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"Woke" is simply the left's word for what the right calls 'Redpilled'. In both subcultures it means 'a recognition of some fundamental truth that does not bring

"Woke" is simply the left's word for what the right calls 'Redpilled'. In both subcultures it means 'a recognition of some fundamental truth that does not bring joy'. Done well, it can be a vehicle for criticising one's own culture in a constructive way. Done poorly, it can be a vehicle for oikophobia and gatekeeping, a means of distinguishing oneself from the naively patriotic proletariate.

shkkmo 5y ago
This seems absolutely incorrect.
- 4ggr0 5y ago
  Seems strange to me, too. Red Pilled is used in contexts where someone starts seeing the hidden truth the elites want to hide from them etc. Woke in my experience is more used to describe progressive people and their opinions, without having anything to do with some hidden secrets or other such things.
  - wolverine876 5y ago
    The hidden secret is the life - the oppressive discrimination - many minorities, especially black persons, have been experiencing for generations, without most white people being aware of it. When you take that red pill, when you are open to the facts, it is shocking what has been happening right under our noses. You can't unsee it. A simple suggestion: Just talk about it with people who are black; if you don't know many, you can see how the blue pill world is created. > Woke in my experience is more used to describe progressive people and their opinions Like any hot cultural term, it has become loaded with plenty of other meaning. However, to a degree I think you are talking about the reactionaries' use of the word, which they have adopted to politicize it - to use their endless (and successful) rhetorical technique of attacking the messenger; of saying 'it's just liberals' to shift the discussion from the actual problem, racism. For example, you can see the same technique used for climate change.
    - 4ggr0 5y ago
      > I think you are talking about the reactionaries' use of the word That's a fair point, yeah. > When you take that red pill, when you are open to the facts, it is shocking what has been happening right under our noses I think the problem there for me personally is, that "being red-pilled" was kinda adopted by the right wing, so I would never label myself red-pilled when I learn what kinds of things black people experience because of being who they are. But yeah, if we keep current politics out of our context, then I get what is meant with being red-pilled. So essentially, red-pilled means "I learned(or at least think so) something which the mainstream(god I hate that word in the political context) does not know." Furthermore, if what you think you've learned is objectively true, then you were red-pilled, if it's objectively wrong you just invented a new conspiracy theory.
      - iszomer 5y ago
        My first encounter of the red/blue pill dichotomy was the first Matrix film. With social media like reddit, this idea spawned via memesis and certain communities began imitating their interpretations of what it meant for them. For example, the contrasts between r/theredpill and r/thebluepill and all the other subs it may have spawned as well, eg: r/mgtow. Richard Dawkin's wrote a fantastic book called The Selfish Gene on exploring the difference between memetic and mimetic theory that's worth the read.
        fundad 5y ago
        Redpill in the conservative context so often involves replacement theory.
      - wolverine876 5y ago
        > So essentially, red-pilled means "I learned(or at least think so) something which the mainstream(god I hate that word in the political context) does not know." I think the definition is narrower. I think it's something that completely shifts your persecptive, that is relvelatory. I know things about certain policy issues that the mainstream doesn't - or about IT, but it's not the same. > if what you think you've learned is objectively true, then you were red-pilled, if it's objectively wrong you just invented a new conspiracy theory. This is the nature of all knowledge - there is no way around thinking critically, using all the skills (empiricism, post-modernism, etc.); it's never easy.
  - lamontcg 5y ago
    I honestly don't understand how you can't see that "being woke" is synonymous with being aware of facts that other don't see. Literally derived from "awake" and there by seeing the truth correctly. One way or the other you might be having a difficult time seeing that they're both essentially propaganda, but its just the mirror image of the same thing.
wolverine876 5y ago
> "Woke" is simply the left's word I see it used much more on the right, such as in the comment that started this subthread. EDIT: But otherwise, I think that's an excellent definition.
- spaetzleesser 5y ago
  “Woke” has quickly gone the way of “liberal” and become an insult. It was a stupid word anyway so I don’t mind if it just goes away.
  - scollet 5y ago
    I pity people who use "woke" as an insult.
    - spaetzleesser 5y ago
      It’s been a very long time since I have heard somebody use this word in a positive context.
- cloverich 5y ago
  I've actually only seen it used on the right, nearly always by friends or family who constantly read the news, always in a derogatory sense. Was it common on the left at some point?
  - SuoDuanDao 5y ago
    Yes, it originated there, though I guess it didn't last very long. It's a common rhetorical tactic used by partisans on the right - use the other side's own terminology to describe it, always with a tone of disgust, and repeat it until the sound of it becomes grating. "Social Justice Warrior" was similarly exclusively used by people describing their own political convictions when I first encountered the term.
    - simplestats 5y ago
hidudeurcool 5y ago

shkkmo 5y ago

This seems absolutely incorrect.

