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What is “woke,” really? And why is everyone fighting about it?

ByJosh Bernoff

For years, progressives, especially Black progressives, have been explaining that people need to be “woke” — that is, fully aware of and pursuing action on racial and equity issues. Now there’s a conservative “anti-woke” backlash. But what exactly is “woke,” and why is it such a flashpoint?

Merriam-Webster says “woke” is a slang term that is going mainstream. From the M-W site:

But stay woke and woke became part of a wider discussion in 2014, immediately following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The word woke became entwined with the Black Lives Matter movement; instead of just being a word that signaled awareness of injustice or racial tension, it became a word of action. Activists were woke and called on others to stay woke.

The meaning of “woke”

“Woke” carries a connotation of a shift in perspective — of waking up from a comfortable fantasy about the world and realizing that it isn’t what you thought it was. For Black activists, it may imply action. To me, and I think to the broader world, though, it reflects what we know, how we think, and how we act on it every day, not whether we’re marching in a protest.

I’ve gone out of my way in the last ten years to work closely with colleagues, authors, and executives who were Black or in other minorities. None were activists, and only one was an expert on Diversity and Inclusion. The rest were just being experts in whatever they were good at: customer experience, consumer attitudes, branding, or creativity, for example.

But like anyone in a minority who was prominent and visible, they had opinions about race, and talking to them has shifted the way I thought about it. They shared their experiences, which opened my eyes.

My own woke experience centers on this:

Understanding that — viscerally, constantly, and based solely on who they are — the challenges and experiences of Black people and other people of color are very different from what white people deal with.

There are things that I as a white person do not worry about. I do not worry about people assuming I am a criminal if they happen upon me on the street in a hooded sweatshirt. I do not worry about whether my doctor understands my medical issues. I do not worry about whether my children will be treated fairly in school. Basically, I worry about only making my way in a world that I believe will treat me fairly.

That, in a word, is privilege. Because unlike me . . .

The Black man who has to behave very carefully during a traffic stop to avoid getting shot or tased has to worry.

The Black woman who has to wait in long lines to vote in Georgia has to worry.

The Asian woman who gets continually asked, “where are you from, you know, really” has to worry.

The Hispanic family that’s lived here for 25 years but must continually prove they’re citizens has to worry.

They all have do more than just make their way in a world that will treat them fairly, because some people won’t.

The fight over wokeness

Conservatives are now bashing Democrats with wokeness. To them, wokeness is not Black activism, or racial justice. They’ve reframed it as political correctness and extreme points of view.

Go ahead. Search Fox News for woke.

You’ll see Hannity talk about how “the [Academy] awards have turned into one big far-left protest where self-obsessed celebrities berate the American people and tell them how to think.”

You’ll see Georgia Governor Brian Kemp blame “the woke cancel culture movement” for criticism of the new Georgia election law.

And some guy in the Orlando Sentinel is writing about how wokeness is ruining Disney World, because it no longer bases rides on “Song of the South” or features natives selling shrunken heads.

Democratic strategist James Carville told Vox that “Wokeness is a problem and everyone knows it.” It’s this backlash that he’s referring to.

Abolishing police and generating guilt about being white aren’t central tenets of Democratic politics, but you’d think so if you followed conservative media.

I’m sure there are plenty of Black activists who will accuse me of appropriation for making my own definition of what “woke” is. But the problem isn’t me, friends, it is Republicans who have used this term to bludgeon Democrats both mainstream and on the fringes.

Honestly, if you could get 80% of white America to realize that their Black and Hispanic and Asian neighbors are humans with families who have to deal with extra challenges every day just because of who they are, you’d be well on the way to making changes in social justice. That 80% isn’t going to be marching in the streets or facing down the police. But they will be electing Democrats who change laws, put more inclusive and tolerant law enforcement in place, and appoint judges that will protect civil rights.

One by one, they’ll become more woke about their neighbors’ struggles. That’s about as woke as they’re going to get.

It’s a lot harder to come out against the idea that “my neighbors are human” than it is to bash the straw men that Republicans are setting up.

I’d like my politics like that, please. Especially if the alternative is sorting ourselves into warring camps.

68 Comments

  1. how woke of you!
    yet another generalized summary from one of the two agendas that pollute the topic

    1. AGREED! This is more WOKE nonsense and a woke reporter trying
      to obfuscate that fact.

      1. Agreed! I’m from the brown community, not that race is important. I do hate the term Black or African-American!

        1. We have ‘white’ people so I have no problem with the term ‘black’ or ‘brown’ people, but I do agree with you on the African-American, Asian-American, etc. My ancestors, from at least three generations ago, came from Germany but I don’t consider myself German-American and being called a Nazi is ridiculous! People need to stop seeing EVERYTHING as racial!

