To me......being called 'woke' is a compliment

Doodledog

volver3

woke is an adjective.

Other than that, we agree.

Ok then, 'wokeness' is an abstract noun? I would argue that defining it as 'the state of being 'awake'' makes it an abstract noun, but I wouldn't do so in court, as I'm not really sure.

Anyway, as it's used now (as opposed to the original meaning of a form of 'not being asleep') it is abstract, and has more in common with words like 'love', 'beauty' and 'kindness', which is why its use can be problematic.

So that's cleared that up! 😵‍💫

😉

I don’t know anyone who describes themselves as woke, except on social media as a quick way of saying ‘leftish, progressive politics with both a capital and lower case P here, don’t follow me if that’s not your cup of tea’.

I know lots of issues, and some people, which are called woke by those who don’t share the same politics, ethics or worldview.

That’s a shockingly badly written sentence, sorry.

Galaxy I broadly agree. But I think white privilege is probably the least conflicted area of identity politics; there may be degrees within it, but to be born white in a majority white society, or a non-white society where the rules are set by white people, is to be born with advantage (and differing levels of advantages).

biglouis

To me "wokery" has become intertwined with lots of rubbish about pulling down statues and people of my generation being made to feel they should apologize for what their grandparents did in the empire, as well as white privilage. My parents did not feel very privilaged in their tiny two up two down with no bathroom and Ive done more than my share for society so I have no patience with all this trendy garbage.

That's another example of somebody twisting a word to fit their own definition. That's not what wokery is about, although right wing reactionaries would like you to think that it is.

maddyone

Fanny you’ve done well to remember the six you were in when you were a Brownie (are they still called Brownies? Is that still allowed?) I remember there were Fairies, Elves, were there Pixies? I can’t remember the others and can’t remember what six I was in.

I was a Kelpie. I remember Fairies, Elves, Pixies, Imps and Sprites, and in Scotland, we also had the Ghillie Dhu. There may have been more.

I haven't heard a french person say woke yet, hope it stays that way.

Yes I dont like shaming either maddy, it has quite a religious element to it I think.

volver3

woke is an adjective.

Other than that, we agree.

Ok then, 'wokeness' is an abstract noun? I would argue that defining it as 'the state of being 'awake'' makes it an abstract noun, but I wouldn't do so in court, as I'm not really sure.

Anyway, as it's used now (as opposed to the original meaning of a form of 'not being asleep') it is abstract, and has more in common with words like 'love', 'beauty' and 'kindness', which is why its use can be problematic.

So that's cleared that up! 😵‍💫

Kandinsky

Honestly, you’d think people weren’t aware of social injustice before this word came out of America a few years ago.
But if being called this new term makes people happier then great.

But it's used these days as a derogatory term by people critical of those who care about social injustice.

If you're right, why didn't people used to criticise those who were aware of social injustice?

Fanny you’ve done well to remember the six you were in when you were a Brownie (are they still called Brownies? Is that still allowed?) I remember there were Fairies, Elves, were there Pixies? I can’t remember the others and can’t remember what six I was in.

I always think "wokey dokey" when people call me woke lol

White privilege I was given to understand means, having never been discriminated against for your white skin, specifically while living in the same society, in the same social, political and economical conditions.

It's not hard to understand and shouldn't be confused with "privilege" in general once you understand the definition

I don’t want to be called woke. I don’t want to be called not woke. I know language changes and develops all the time, but I dislike the way this word has developed to either insult people, either for being too woke, or not enough woke. It would be nice if we could all be nice to one another and leave the virtue signalling and the shaming of other people out of it.
Live your life, be nice to other people, contribute to charity of you can afford to, be polite, support the underdog when you can, and don’t worry about it all. There are plenty of other words to describe kindness, understanding and compassion.

Foxygloves

I was a Kelpie in the Brownies

Wow! I’d forgotten all about that. That’s definitely brought back memories.
I was a Sprite.
It was very Pagan of the Brownies to have those groups.
Dryads!

Also, not facing overt and covert discrimination and its impacts on education, jobs, homes, the law, influence and power, is surely a privileged position to be in?
And that includes discrimination relating to age as well, which can impact on all of us.

Juliet27

I’d like to be known as a kelpie too volver as it’s a beautiful Australian dog

That was my first thought. I've seen Kelpies' with the sheerers taking part in the the sheap sheering competition at The Easter Show, in Sydney.

Discrimination is complex though isnt it. I wouldnt say women were in a privileged position in society yet in education it is boys who perform worse and many would argue that the system discriminates against them. I think identity politics tends to simplify issues that are very complex.

Is it an abstract noun in this context, Doodledog?? I always think of it as an adjective. (Sorry for the slight threadjack).

Also, not facing overt and covert discrimination and its impacts on education, jobs, homes, the law, influence and power, is surely a privileged position to be in?

If woke means being aware then I am aware but that does not mean that I agree with all the nonsense about gender etc, it just means I keep my mouth shut.

Except on Gransnet anonymity of course.

woke is an adjective.

Other than that, we agree.

I think that because 'woke' is an abstract noun, it has meaning in the head of the user. Yes, the original meaning was someone alive to injustice, but what that means in practice is open to interpretation. As with 'kind', or 'love' or 'beauty', people have different ideas of which actions qualify for the description.

As for 'white privilege', I think it is a very misleading term, as the word 'privilege' suggests that the phrase means that all white people (and their ancestors) have been in positions of power and superiority, which clearly is not the case. What it means is that white people have the advantage that whether rich or poor we don't have the added problem of being suspected of crimes, being overlooked for jobs, being unable to find products suitable for us (eg hair treatments for afro hair, or dark foundation creams) outside of cities or areas with large 'ethnic' populations, and so on. Some people of colour are rich, many white people are poor, but the things I've mentioned (and there are many others) only apply to people of colour.

aonk I know what you mean.
It’s a word so laden with connotation and misunderstanding that it’s a word that I wouldn’t actually choose to use.

I think that lots of people would think of me as ‘woke’, but there’s probably lots of others who would think that I’m not ‘woke’ enough.

It’s all a bit ‘political correctness gawn mad’ and Richard Littlejohn for me.

As the only reader of the Daily Mail on here, I can assure you that they chuck the word woke around with gay abandon.

It’s definitely taken on a life of its own.
The Syed series is definitely worth a listen

biglouis

Whatever it is or people think it is I cannot be arrised with it!

But you can be arrised, apparently, to come on GN and have a moan about it?

White privilege doesn't mean that every white person is living an easy life.

It means that in general, white people never have to contend with discrimination based on the colour of their skin. That's all.

I don’t like the connotations of that word and don’t use it. Like many others I know I’m involved with a food bank and have done quite a lot of voluntary work over the years. It’s the right thing to do although I wouldn’t normally discuss it. It’s surprising how many people help in various ways but never speak of it.

Aware of what, curtaintwitcher?

Whatever it is or people think it is I cannot be arrised with it!

No Curtaintwister, it has been hijacked by those who think they are having an ideology imposed on them, and by those who want to exploit that fear.

That's different.