Is Woke Culture Toxic?
The slang word “woke” is commonplace now. The top definition on Urban Dictionary defines “woke” as, “Although an incorrect tense of awake, a reference to how people should be aware in current affairs.” What’s even better than the definition, however, is the example they give. They say, verbatim, “While you are obsessing with the Kardashians there are millions of homeless in the world. STAY WOKE.”
Before I dive into this, here’s a disclaimer: this is in no way meant to offend anyone who defines themselves as woke nor meant to discourage anyone from trying to become enlightened or more educated… What I really want to discuss is how I have come to personally interpret this term and the issues I have with how it’s used in popular culture today.
Telling someone to “STAY WOKE” could be minimizing that person’s joy. Who says that a person can’t watch the Kardashians and also work towards trying to reduce homelessness? Who said they can’t watch the Kardashians and what does that have to do with the homelessness anyway? Of course, you should care about the homeless, anyone who breathes and has a somewhat decent sense of morality cares about the homeless. I could be on my way home to watch the Kardashians and stop to give a homeless person some money. You do not have to negate the things you enjoy in order to appease others.
Why is it that we encourage people to be in a constant mode of stress and anxiety? Why can we not escape the cycle of thinking about all the horrible things in this world for two seconds? That’s not to say we should live in ignorance of current events and real-world problems. But I think that the most important thing in this world is to find joy in life, and hell, if watching the Kardashians, or drinking expensive wine, or laying in bed all day brings you joy, then do those things. Find joy in everyday things, while also acknowledging that there are issues in the world. Some issues you can try to help fix, some you cannot. You should just do your best.
Another issue I have with the term “woke” is that it has lost its literal meaning. To be woke is to be awake. To be awake, in this case, is to be enlightened, which can be accessed when you are a loving, compassionate and understanding human being. There are very few people who truly embody those qualities. It’s hard to do.
I know that the slang word “woke” isn’t intended to be taken so seriously, but perhaps it should be. Maybe we should encourage and lift each other up, rather than put each other down and judge others. Maybe we should educate our peers instead of shaming them for not knowing about something going on in the news. Maybe we should try to be more loving, compassionate and understanding to everyone we encounter and they’ll, in turn, do the same, in which case, you can truly inspire others to stay woke.