          1. Unfortunately a large number of white American people, see minorities that are of darker skin as less capable then themselves. Its called racism. White Americans are ok with folk that look of European decent until they hear an ‘accent’ in their speech. Then those old racist sentiments return.

    3. Totally, I have long hair and Ride a Motorcycle and I HAVE TO BEHAVE different in a traffic stop to NOT get tazed!!!… Oh wait NO I dont I just behave!!! like a human that was stopped for reason, if not I file a complaint!!!.

    4. I believe its the adult version of the golden rule most of us learned in kindergarten. Apparently, and obviously,we have some folks that need to relearn to be kind. Period.

    5. What is so awful for you about what he wrote exactly? What are “the two agendas”? I mean if you can get beyond your phoned in lazy one line misanthropy.

    6. That 80% is more honest of how they treat the Asians, African Americans, Latinos, etc. We treat them as if they are just people like us. We don’t class them as lower or higher, they are just like us. You my friend, are the one keeping discrimination alive. We all bleed the same, that is what the 80% believe. We are all the same inside, we just have different color skin. I was fortunate enough to grow up with all colors, and gay folks. Loved them all as borthers.and sister. We are.lucky where I live, cause all these friendship are still alive today. We don’t let MSNBC or CNN tell us we are different.

    7. THIS MOVEMENT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A SOCIALIST AND OR COMMUNIST MOVEMENT TO TURN OUR COUNTRY TOWARD THE PREVIOUS STATED. THESE GROUPS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THEIR WAY FOR MANY LONG YEARS. JUST CHANGE THE NAME.
      MAGHUNTER

      1. Absolutely! The basic truth is that the bottom line is that, since the Garden and todays slack believers, the socialists and the communists
        who are the core of todays enemy base, have learned how to get to the trigger point of the peaceful normal citizen.

  3. I subscribe to your definition of woke-ness. It’s essentially awareness. Being aware that other people who are not white, male, heterosexuals have a different and more difficult chore of making their way in the world. In big ways (like avoiding being murdered by the police for minor infractions) or in small ways (like being followed by security while simply shopping in a store). Being woke is the state of being aware of other people’s experiences and then being empathetic and understanding of their different obstacles and challenges.

    1. Why? Life is different for everyone depending on circumstances. Trying to be. “Woke” is absurd in itself it get you to be racist.

    2. I’m beginning to think that the movement has value…but STILL wish the users of the term would–AT LEAST–be grammatically correct and use the right verb tense….of “woken.”

  5. The usage of “woke” I’ve heard for years has been by the organic food-anti-vaxx-alternative medicine-crowd. They have been “woke” about not using “chemicals” in their medicines and food for years. The science-based medicine folks applied “woke” derogatorily to them. It’s of course funny that the COVID-vaccine-deniers on the right are referring to others as “woke,” even as they are being “woke” about vaccines.

  6. As a graphic designer with a half-century of successful experience, I was recently contacted to re-design a version of the Coca-Cola logo to read “Woca-Cola” or “Woka-Cola” … you know, that white script on a red field.

    I didn’t do it. In my vast experience I’ve always rejected clients and projects having to do with politics because no matter how right or wrong it is, you’re always going to piss somebody off.

    But I really had to chuckle. I envisioned the finished logo, and it was fantastic… would probably have gone viral, licensed for Tshirts and all kinds of swag!

    Coca-Cola wasn’t really “woke” for their stand on the Georgia voting law. It was either ignorance, or willful pandering to the “woke”. Same with Major League Baseball — who moved from a 50/50 diverse community to a 90/10 community. They actually did the opposite of wokeness.

    Technically, the term means a state of being aware, of social problems such as racism and inequality: companies that commit Woke-a-cide, believe everything is racist — like requiring an ID to vote is “Jim Crow” or calling climate change or interstate highways racist.

    At the end of the day, the financial wealth I could have gained off the mark would not have offset the potential repercussions. After all, Coke is now training their employees how to be “less white.” Not interested. Got too many more important things to worry about.

    Here . . . take a look : https://bit.ly/330k9Nl

    🙂

    2. As an ordinary conservative citizen, I am not ‘woke’ and proud of it! To me it is a term that will just cause conflict and arguments, however thanks to Coca Cola I now buy Pepsi. And, Georgia’s pandering to the woke crowd was a disaster for their baseball team and city because it was all a lie!

