Democrats should reclaim a word that has been hijacked by the GOP as a modern-day dog whistle against racial progress, equality, and basic human decency.
That word is “woke.”
Originally used by Black and POC activists to promote awareness of persistent racial and social injustice, the modern GOP has successfully (and disingenuously) mangled its meaning, and created a new bogeyman to fuel white rage, fear, and endless victimhood.
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This supposedly nefarious afreet—”wokeness”—has worn many names over the years. It has haunted suburbs as “super-predators,” allegedly drained the government’s coffers as “welfare queens,” terrorized the border as a “caravan” of invaders, and has threatened to remake America into a radical Islamist theocracy with the help of “creeping sharia.”
The word “woke” has, thus, become hideously disfigured and stripped of its true spirit, and is now weaponized by the right wing as a slur against Democrats and liberals who are actively trying to create a more just, fair, and equitable America.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida invoked the woke monster on his recent tour to support two extremist Republican candidates—Christian nationalist and Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, and the corporate hillbilly elegist Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance. DeSantis promised the MAGA activists gathered at a Turning Point Action rally last week that he would step up as their Ivy-educated Beowulf to slay the Grendel of Wokeness.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Jeff Swensen/Getty“We must fight the woke in our schools. We must fight the woke in our businesses. We must fight the woke in government. We can never, ever surrender to woke ideology… The state of Florida is where woke goes to die,” DeSantis said, performing the world’s worst Winston Churchill impression.
In MAGA brains, fighting wokeness is the modern equivalent of fighting off the Nazis on the beaches of Normandy—although modern-day Nazis and their sympathizers can hang out with GOP members of Congress with nary an eyebrow raised.
DeSantis has never actually fought in a war or pledged to sacrifice any privilege in service of democracy. DeSantis and other GOP leaders haven’t put forward any concrete solutions to combat inflation, lower the costs of prescription drugs, strengthen social security and Medicare, promote voting rights, improve public education, and protect Americans from climate change. You know, the stuff that actually helps people. What they have done is feed the MAGA base culture-war red meat, giving them enemies to hate so they don’t notice how badly Republican policies have made their own lives.
In fact, DeSantis is such a manly man with “BDE,” according to Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, that he doesn’t even need to define this alleged evil! He’s so committed to this crusade that instead of helping his state deal with thousands of COVID-related deaths, he invested time last year to pass the “Stop WOKE” act to restrict conversations about race and diversity in businesses and schools.
However, a Florida judge recently decided the law posed an undue burden on private businesses and its language was far too vague to cut the mustard with the Constitution. “If Florida truly believes we live in a post-racial society, then let it make its case. But it cannot win the argument by muzzling its opponents,” the judge wrote in a 44-page ruling issued last week where he concluded the Act violated the First Amendment.
It remains to be seen whether “woke” dies in Florida, but many robust indicators of a healthy, multi-racial democracy are actively on life support, including abortion rights, voting rights, free speech, COVID safety measures, gun control, gay rights, books written by people of color, and public schools. All must be sacrificed at the altar of whiteness to slay the demon of “wokeness.”
According to the conspiracy theories and rantings of right-wing ideologues, this amorphous, vague, undefined evil is also apparently responsible for birthing the mysterious critical race theory (CRT) threat. You might recall from last year’s GOP talking points that CRT has already infected our schools and is transforming our children into atheist, socialist, meat-hating, anti-white, transgender activists who can’t pray good. The sad reality is that DeSantis didn’t define “woke,” because he didn’t have to. The MAGA base can read between the lines.
In 1981, Republican strategist Lee Atwater admitted that Republicans could no longer use “the N-word” openly, so they had to switch their strategy and instead Trojan Horse their racist messaging through abstract phrases such as “forced busing” and “states rights.” Their lack of originality is almost as offensive as their racism. It’s the same “Southern strategy” unleashed by Sen. Barry Goldwater and Republicans going back to the 1960s which was a means to attract white voters terrified of the civil rights movement and racial progress.
The threats back then were Martin Luther King, Jr., integration, women’s rights, and voting rights for Black and brown people. The threats today are Black Lives Matter (BLM), diversity initiatives, women’s rights, and voting rights for Black and brown people.
Instead of allowing Republicans to dominate the culture wars, Democrats should read the room—and the will of the majority—and go “woke.”
Being “woke” means caring about racial justice, promoting gender equality, protecting gay rights, helping the marginalized, respecting science, combatting climate change, having accountability for the rich and powerful, creating equal standards in our justice system, reforming corrupt institutions, fighting fascism, and dismantling white supremacy.
This might mean Democrats will have to stop actively trying to court white, undecided voters at the expense of their multi-racial base. But recent polling shows the majority of Americans actually agree with Democratic policies that would make the country a more fair and equitable place. Wokeness could be a winning label, if Democrats weren’t so perpetually scared of bad faith GOP attacks.
“Wokeness” is like a green, organic vegetable you should eat even if it initially makes you uncomfortable and agitated. Ultimately, it’s good for the body and your overall health. It’s the nourishing water for a democracy’s soul, whereas MAGA’s ideology is a self-destructive poison that ruins everything it touches.
Instead of defensive backpedalling, Democrats should ask Republicans why they reject wokeness and instead choose ignorance, hate, corruption, lawlessness, and inequality? Why are they so threatened by reform and progress that will level the playing field, help workers, and uplift future generations? Why are they fine with the world burning due to climate change, rising income inequality, and Americans unable to afford life-saving medication like insulin?
If MAGA Republicans proudly own their deplorability, then there’s no reason the majority can’t confidently stand up and be counted among the honorable “woke.” After all, you can’t save democracy and protect human rights while you’re asleep.
