wokes

I agree with you Artalyar.
I’ve wondered before, is earnshaw a plant?

I've not been on GN for that long, though I have noticed a steady stream of 'woke trolling' OPs recently which TBH for the most part just look to be p....s taking a wind up.

In my mind they are best just ignored - and leave the few who agree with them rattling around in their own little echo chamber.

JaneJudge I really hadn't commented about Stonewall, or suggesting they are ignored. I was saying what I think of the word "woke".

Thanks Janejudge, it's hot and I was running out of energy. Pippa I am agreeing about the use of the word woke, it's not at all helpful in dealing with complex issues which to be honest are completely unrelated.

PippaZ

Lin52

Stonewall. For me mother’s are mother’s. Will never call them anything else. How has Stonewall got so much influence with the Government, they are now trying to ban dissenters disagreeing with them, or at least their Charity status.

Has someone come to your door and said that you should? If not, why all the nonsense. I expect one of the usual "news" sources is trying to wind people up and oh look ... they've succeeded.

Galaxy was replying to this, as was I. I think all off us, woke or not, want inclusive spaces for everyone but that should not come at the cost of other minority groups freedoms and safety. The advice going directly to government from stonewall raised some really serious safeguarding concerns with respect to vulnerable women's groups especially.

To say 'just ignore it' is fine on an individual level but stonewall advises the government or were doing and the change in language around women, especially female patients in health care and in patient settings, is really quite damaging

PippaZ

Beckett:
Whilst the original post has been proved to be untrue there are many silly things being promoted - such as calling mothers "people who have given birth".

Also I think you will find it is left wing who want to put people in camps - think about China's "re-education camps". People in America calling for Trump supporters to be "put in camps". [Sat 05-Jun-21 11:21:22]

American society is a very long way from our own and I do wonder why you see the need to compare it? People are explaining what upsets others. You do not have to take any notice - you can go on patronising others as much as you wish. In time, we will be gone and the next generation will have the changes in view explained to them. Up until recently, we have managed to either adapt or not, without screaming at one another, and I rather think that is the nature of our society. We don't have to behave like some Americans - what would that prove?

Oh and I think you did miss out on one very recent right-wing use of camps. It is the extremists answer to people not agreeing with them. The extremists are sometimes from the far-right and sometimes from the far-left. In our country, it seems to be currently from the far-right but whatever factor has caused the current phenomenon and their need to dictate we should not let them win.

Pippa you were the one who mentioned camps - not me. I am not in the habit of patronising others just voicing my opinion.

Having experienced both racist and sexist comments in the past I am well aware of the offence caused which is why I find the outrage at the use of "normal" words to be unnecessary and diverting from the real problems people face

Galaxy

No but you were implying it was a media wind up. It really isnt. It's a complete mess.

No, I wasn't Galaxy. I think awareness of others is very important. In the Oxford English dictionary it says

originally: well-informed, up-to-date. Now chiefly: alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice”.

I would like to find people well-informed and alert to racial or social discrimination and/or injustice but I don't think using the word "Woke" which was what Mattsmum2 asked the meaning of, is going to advance that in the least. It has become the first noun of insult for a group on here and elsewhere so I have no idea how you have read my post in the way that you did.

The whole use of language around women is causing concern amongst many womens groups. It's a whole different subject and this is why the word woke is not helpful because it seems to be applied to many complex issues. The issue of BLM and the issue of language around women are just such different issues.

No but you were implying it was a media wind up. It really isnt. It's a complete mess.

Galaxy

No you are wrong Pippa, the issue with stonewall is very complex, there are ongoing court cases about it. It's a complete mess, two of the founders if stonewall have made statements with regard to their concern about how stonewall is behaving.

I didn't say anything about Stonewall did I?

No you are wrong Pippa, the issue with stonewall is very complex, there are ongoing court cases about it. It's a complete mess, two of the founders if stonewall have made statements with regard to their concern about how stonewall is behaving.

Mattsmum2

I’m sorry to come so late to the party, but what on earth is woke?

Don't go there. You don't need to know but it is a word that those, who don't really have an argument, use because they can only shout - not reason and this comes over as a shouty word.

I think it's also meaningless as well, it seems to try to cover too many complex issues. The mother example is just pure misogyny, and strangely enough there are misogynists on the left and right. So in order to combat that I would talk about the position of women in society, the influence if porn, but surely many would see that as being woke.

They are involved in changing government policy though, or were

Lin52

Stonewall. For me mother’s are mother’s. Will never call them anything else. How has Stonewall got so much influence with the Government, they are now trying to ban dissenters disagreeing with them, or at least their Charity status.