    3. Training their employees to be ‘less white’??!! Good grief! The loonies are taking over the asylum! Extremism is possibly the biggest problem, and the desire for people to oppose other people regardless. Truth to tell, we can all be contrary buggers but the world is starting to slowly go off its hinges again.

  7. There is an of echo of Plato in “woke”, the notion that we aren’t capable of truly seeing reality unless we are enlightened.
    I find your version of “woke” anodyne and agreeable, but like many Americans, I am cautious of labels for my religion, politics, and opinions. Consider the multitude of beliefs we might argue are “Christian values”. When a word becomes something one defines for oneself but implies membership in a group, it hardly seems worth using at all.

  8. The thing is, no one is really awake yet. All this racist bullshit is just a red herring for the class struggle. The Haves keep the Have-nots fighting amongst themselves for their “rights” and “freedoms”, so they don’t look where the real power and oppression is. It’s no coincidence that the middle class is shrinking.

    It’s true what they say, it really doesn’t matter whether you’re Black or Latino or Asian or White or Gay or Straight. When you’re poor, you’re oppressed. The more imaginary lines you draw in the sand between yourselves, the less united you will be against the real problem. Powers that be want to keep you that way so they can rule over you like an untouchable aristocracy, and we idiots worship them for it. We keep blaming society’s problems on immigrants stealing our jobs, or minorities ruining our neighborhoods, or homosexuals ruining our religious values when the real problem is greed. Greed keeping this country from making any progress, keeping our schools penniless, keeping our roads broken, keeping our votes off the ballots, keeping our healthcare out of reach. There are forces trying to keep the people in this country uneducated, ignorant, hateful, sick, and impoverished and tearing at each other for scraps.

    History tells us that this type of corruption is what leads to the fall of empires. Wake up people! Y’all still sleeping.

    1. YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! I wish the rest of the world would show up to the table!

    2. Yes and no on this. The oppression of poverty is real and crosses racial, ethnic and gender lines, BUT being poor and a white male is much easier than being poor and black, native, asian, lgbtq, female, etc….. Just a fact unfortunately. Yes we must look past that and work together for the well being of ALL our community members both human and the rest of life on this planet. GREED is killing our social structure and the ecosystems of this planet which sustains our species.

      LIVE SIMPLY SO OTHERS MAY SIMPLY LIVE!

      1. There’s any number of agencies to help minorities with college admissions and business, far too many to mention here. Stop spreading the tired old line that whites have it better. It just is not true…anymore that is.

        1. Putting labels and calling names only increases the racism that already exists! Black lives matter for example, I’m sorry but ALL Lives matter! Single out one race over all others is Racism! It’s funny how racism only applies to white people? The Real Truth is…. if anyone is interested, If you contribute to the success of society and treat your fellow man with dignity and respect we would all live better lives. If a police officer says put your weapon down! My God put it down! Don’t complain when you get shot if you don’t! White people weren’t handed anything for free, we came here from abroad just like everyone else. The Irish slave had a much harder life than any slave. The Jews, well we all know that story. History is history,we should learn from it! Not pretend it didn’t happen. If we don’t learn from it, we are destined to repeat it! Look around people, what do you see? The Divided States of America!

          Please Remember: Divided we ALL FAll !!

          1. As an honest and factually correct , and embrace all without
            prejudice , is challenging . Many times, only solution to simply
            walk away !

    3. You got it. Bullseye! Same in the UK. The economic divisions are the biggest problems in Western society. Strange how everything but this is mentioned on the media.

  9. The only “woke” that makes sense to me is what happens after my second cup of morning coffee. As to seeing others as just people-without-labels, that started when I was 5 years old with a dream of being a missionary. That didn’t happen, but I still see everyone as having value for who they are. As a WF, I would not go by myself to certain areas of the world. At least not until we are all holding hands and singing kum-ba-yah. I don’t understand the riots. I do understand freedom of speech (what is left of it). But if wanton destruction is part of the woke culture, leave me out of it, thank you.

