Fear of wokeness scares away compassion
It feels as though I have awoken to a new America. Gone are the days of the word “woke” referring to awareness of racial and social injustices. The term has now evolved into an insult pointed towards progressive viewpoints, its likeness used by conservative pundits and politicians. With the demonization of this word comes a growing reluctance to recognize racism and other prejudices in fear of seeming “too woke.”
Nobody wants to be accused of being woke. Liberal snowflakes are weak, oversensitive losers. The irony of that statement in today’s day and age is that it takes an immense amount of courage to voice one’s progressive opinions in a room where the loudest voices are often spewing quite the opposite. It is depressing to think that it can now be considered controversial to say statements that I used to assume were universal: Hate should not be tolerated and all people are equal.
As the definition of what it means to be woke has changed, the effects can be seen on campus. Some students make harmful statements and use slurs casually, without considering the consequences and weight of their words. While it may be easy to assume those people are acting out of prejudice or are simply racist, I argue there is more to the issue. When someone uses hateful language so openly, it often reflects their own insecurity or desire for social acceptance. Further, the notion that acting hatefully towards others is both socially acceptable and even desirable is even more disturbing.
Even if someone uses slurs but claims they are not racist, I almost think that it is worse in how easily they are able to abandon their morals to conform with others—others who truly do think racism is right. With all of this said, I must ask what happens when people begin to conform to an insensitive society with a lack of morality? At that point, prejudice is no longer an individual failing but a collective one, built by willful ignorance.
My goal is not to make a political statement, but to emphasize that bigotry in any form is simply wrong. The discourse around “wokeism” has made many people hesitant to speak out against injustice, even when they know it is the right thing to do. Instead of dividing morality along political lines, we should recognize that compassion isn’t exclusive to any party or ideology. People across the political spectrum are capable of empathy, understanding and decency. By removing the political stigma from discussions about racism and other forms of prejudice, we can make it uncontroversial—and even expected—to simply be a good person.
