Being Woke
May 8, 2023 at 9:23 p.m.
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I am embarrassed for, appalled by, and ashamed of all extremists — including some of Indiana’s own politicians — who continue to insist that being woke is somehow dangerous and evil. I am especially disappointed in people who fall under the fear-mongering spell of these politicians because they do not take the time to fact check, or at least look up definitions of trendy words. Yes, trendy! Extreme Republicans heard a new expression, wrapped it with a perverted connotation, and infused it into their rhetoric of hatred and lies.
Once more I present to you the official definition of woke: Briefly and simply it means open-minded … politically and socially aware. More specifically it describes “having … an active awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those involving the treatment of ethnic, racial, or sexual minorities.” Sadly, people who are woke are accused of “promoting inclusive policies or ideologies that welcome or embrace ethnic, racial, or sexual minorities”- as if that was a terrible thing to do!
There you have it. If you tend to welcome or embrace anyone who is different, you are woke. If you promote policies or legislation, or overt acts of acceptance in order to recognize and accept the above-mentioned human beings and their rights, you are woke. Please explain how that is dangerous or evil. By the very definition of woke, would that not be a most open-minded, Christian thing to be?
If not being woke means I have to be a racist, a homophobe, a holier-than-thou promoter of white supremacy, a “Karen” who knows what’s best for everybody else as long as they stay in their place, go back to where they came from, or accept my spiritual beliefs, than count me out. That does not make me a Democrat or a leftist liberal. I am a human being. I am an American who believes in equality, respect for and fair treatment of all humans.
Politicians who keep pushing this ignorant fear of wokeness are revealing to me that they are comfortable in their ability to control their constituents through confusion and hysteria because they have zero plans or know-how, or even the desire to address the real problems those constituents face. Fear and lies are the tools used to gain and maintain their only goals of control and power. Their plan: encourage fear of “others,” ban thought-provoking books providing truth, strip individuals of their basic rights, then blame the other party for these tactics.
Be smart. Educate yourselves. Be woke. I dare you!
Jeanne Schutz
Winona Lake, via email
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I am embarrassed for, appalled by, and ashamed of all extremists — including some of Indiana’s own politicians — who continue to insist that being woke is somehow dangerous and evil. I am especially disappointed in people who fall under the fear-mongering spell of these politicians because they do not take the time to fact check, or at least look up definitions of trendy words. Yes, trendy! Extreme Republicans heard a new expression, wrapped it with a perverted connotation, and infused it into their rhetoric of hatred and lies.
Once more I present to you the official definition of woke: Briefly and simply it means open-minded … politically and socially aware. More specifically it describes “having … an active awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those involving the treatment of ethnic, racial, or sexual minorities.” Sadly, people who are woke are accused of “promoting inclusive policies or ideologies that welcome or embrace ethnic, racial, or sexual minorities”- as if that was a terrible thing to do!
There you have it. If you tend to welcome or embrace anyone who is different, you are woke. If you promote policies or legislation, or overt acts of acceptance in order to recognize and accept the above-mentioned human beings and their rights, you are woke. Please explain how that is dangerous or evil. By the very definition of woke, would that not be a most open-minded, Christian thing to be?
If not being woke means I have to be a racist, a homophobe, a holier-than-thou promoter of white supremacy, a “Karen” who knows what’s best for everybody else as long as they stay in their place, go back to where they came from, or accept my spiritual beliefs, than count me out. That does not make me a Democrat or a leftist liberal. I am a human being. I am an American who believes in equality, respect for and fair treatment of all humans.
Politicians who keep pushing this ignorant fear of wokeness are revealing to me that they are comfortable in their ability to control their constituents through confusion and hysteria because they have zero plans or know-how, or even the desire to address the real problems those constituents face. Fear and lies are the tools used to gain and maintain their only goals of control and power. Their plan: encourage fear of “others,” ban thought-provoking books providing truth, strip individuals of their basic rights, then blame the other party for these tactics.
Be smart. Educate yourselves. Be woke. I dare you!
Jeanne Schutz
Winona Lake, via email
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