  11. It may seem like a small thing, but I think the choice of words can have an impact on how ideas are perceived. For example, the term ‘privilege’ is used to refer to the difference between how Whites and minorities experience the world. That particular word can alienate people who happen to be White but who have struggled through disadvantages (e.g., poverty) and don’t see themselves as ‘privileged’ as a ‘trust fund’ kid. To me, ‘privileged’ impliles that you always win. What would make more sense to me is the word ‘advantaged’. For example, if you are in a Formula 1 race and your car is better than all the others, you have an advantage over the other racers. But winning also depends on luck and skill. Your car can have a flaw; other drivers may be more skillful. ‘Advantage’ implies that, all things being equal, you may have a better chance; ‘privilege’ implies that you will ALWAYS win, no matter what (even with a lousy car, bad skills, and bad luck). I think there is a similar problem with “De-fund police.” That term doesn’t accurately describe what the movement is about, and implies that the sole objective is to take money away from police departments. In fact, in some cases, fixing the problem will require more money, not less — better training, better screening criteria, maybe better salaries/benefits to attract better police officers. The purpose isn’t to dismantle the police force but rather to make it serve the entire community better. A more appropriate term might be “Re-boot the police.” When your computer isn’t working right, you turn it off and turn it on again to re-boot it and get it on the right track. Many people are alienated by the use of inflammatory language, and those who would reject changes regardless of how they are worded are handed a very blunt instrument to fight those changes. Meanwhile, replacing inflammatory words with phrasing that more accurately reflects the purpose might lead more people to actually listen to the arguments about what needs to be done and embrace the ideas.

    1. You’re 100% right, but those words were very, very specifically chosen to specifically be innaccurate (‘redefined’) and off-putting … in order to shut down any discussion, debate or differing perspective from any non-POC by taking the ‘moral high-ground’. Because if you don’t agree unreservedly, if you question any pillar of the movement, or even if you don’t understand the new meanings … you’re a racist (another recently redefined term).

      This is, of course, a *brilliant* tactic in a democracy, where smaller groups need to build coalitions to make meaningful change.

      Which, of course, makes you wonder if meaningful change is actually the goal.

      1. And yet you have said nothing. Just whined. So what do you even want kid? You propose nothing. just another complainer, offering nothing.

  12. I’m not sure if you were being intentionally vague and dishonest or if you’re just hopelessly naive, but you were definition of woke is woefully incomplete, to say the least. Your article is full of easily disproved assertions and tired tropes and it substitutes anecdotes and feelings for actual facts, stats and data, and is a standard tactic of the radical far-left, which has completely co-opted the Democrat Party. Whether you choose to call it “woke”, CRT, Identity Politics, Anti-racism or some other moniker, it is clear you have bought into the nebulous concept of “systemic racism”. But it is nothing more than Marx’s “Conflict Theory” substituting “race” for “class”, so a more apt name is “Neo Marxism”. One only needs to open any history book to see the plentiful examples of how Marxism in all of its forms has been an abysmal failure everywhere it was ever implemented, and often resulted in the deaths of millions. And none but the weak of will or weak of mind are being fooled by it. The Woke have discounted any doctrine heterodox to the solipsistic tenets of their unscientific hogwash, which routinely discards objective reality in favor of perception and experience (it’s “MY” truth). Anyone who disagrees with them is labeled a “racist” or phobe of some sort. And since there is no evidence to support their false premise, therefore they can’t argue using logic or reason, they conveniently deride logic and reason THEMSELVES as being racist! How convenient! The fact that woke ideology is based entirely on analyzing EVERY phenomenon through the lens of “systemic power” reveals the true goals of the ideology, which is to gain “systemic power”. Believers in this nonsense beclown themselves.

    2. Full of blustering self-righteousness and proposing exactly nothing. You accuse without providing substance. Who are you talking to kid? Yourself? “The Woke have discounted any doctrine heterodox to the solipsistic tenets of their unscientific hogwash” hahaha how long did that take you cowboy? haha! all your mewling and pearl clutching. Jeesh. Take a second slim, and remember we all live here. If you stink up the place you smell it too.

  13. Woke, a state of being aware, of social problems such as injustice or inequality. Truly has nothing to do with white, heterosexual, male, Christian, affluent or ay other commonly targeted group. Every group of people on the planet needs to wake up and be aware of the injustices and inequalities in the world for everybody.

    1. What ‘Right-Wing Bullshit’ would that be? You must mean the TRUTH, but being Woke is not a Right-Wing thing, it all liberal!

  15. WOKE” was appropriated from the Buddhist religion. It has no color or community other than what it brings to the world from Buddhism. No one has the right to claim
    it for themselves until they understand the origins. When the Buddha reached enlightenment he said “I am awake”. And it was appropriated from there.

