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It's been interesting to watch as "woke" morphed from a word uttered with pride to an insult. I can't think of another word whose valence has changed so quickly
by gnicholas 3y ago
It's been interesting to watch as "woke" morphed from a word uttered with pride to an insult. I can't think of another word whose valence has changed so quickly and unambiguously.
It would have been less surprising if the out-group started using it as an insult and the in-group still claimed it as a badge of honor. I wouldn't have guessed that the in-group would have abandoned it so readily.
- WalterBright 3y ago> I can't think of another word whose valence has changed so quickly and unambiguously. maga
- gnicholas 3y agoThis acronym was always pro-Trump and has been simultaneously used pridefully and as an insult. I'm not aware of any pro-Trump folks attempting to dodge the MAGA label (which folks who previously claimed the mantel of "woke" now do). This is what I view as the difference — no one says they're "woke" anymore, even if they have the exact same views as before.
- klyrs 3y ago> I wouldn't have guessed that the in-group would have abandoned it so readily. You never understood the meaning of the word, then. Woke is a synonym for "enlightenment." Indeed, the notions of wokeness echo an earlier philosophical revolution we continue to call the Age of Enlightenment. Who, with a serious face, will claim to be enlightened? According to the Buddhism I studied, there was never a surer method to identify a fool. Wokeness was never worn as a serious label. Wokeness may be acknowledged, be that applied to a person or a concept. The only time I've heard anybody self-proclaim wokeness is literally in self-mockery. He's woke, she's woke, that's woke, stay woke, but never I'm woke. So I'd make one edit to your first sentence: it was not uttered with pride, it was uttered with respect. And people still do that today. So there was nothing to abandon. Nobody identified that way. And now wokeness is now a boogeyman. It means whatever anybody wants it to mean. Nevermind that this fight has been raging since the 17th century, but it's got a new name now and hey you can sell fear with that.
- wolverine876 3y ago> It's been interesting to watch as "woke" morphed from a word uttered with pride to an insult. I can't think of another word whose valence has changed so quickly and unambiguously. Don't be surprised: It's standard conservative messaging tactics going back years. Take something valuable to their enemies an demonize it through endless repetition. The Democrats and liberals have tried to avoid every fight, and so it works every time. I'm not exaggerating to say that I predicted 'woke' would be demonized too. IIRC, someone recently published conversations among some conservative groups where they planned their messaging around it (not an unusual tactic) and specifically what would be effective.
- eli_gottlieb 3y ago>It's been interesting to watch as "woke" morphed from a word uttered with pride to an insult. I never heard it uttered with pride. I saw it graffiti'd on walls.