search
Fred Hidvegi

‘Woke’ is the new Red Scare

The term “woke,” in the last year or few has turned into a beloved buzzword of mainstream Republicans. Much like in the decades of the Cold War, the word has become a disease and everyone who’s infected by it can be regarded as unfit to participate in American society. 

Never mind the original intention of the word, which was to spread the truth about injustices in society. Anyone who is advocating for anything at this point is woke, and being woke is just a bad thing apparently. 

Beginning at the start of the 20th century, the term ‘communism’ was used quite similarly. Communism, and spreading its ideas were the sole tools of the deprived working class, something that gave it a cause to work toward. 

‘Wokism’ is a similar device in the toolset of an oppressed minority of non-White Americans, who, without any real power or influence, try to achieve anything close to justice in a society that specifically resists such ideas. 

Every time workingclass people try to rise up and take power from the few that crush them, they are labeled outcasts, unwanted by society. 

One of the politicians who has a fetish for persecuting justice fighters is Ron DeSantis. For most voters, he seems radical for now, but that marginality of support is not guaranteed to last. Among the main points of conflict, his adversaries use the claim that he and his policies are un-American. I, for one, don’t agree with this sentiment.

In my opinion, his fascistic policies are a direct consequence of US policies, ranging from education to nationalist propaganda and foreign policy. 

He is not an outlier, a rotten apple, but a product of his environment; indeed, his policies do reflect American society, albeit from a different time. 

His unelectability, which stems from his total lack of charisma, is a whole different question. Being a politician with complete disregard for personal liberties, human or political rights is one thing, but without a personable face, we could be arguing with Mein Kampf and we wouldn’t know which is a person and which is a book. 

The only attractive (depends for whom) trait of an American politician running for the highest office could never be raw policy; Ron needs a personality and so far, he hasn’t found one. 

Spewing hate against wokism is, so far his only weapon, as he’s alienating the country’s most marginalized groups. While transphobia, something he adores, seems to be popular nowadays as a replacement for homophobia, Ron is just not the type of person you could grab a beer with. Or worse, order Thai takeout. 

With information as democratized as ever, Nazi-style propaganda targeting the most vulnerable is simply not as effective as it was. I’m not saying, of course, that it isn’t effective at all, but those who grew up with the internet being given to them are not as susceptible to it anymore. 

Republicans are using ‘woke’ as a term against progress, but there are much more people who resonate with ideas of racial and environmental justice for example, than were people identifying as communists 100 years ago. 

That’s just to say, it’s more mainstream, thus making it more of an uphill battle for its combatants. 

About the Author
Fred is an 18-year-old writer sharing his many thoughts about American and Israeli politics. He was born in Budapest and since he was 11, he is also an Israeli citizen.
Related Topics
Related Posts