  16. in the real reality, woke means awake. it does come from black vernacular, but until the media got ahold of it, saying “is you woke yet?” was no different than saying “are you awake yet?” kinda like “im gonna go to the store” is the same as “im finna go to the store.” only difference is, the media hasnt commandeered ‘finna’ for their own purposes YET. itll probably happen sooner or later.

    also, if any of those reaaaally woke people read this article, im fairly sure theyd destroy the author for the following sentence:

    “But the problem isn’t me, friends, it is Republicans who have used this term to bludgeon Democrats both mainstream and on the fringes.”

    simply for the first five words he used there..but the pronlem isnt me…they will have his head for just thinking hes not the problem, let alone having the gaul to actually say hes not the problem. because him and everybody that looks like him are the ENTIRE problem. the end all and be all of everything thats “systematically” wrong with the world today. and as far as im concerned they should just shut the hell up. the double standard victim mentality and reverse racism ideals these idiots practice suck way worse.

  17. Here’s a taste of reality…

    A point of clarification before I get started. All references to Black and any other skin color embodies all the “less fortunate” sectors of our society.

    A huge social and financial reset is coming unless we stand up and stop political correctness dead in its tracks. Being politically correct lets people without a backbone trash everything and not be held accountable for it; that’s just one microscopic bit of that whole mindset.

    In a country where other country’s (I’m speaking of the early version of America) citizens were packing all kinds of ships just for the chance to plant their feet on American soil. All my Grandparents endured the trip with all the horrific conditions to get here to America.

    That makes me a second generation American Citizen, legally. My Grandparents knew they came to America to be Americans, not African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, etc., No, you are not what you profess to be, you’re Americans of African, Mexican [or whatever country your ancestors came from] descent. They wanted to escape the oppressive socialist governments to become AMERICAN CITIZENS. They had no plans to setup little Lithuania, little Germany, little France, little Havana or China-town on American soil.

    Lose your victim mentality, take responsible for your decisions and everything you do in life. Get an education that will ensure you can achieve your job in life. Stop blaming the white people for all your woes. Stop voting for Democrats as they ARE the PARTY of SLAVERY. Do your homework, it’s true.

    Stop being mindless sheeple that would rather have the government raise your children and give you hand-outs for NOT WORKING. Get your lazy ass in gear and make something of yourself and that everyone who knows you would eventually look at you respectfully.

    I am so disgusted with people that must have someone to hate or set on fire being led around by their Democratic puppet-masters. How is it that ALL high level Democratic candidates blame the plight of the “Black Man” on the White Man? You guys keep voting them in and act so surprised that their neighborhoods keep sliding down the sewer system.

    This country was founded on all men are created equal. That doesn’t mean “equity” which is so misused it makes my stomach turn, but “equal” opportunity. Not having quotas that enforce specific percentages of gay lesbian, transgender, skin color, etc., etc., etc., would help to unite us. Tell me exactly what is wrong with the person that’s most qualified for the job get it. No, we have to be “inclusive” which is another them the radical left is pounding into your thick skulls.

    What incentive do I have as a Black Man to get educated and earn a decent and provide for my family when I can count on scum like Joe Biden to get me free stuff? When you allow the government into your business, you are freely giving your freedom away, bit by bit. If you believe the government cares about you, you are an uninformed fool.

    By the time they’re done, there will be a single ruling class in America (the billionaires) and the rest of us that will be thrown table scraps. You think I’m B.S.ing you? If your answer is yes then you will make a perfect little compliant and controllable little sheeple. Big Tech scum are slowly attaching themselves and taking over parts of our government, and we’re letting the do it right under our noses. This also goes for the vast majority of corporations that care about nothing more than amassing more MONEY. For the love of God, how much money is enough?

    OWN YOUR LIFE AND EVERYTHYING IN IT. That way when life takes a dump on you, you are the one to blame, not Republicans and any other group that hold different ideals than you do. If you have the backbone to admit you made a mistake, then YOU can fix it. You no longer have to sit around and listen to these anti-social activists. God create Man and Woman, period end of story. I don’t care about your feelings, however I do care about what your objective thiniking is.

