How "Woke" Became A Right-Wing Slur, What It Means, And Why The Left Should Reclaim It

Greetings, good people.

I recently made a post on Facebook in response to all the "Christian love" being shown to anyone daring to criticize the rampaging Nazis taking over the US of A, as well as the loony wannabes here in South Africa - especially those who so notably embarrassed themselves via Afri-treason's trainsmash of an attempt to convince Trump to turn our country into the 51st state. But that's another story for another time.

Coming back to the topic at hand, I was described - derogatorily - as "woke" by a cross-section of these sorts of people. It is a word these days employed as a slur, an insult, a means of mocking those who exhibit human compassion and caring for others - most notably, for those hated by the traditional right wing - to whom I frequently refer to as either fascists, or more accurately sometimes, as outright Nazis.

Today I'll be taking a close look at the word "woke" - and what it really means, where and how it originated, and how it came to mean the things it does today.

Of Colors And Creeds

What is not to like about equal rights? Equal rights are what give a citizen of a country dignity and the freedom to live life on a par with all other citizens. If you discriminate against the equal rights of GLBTIQ people then how can you claim to support human rights? There is a new discrimination and a new "apartheid" rearing its ugly head in the world today – and it's not based on racism anymore – it is based on sexual orientation – and heterosexism! “Gay is the new Black!” The bigots claim in their articles and blogs ridiculing and condemning gay rights and equality. It may be one of the few instances where they are actually being truthful. It’s not acceptable to sling mud at darker skinned folk anymore – but it is still perfectly acceptable to go to the zoo and throw rocks at the pink flamingoes. How do they somehow not equate racism as being as vile and unacceptable as homophobia?