it means people who are brainwashed by liberals. Basically people who believe the crazy new ideals such as kids should be accessing gender changing medicines. Although maybe it can mean something totally different. Obviously I am biased because everyone has their own political beliefs. I think woke can mean something different to everyone as to fit into everyone’s individual political stances.

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

It's one of those words that has lost its original meaning and taken on a new one. Where once it was simply being aware of the struggles and discrimination of others it's now more about over representation of minority group in situations its not called for.

BCRanger10 · Answer

The definition you provided here is what the woke want you to believe.

For starters, if it really was about that definition, then they wouldn't be constantly on about one intersection of people - the race, ethnicity, sex, and sexual orientation of said people - and assigning ignorance or malice in their personal individual experiences and input. They know that this will result in more discrimination, but that is what they want (or at least the thought leaders).

What "woke" really means now is the denial and rejection of truth.

Anonymous · Answer

To me it means dumb but wants to pretend they are more superior. Also a sheep to the media.

Woke technically means you believe racism is still a huge issue and the way to rectify this is to give black people advantages and opportunities over white. This is racism in itself.

Woke means you believe in stupid genders which don’t exist. There’s male and female.

Woke rules make no sense. You can be any gender you want but dress like a different race and you are black fishing.

Being woke is not an intelligent thing, it’s not an empathetic thing as the only people they hold empathy to is those that believe their views it’s a breed of idiocy and ignorance.

imawfulatusernames · Answer

It really depends who you ask. You ask a far right person they’ll tell you it’s someone who wants to destroy free speech and have men in dresses assault their wife and kids while telling them about gender and sex at 4. You ask a leftist they’ll say it’s a performative activist who doesn’t actually know anything or care about the causes they apparently champion. Anyone else probably doesn’t know or just thinks it’s a internet term that means crazy and the same as the FR thinks, it’s an entirely useless term.

Anonymous · Answer

Woke beside the dictionary definition is an umbrella term for The Intersectional/Identitarian mob who are to blame for the rise in violence as they are breaking the populous into tribes, Black, Asian, White etc. This helps none but The I/I crowd, while limiting any cross group communication that would be able to resolve problems at a local level.

The Intersectional/Identitarian mob are using the old divide and conquer routine as promoted by Marxists/Communists to stop anyone clearly see what they are doing aided by Democrat and RINO Politicians and the MSM to disenfranchise voters from the Constitution, it is time for voters to take a long hard look at those they have voted into office to represent them and see if they are doing anything productive that makes the voters lives easier or are those representatives only doing what they can to feather their own nests.

D_Bone_Steak · Answer

The definition is going to be very different than what it really is. "Feminism" for instance is going to get a nice clean definition from a dictionary or from Google.

For the real meaning of some terms like these, I would suggest you use Urbandictionary. com and you'll start to understand how some shitposter like myself is actually using the words and what it means to us.

Give it a try with the word "woke" and the word "feminist" and you'll see what I'm talking about. These things had one meaning at one time but then crazy people hijacked the words and started to change it for those of us that's had to deal with the crazy people that wave these titles around like a badge of merit.

I'm going to look those words up myself after I hit the send it button here just for shits and giggles. I've made myself curious as to just what definitions I'm going to find on urban dictionary.

chrissykerdock · Answer

woke to me is this new socialist ideology... i don't believe in making boys into girls and the vice verse i don't believe in a lot it's a strange new world the tearing down of traditions... girls getting 70 abortions i mean abortions have become pregnancy protection... and i feel like a whore because i give blowjobs

Leapfrog00 · Answer

In short, when someone says they're "Woke", it means they're alerted. For example, "With all the racism in the world, people need to stay angry and 'Woke'".

Some organizations that discriminate overuse this term to keep themselves from looking like they discriminated at all.

FunkyMonkee · Answer

It's synonymous with the term, "Complete fucking idiot". It means that someone is such a self-important narcissist that they believe EVERYTHING they know is the absolute truth when, in fact, it''s the complete opposite of that! Such people are VERY dangerous and insane!! Steer clear of them at ALL costs!!

Anonymous · Answer

^ This

Anonymous · Answer

it used to be a slang aave term for being politically/socially aware and now who knows what it means lol nobody even uses it anymore except for people I see on the right, or sometimes I’ve seen people use it as coded language to be racist

DizzyDesii · Answer

I dont think about it nor am i bothered/offended by it like most

Greenbean27 · Answer

Woke started as slang for being aware of social injustices but shifted. A lot of people that are woke often have a moral superiority complex and come off preachy. It over time become a derogatory term.

WanderingLoveWizard · Answer

I already said this on another post asking the same question, but "woke" is a term used to describe virtue signaling morons with a false sense of enlightenment.  It's not that hard to define

grega239 · Answer

From my observation:
Men bad.
Women are oppressed
Racial minorities even more
Lgbt even more.
Capitalism bad communism good.
Rewriting history for inclusion and diversity.
Removing history because its offensive.
Removing and criminalizing words because someone might be offended.
Etc.

Anonymous · Answer

It replaced the whole social justice warrior thing because that was pure cringe and now WOKE is equally cringe.

Christoff92 · Answer

Pretty much means alert and concern about social injustice and discrimination 😏

Fromdusktilldawn · Answer

being a deluded extreme leftist with a strong focus on identity politics maybe

Anonymous · Answer

Short answer: liberal stupidity and degeneracy.

Agent_Elflord · Answer

Wait you mean to tell me it isn’t a new fun word for those damn libtards? Just kidding. Asides from the misuse by conservatives, I also tend to think of Hoteps and Black Nationalists when I hear it.

HippieVeganJewslim · Answer

I know not, but sure reminds me of Buddhism. Buddha means awoken one, the wise guy, intelligent, smart, conscious, etc, which was what many called Siddharþa Gautama.

Ptrmbrs88 · Answer

I don't know and I don't care, but one thing I do know is that I look forward to the day when people no longer use it anymore!

Randalama · Answer

Mental illness. It means mental illness.

Aiko_E_Lara · Answer

When your alarm rings in the morning

Reorx · Answer

Wilful ignorance. Woke is just a misnomer.

KrakenAttackin · Answer

"Woke" = "Fully indoctrinated NPC leftists".

SaoirseS · Answer

Past tense of wake.

inhua · Answer

fake outrage and virtue signaling

LavLavLuv · Answer

I just woke up

mommymommymommy · Answer

We only know everything

Fuentes · Answer

If you ask me it means your special needs

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