    1. Here’s a taste of reality for you maybe…
      I would rather you take a look at what you wrote than just be rude. Let’s do it together.
      Did You literally start off by acknowledging that other skin colors are “less fortunate?”
      Did you next suggest that people who are seeking to communicate without offending are “without a backbone” and really want to “trash everything?”
      Did you then equate your grandparents “horrific ” conditions on their voluntary trip to seek a better life to people of color forced to leave had to endure? dude really?
      Did your amazing Grandparents just drop every every bit of their family’s culture immediately upon making port in the US in their haste to become the perfect citizen in your story? Should they be required to do that? Is that what you want? Who gets to decide what culture you are allowed to keep?
      Did you then suggest that Democrats believe in slavery? (seriously dude)
      Did you suggest that all you have to do is buck up kid and work hard because we ALL have equally same opportunity, and you just have to get that education that we all have equal access to (right?)
      Did you suggest that people of color only want handouts and “NOT WORKING?” and call them or any person who does not agree with this very simplistic view a “lazy ass?”
      Did you say “I am so disgusted with people that must have someone to hate” and also call people with different views than you “scum”, “sheeple”, “uninformed fool,” “people without a backbone, “lazy ass?”
      Did you suggest that “as a Black Man” there is no desire to better oneself, have pride, provide for one’s family, but rather get “free stuff?” (undefined) Have you thought about how you would feel if I said that about you?
      “This country was founded on all men are created equal.” Well 3/5ths of a human equal right, or are we forgetting that?

      For what It’s worth, I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way. Some people (there’s always jerks) are using this and abusing it. They are damaging the whole thing. Me Too, Woke, He She Them etc. But I figure they will blow themselves up by going too far, screwing up the progress that they might have made. This garbage going on now sucks. I have seen good people not get jobs because they lost out over well intentioned but ludicrously ill conceived hiring policies. We must do better than this. But just for a second think about this last, what two, three years now, and compare it against over two centuries of way worse. Would you make the most of it? It does not and should not excuse it. But it tends to give perspective.

      1. You literally took everything that guy said out of context. I won’t waste my time answering you, but wow!

        1. Well at least you are involved right? Maybe? Funny how you were able to “waste “your time doing nothing, proposing nothing, just whining and talking sh t. When it came to actually having anything to contribute you folded didn’t you? Not like say, using exact quotes and revealing how shallow and biased they betray the writer, no, that might require effort. It’s ok if you are not up to it. You might try reading things without bias. Maybe even read what I wrote, all of it. If you are going to make a comment ‘lil whiner, at least put some effort into it , ya know, if you are able.

  18. I had to laugh, when I look for the name of this website; as I just happened upon it doing some research on the word woke. Isn’t the name of this site, “Without Bullshit an oxymoron? Seeing some of what I’ve read here is in fact Bullshit! Or I’m I mistaken in this matter?

  19. I think Jesus was the greatest woker.
    Think about all that He exposed. And they killed Him for it. He threatened their power and were indignant.

  20. The word “privilege” is being misused and misapplied here.

    There is a baseline for how it is fair to treat people in a given situation. To give a concrete example, say I’m throwing a party and I have someone sitting at a table with a bunch of cans of pop and I instruct them to give one can of soda to each partygoer that comes in the door. If everybody receives one soda, they have all been treated equally and thus fairly

    . Now suppose one partygoer is given not one but two cans of pop, because the person at the table likes them. That person has been treated with privilege, since they got more than what they were supposed to – more than the baseline. Now, suppose the next person that comes in is given one can of soda – does that mean they are disadvantaged? No, because the standard is not what other people may have got, but whether they received the baseline

    . Likewise, suppose one partygoer is given no can at all because the person at the table doesn’t like them – does that mean everybody who got one can is privileged? Again, no, because what other people got is not the standard, the baseline is. The person who got no soda is disadvantaged, not because other people got more, but because that person got less than the baseline.

  21. The problem is not HOW we keep ourselves divided. It’s THAT we keep ourselves divided by obeying our handlers and picking inane and superficial sides over minor issues and ignoring major issues. Who owns the Fed, anyway, and who’s always borrowing money with no intention of ever paying it back? Oh, shit, we don’t have catchy words for them. Maybe the answer is to become people instead of consumers.

  22. I think every time white people start using black vernacular they sound ridiculously funny.

  23. It is very simple, we are ALL Americans. We have to find a way to have a dialouge that both listens and is able to express itself without fear of retribution.
    We have allowed ourselves to be represented by a class of political elites on both sides of the aisle. They try to set agendas based on minority opinions in their party. I think that we all want the situation to be made better.
    We need Term Limits on ALL elected offices. That would be a good start. Then we may be able to get fresh ideas and perspectives each election cycle.
    We have to start somewhere and while Term Limits isn’t the bottom line answer, perhaps it’s a start.
    Perhaps we stop watching partisan news broadcasts…
    Perhaps we just speak and actually listen to one another.

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