Has someone come to your door and said that you should? If not, why all the nonsense. I expect one of the usual "news" sources is trying to wind people up and oh look ... they've succeeded.

Woke is a term that refers to awareness of issues that concern social justice and racial justice

sounds terrible doesn't it?

From Wikipedia.

“This usage was popularized by soul singer Erykah Badu's 2008 song "Master Teacher", via the song's refrain, "I stay woke". ... Within the decade of the 2010s, the word woke (the colloquial, passively voiced past participle of wake) obtained the meaning "political and social awareness" among BLM activists.”

I’m sorry to come so late to the party, but what on earth is woke?

geekesse

I’m a white, Irish native speaker of English, and thanks to years of elocution lessons at school, I speak 1960s BBC English. I met and married my (ex)husband in the Middle East. Shortly after we returned to the U.K. a friend of his Mum rang to arrange to pick up something for his Mum. After a few minutes, she said ‘I must compliment you on how well you speak English.’ I was a bit put out, and just replied that I’d been speaking English a long time.

I was cross on several counts. First, she seemed to think that speaking unaccented English was somehow ‘better’ than speaking with some kind of accent. Second, that because we married overseas, she assumed my native language was not English. Third, because it was so patronising, whatever language she thought I spoke. She didn’t mean to offend, but I was pretty put out. It gave me a great deal of amusement to see her face and watch her embarrassment when she came to pick up the item and realised her mistake.

I do consider it patronising and in a small way offensive to make assumptions about people in that way, and I think it right to educate people to be aware of this. Using the boo-word ‘woke’ to dismiss something which might promote thoughtful communication says a lot about the OP.

I like your post geekesse. More people should read it so I'm quoting it!

Stonewall. For me mother’s are mother’s. Will never call them anything else. How has Stonewall got so much influence with the Government, they are now trying to ban dissenters disagreeing with them, or at least their Charity status.

EllanVannin

I speak the truth PippaZ, like it or lump it. I'm not some clone or a " yes" person.

That doesnt't seem to relate to anything nor does it make sense.

Shropshirelass

I read something the other day, can’t remember which group it was but the word ‘mother’ will no longer be used and instead it will be ‘the person who gave birth’!!!! WHAT!! Now that is totally wrong for so many reasons, I think the world has gone mad, let’s get on with enjoying life. After all what’s in a name?

That was a Stonewall request. While they have done a lot of good in the past, I think that this one is not unversally popular with the people they calin to represent www.lbc.co.uk/news/replace-term-mother-with-parent-who-has-given-birth-stonewall-tells-employers/

I speak the truth PippaZ, like it or lump it. I'm not some clone or a " yes" person.

Beckett:
Whilst the original post has been proved to be untrue there are many silly things being promoted - such as calling mothers "people who have given birth".

Also I think you will find it is left wing who want to put people in camps - think about China's "re-education camps". People in America calling for Trump supporters to be "put in camps". [Sat 05-Jun-21 11:21:22]

American society is a very long way from our own and I do wonder why you see the need to compare it? People are explaining what upsets others. You do not have to take any notice - you can go on patronising others as much as you wish. In time, we will be gone and the next generation will have the changes in view explained to them. Up until recently, we have managed to either adapt or not, without screaming at one another, and I rather think that is the nature of our society. We don't have to behave like some Americans - what would that prove?

Oh and I think you did miss out on one very recent right-wing use of camps. It is the extremists answer to people not agreeing with them. The extremists are sometimes from the far-right and sometimes from the far-left. In our country, it seems to be currently from the far-right but whatever factor has caused the current phenomenon and their need to dictate we should not let them win.

I’m a white, Irish native speaker of English, and thanks to years of elocution lessons at school, I speak 1960s BBC English. I met and married my (ex)husband in the Middle East. Shortly after we returned to the U.K. a friend of his Mum rang to arrange to pick up something for his Mum. After a few minutes, she said ‘I must compliment you on how well you speak English.’ I was a bit put out, and just replied that I’d been speaking English a long time.

I was cross on several counts. First, she seemed to think that speaking unaccented English was somehow ‘better’ than speaking with some kind of accent. Second, that because we married overseas, she assumed my native language was not English. Third, because it was so patronising, whatever language she thought I spoke. She didn’t mean to offend, but I was pretty put out. It gave me a great deal of amusement to see her face and watch her embarrassment when she came to pick up the item and realised her mistake.

I do consider it patronising and in a small way offensive to make assumptions about people in that way, and I think it right to educate people to be aware of this. Using the boo-word ‘woke’ to dismiss something which might promote thoughtful communication says a lot about the OP.