A Republican political novice wrote an entire book on a subject that he's not understood, not qualified to discuss, or in a position to have empirical knowledge about. And a Republican Florida governor has staked a large part of this 2024 presidential campaign on targeting something that he also knows very little about. Enter the recently discovered (by white Republicans) African-American term "woke." Of course, anything that can be used as an oblique attack, to look tough to the Republican base, and to tip-toe around the bovine political albatross around their collective necks, also called Donald John Trump, is fair game from the cowardly pack of political weasels. So, I feel that its time not to defend so-called "wokeness" (it needs no defense) but to provide an education on the subject to stupid Republicans.
Let's start with one Vivek Ramaswamy, 37, who launched his dark-horse White House bid during a late February appearance on the Fox News channel - where else? - the home of GOP propaganda. An Indian-American biotech entrepreneur with zero previous political experience, he was a regular fixture on former and now totally disgraced Fox host, the banal Tucker Carlson's daily program. The Harvard and Yale graduate argues that the United States is in the midst of a national identity crisis driven by a decline in faith, patriotism and meritocracy.
He is the author of "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam." His major "claim to fame" is that following Trump's federal indictment over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, Mr. Ramaswamy bombastically vowed that, if elected U.S. president, he would pardon Mr. Trump of any crimes and criticized the rest of the GOP field for not following his lead.
To Mr. Ramaswamy: For your edification, "Woke" is a term that originated within African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and has since gained widespread usage in mainstream culture. Specifically, Sir, it refers to a state of heightened awareness and consciousness regarding social and political issues, particularly those related to systemic oppression, discrimination, and social injustice. I'll have you know that for us as Black People, being "woke" implies being knowledgeable about and actively engaged in addressing these issues.
To you and Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis: Like your stupid misreading and adulterating of Critical Race Theory (CRT), the term "woke" has evolved to encompass a broader understanding of social justice and is often associated with progressive ideologies. It emphasizes the recognition of marginalized groups' experiences, the critical examination of power structures, and the pursuit of equality and fairness in society. Therefore, Sirs, "woke" involves actively challenging and dismantling systems of oppression, advocating for marginalized communities, and seeking to create positive social change.
Now, I know you two guys just LOVE to quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an American civil right champion, and you could even remember and regurgitate a few lines from his copious speeches. But did you know that for Black Americans, the Civil Rights Movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s fought for racial equality, desegregation, and the end of discriminatory laws and practices was a "woke" event? Yes Sirs, activists like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X are often seen as exemplifying a "woke" mindset through their tireless efforts to combat racial injustice. So, now you know.
And yes, I know that you two hate feminism. But if you had half a brain in your heads, you would know that it encompasses various movements and ideologies that aim to achieve gender equality. Today, "woke" feminists critically analyze and challenge patriarchal structures, advocate for reproductive rights (I know you BOTH want to control women's bodies), fight against gender-based violence, and work to address issues such as the gender wage gap and intersectionality. But all of that is lost on you Republicans who as indigenous Americans correctly characterized you as having a penchant for "speaking with a forked tongue." Like Donald John Trump you both have an adversarial relationship with truth.
Performance politics - you both suck at it - and just plain stupidity is one thing. Banking on the collective idiocy of the Republican Party's base is quite another. The non-debate over "wokeness" is your slick, arrogant suborning of a term that has only positive connotations, and shoving it into the putrid cesspool of your opportunistic politicking is just so totally reprehensible. The thing is that I know you know better. But you choose to pander, obfuscate, and confuse this issue for your own partisan political purposes. See, you CANNOT directly attack Donald Trump lest you face a serious backlash from his MAGA hordes. So, what do you do? You attack something that cannot hit back, an idea, a belief rooted in Black and African-American culture. But you cannot - repeat cannot - bring yourselves to attack white supremacy and other forms of oppression. What unadulterated hypocrisy!
Vivek, you should know better: you really do not have a place in the GOP. They're tolerating you to give the public veneer of "color." You're a prop, a useful backdrop to an otherwise all-white party (You Tim Scott and Nickki Haley). Sadly, you have drunk deeply of the Donald Trump Kool Aid and have drunkenly hitched your political fortunes to his brand of rancid politics. Ron DeSantis is another matter entirely. He's weak, political opportunism personified, and believes that by attacking vulnerable communities is the way to score points with Trump's base that he badly needs to win the GOP primary. If he gets to be POTUS he's going to be worse than Donald Trump.
Here's my parting two cents about being "woke." It is not a destination but a journey. It requires ongoing commitment, self-reflection, and action to effect meaningful change and address social inequalities.