4ggr0 5y ago
Seems strange to me, too. Red Pilled is used in contexts where someone starts seeing the hidden truth the elites want to hide from them etc. Woke in my experience is more used to describe progressive people and their opinions, without having anything to do with some hidden secrets or other such things.
- wolverine876 5y ago
  The hidden secret is the life - the oppressive discrimination - many minorities, especially black persons, have been experiencing for generations, without most white people being aware of it. When you take that red pill, when you are open to the facts, it is shocking what has been happening right under our noses. You can't unsee it. A simple suggestion: Just talk about it with people who are black; if you don't know many, you can see how the blue pill world is created. > Woke in my experience is more used to describe progressive people and their opinions Like any hot cultural term, it has become loaded with plenty of other meaning. However, to a degree I think you are talking about the reactionaries' use of the word, which they have adopted to politicize it - to use their endless (and successful) rhetorical technique of attacking the messenger; of saying 'it's just liberals' to shift the discussion from the actual problem, racism. For example, you can see the same technique used for climate change.
  - 4ggr0 5y ago
    > I think you are talking about the reactionaries' use of the word That's a fair point, yeah. > When you take that red pill, when you are open to the facts, it is shocking what has been happening right under our noses I think the problem there for me personally is, that "being red-pilled" was kinda adopted by the right wing, so I would never label myself red-pilled when I learn what kinds of things black people experience because of being who they are. But yeah, if we keep current politics out of our context, then I get what is meant with being red-pilled. So essentially, red-pilled means "I learned(or at least think so) something which the mainstream(god I hate that word in the political context) does not know." Furthermore, if what you think you've learned is objectively true, then you were red-pilled, if it's objectively wrong you just invented a new conspiracy theory.
    - iszomer 5y ago
      My first encounter of the red/blue pill dichotomy was the first Matrix film. With social media like reddit, this idea spawned via memesis and certain communities began imitating their interpretations of what it meant for them. For example, the contrasts between r/theredpill and r/thebluepill and all the other subs it may have spawned as well, eg: r/mgtow. Richard Dawkin's wrote a fantastic book called The Selfish Gene on exploring the difference between memetic and mimetic theory that's worth the read.
      - fundad 5y ago
        Redpill in the conservative context so often involves replacement theory.
    - wolverine876 5y ago
      > So essentially, red-pilled means "I learned(or at least think so) something which the mainstream(god I hate that word in the political context) does not know." I think the definition is narrower. I think it's something that completely shifts your persecptive, that is relvelatory. I know things about certain policy issues that the mainstream doesn't - or about IT, but it's not the same. > if what you think you've learned is objectively true, then you were red-pilled, if it's objectively wrong you just invented a new conspiracy theory. This is the nature of all knowledge - there is no way around thinking critically, using all the skills (empiricism, post-modernism, etc.); it's never easy.
- lamontcg 5y ago
  I honestly don't understand how you can't see that "being woke" is synonymous with being aware of facts that other don't see. Literally derived from "awake" and there by seeing the truth correctly. One way or the other you might be having a difficult time seeing that they're both essentially propaganda, but its just the mirror image of the same thing.

wolverine876 5y ago

> "Woke" is simply the left's word I see it used much more on the right, such as in the comment that started this subthread. EDIT: But otherwise, I think that's an excellent definition.

spaetzleesser 5y ago
“Woke” has quickly gone the way of “liberal” and become an insult. It was a stupid word anyway so I don’t mind if it just goes away.
- scollet 5y ago
  I pity people who use "woke" as an insult.
  - spaetzleesser 5y ago
    It’s been a very long time since I have heard somebody use this word in a positive context.
cloverich 5y ago
I've actually only seen it used on the right, nearly always by friends or family who constantly read the news, always in a derogatory sense. Was it common on the left at some point?
- SuoDuanDao 5y ago
  Yes, it originated there, though I guess it didn't last very long. It's a common rhetorical tactic used by partisans on the right - use the other side's own terminology to describe it, always with a tone of disgust, and repeat it until the sound of it becomes grating. "Social Justice Warrior" was similarly exclusively used by people describing their own political convictions when I first encountered the term.
  - simplestats 5y ago

hidudeurcool 5y ago