Bill Maher recently asked Elon Musk about the origin of the “woke mind virus.” I wasn’t impressed with the answers.
It’s fairly obvious to me that woke-ism came from the left, so Bill Maher should be asking himself what it is about modern leftism that planted the seeds for this mind virus.
Possibilities might include …
- An over-emphasis on the individual rights of minority groups.
- The emphasis on identity politics.
- A horror of possibly offending marginalized groups.
- The birth of “equity” out of the “social justice” concept.
But just today I listened to a “First Things” podcast on how same-sex marriage changed America, in which Matthew Schmitz seems to argue that this was the first time media and corporate American was weaponized against dissent.
If you disagreed with same-sex marriage, you were an awful person who should be excluded from polite society, and from making a living.
Looking back, it does seem likely that the same-sex marriage disputes were a tipping point. The left settled into the notion that if you didn’t agree with their policy prescriptions, you were a contagion that needed to be eliminated.
QUOTE: Did same-sex marriage give us cancel culture?
ISTM, the roots of cancel culture stem from issues like: the Tulsa Massacre, Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, the Trail of Tears displacement, Japanese interment camps, the Chinese Exclusion Act, nativist backlash against the Irish immigrants, Jim Crow laws and other like dynamics within American history. These things had significant impact on the life and livelihood of those targeted. Those in power settled into the notion that if you didn’t agree with or espouse their values, you were a contagion that needed to be eliminated. In some cases, those targeted were “actually” eliminated and lost their lives.
QUOTE: It’s fairly obvious to me that woke-ism came from the left
What is the definition of “work-ism”? It seems to be dynamic in that it morphs into whatever the latest boogie man the right is chasing after. So, when someone advocates for teaching “actual” historical facts…they are “woke”. When a group advocates to share in rights that are “allegedly” guaranteed in the US Constitution….they are considered “woke”. When some take issue with the rate of mass shootings and advocates for having some type of “common sense” remedy…they are considered “woke”. When someone indicates there wasn’t widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election…they are considered “woke”. When someone says that Trump Derangement Syndrome is “fake”…they are considered “woke”. So what is “woke” really??? Is it just a catch-all for anything the right doesn’t like? The right’s embodiment of “cancel culture”?